9/1/24, 21:55 Xxcopy vs Robocopy - The Silicon Underground

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 Dave Farquhar  Windows

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Part of being a system administrator is copying large quantities of Can't plug into outlet? How to
files around, for any number of reasons. The traditional command open tamper resistant outlets
line tools for this, Copy and Xcopy, have some limitations. For this
Where to connect the red wire
reason, two companies extended Xcopy: Microsoft, with Robocopy,
to a light switch
and Pixelab, with Xxcopy. Let’s compare Xxcopy vs Robocopy.
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Microsoft includes Robocopy with recent versions of Windows.
Fix it easily.
Even when it wasn’t included, you could get it as part of the
Windows Resource Kit. Xxcopy is commercial software. 90s computer brands

Both tools have similarities. They copy files with more options than
the archaic Xcopy. Both can output to a log file. Both have the  Recent Comments
ability to delete files, not just add them. Both do a much better job
of handling and duplicating permissions and other extended file  Matt C. on We’ll leave the TV
attributes that modern Windows versions have. And both tools and the radio behind ’80s song
easily resume if they get interrupted. lyric

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Xxcopy advantages  Dave Farquhar on Panasonic

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Xxcopy’s advantages are its similarity to Xcopy and its simplicity. I in disguise
most frequently used its /clone switch, like this: xxcopy /clone
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source destination
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So if you’ve just installed a new hard drive and want to move your it
old one to the new one, do this:
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xxcopy /clone e:\ f:\ Panasonic Business Partner
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And then you can swap the drives.
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The /backup switch is safer than /clone, as it doesn’t delete any outlet? Here’s how to fix it
files. Since I normally used it for one-time copies to a new blank
hard drive, there was no perceptible difference between the two.
But if you want to play it safe, make a habit of using the /backup Subscribe via e-mail
option.
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It really just is an extended Xcopy. Sub in something more powerful subscribe to this blog and
for /s and off you go. If you already know Xcopy, there’s almost no receive notifications of new
learning curve. posts by e-mail.

Xxcopy disadvantages Email Address

I stopped using Xxcopy when it stopped being free for commercial

use several years ago. But it worked just fine then, and presumably Subscribe
still works just fine now, if you’re willing to pay for it or qualify for a
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Join 238 other subscribers
Some organizations won’t approve third-party software without
jumping through a lot of hoops, or at all. It may very well be easier
to learn Robocopy than to install Xxcopy. That was the case for me.
When it came to Xxcopy vs Robocopy, I preferred Xxcopy, at least
at first, but my employer at the time always chose Microsoft.

Robocopy advantages
Robocopy is just there, if you’re running a fairly modern version of
Windows. It’s part of the operating system, so you won’t need any
approvals, and there’s nothing to download or install. That’s a huge
political advantage in most companies.

I also think Robocopy’s restart capabilities with the /z switch are a

bit better if the copy gets interrupted. That was the reason I started

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using it. When I

copied files in large
quantities across a
WAN link that
might drop
occasionally, /z
was a lifesaver.

If you need to copy

only files, not
directories, you can Robocopy’s command line switches fill up
six screens worth of command prompt.
use the /XD switch.
This isn’t an option
you need all the time, but I remember when I needed it, I needed it
badly. Usually I used it when I was inside a directory structure and
needed to just update the directory level I was in, without going
deeper.

It’s an obscure use case, but obscure use cases are what these two
tools excel at.

Robocopy disadvantages
I have no idea why Microsoft changed the syntax. It’s robocopy
source destination files. Well, I kind of understand. Perhaps it’s
more powerful this way. But it’s a lot more confusing. It’s almost as
bad as the infamous PIP command.

It’s very easy to delete files you don’t mean to delete, and to copy a
bunch of stuff where you don’t intend to. And most maddeningly to
some people, Robocopy doesn’t provide a progress bar, even
though Xxcopy does.

If Xcopy is a hand saw, Robocopy is a power saw with no safety

features on it. If you’re a little bit afraid of it, that’s good. It means
your brain works. To continue the analogy, Xxcopy is a power saw
with some safety features.

That said, you can put safety features on it. The problem is you
have to put the safety features on yourself.

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Dave Farquhar
David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and
author. He started his career as a part-time computer technician in
1994, worked his way up to system administrator by 1997, and has
specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He invests in real
estate on the side and his hobbies include O gauge trains, baseball
cards, and retro computers and video games. A University of Missouri
graduate, he holds CISSP and Security+ certifications. He lives in St.
Louis with his family.

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3 thoughts on “Xxcopy vs Robocopy”

 Miles Wolbe
 February 25, 2017 at 12:12 am
 Permalink

Hi David,

You may want to check out emcopy and strarc as well:

emcopy.exe (from EMC; archived page takes a little while to

load from Wayback Machine):
http://web.archive.org/web/20160501130844/http://mfctips.c
om/2013/11/01/robocopy-vs-richcopy-vs-syncback-vs-
emcopy
https://tinyapps.org/blog/windows/201410260700_emcopy.ex
e.html

strarc.exe (Stream Archive; from Olof Lagerkvist of LTR Data)

http://www.ltr-data.se/opencode.html/#CmdUtils
https://tinyapps.org/blog/windows/201510120715_robocopy_
replacement.html

Aloha,

Miles

P.S. Loved “Optimizing Windows” back in the day!

 Dave Farquhar Post author

 February 25, 2017 at 7:25 am
 Permalink

Hi Miles,

Thanks for the shout-out, and thank you very much for the
links to the two utilities. The combination of strarc and

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vscopy sound like they would be useful for migrating

Windows to an SSD.

Thanks again,
Dave

 vikas khandola
 March 20, 2018 at 10:45 am
 Permalink

use robocopy

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