Writing a Batch File?

Money_Saver

Thanks to all who contributed...

Now that its up and running, can I customise it so it only copies files that have changed? Or is that something this command isn't capable of?

esuhl

If you ever need another option, FreeFileSync is a great utility for copying files - no script-writing required. It's a bit like Microsoft's SyncToy, but without the bugs! (A directory of files copied with SyncToy always seems to contain fewer files than the original copy when transferring a large number of files.)

FreeFileSync will first compare the source and destination directories, and only copy modified files. You can choose various other options - such as whether to overwrite files automatically or not, whether to delete files in the destination directory that have been deleted from the source (or not). Once it's configured as you like, you can create an icon that you can just double-click to repeat the file copying process.

jaydeeuk1

xcopy c:\documents and settings\username e:\backup /D /E /C /R /H /I /K /Y

to only copy changed files

nzseries1

At the end of your xcopy statement, add a space followed by the following:
/D:11-12-2010
This will only copy files changed on or after the given date.
NOTE! This date is in the format mm-dd-yyyy.

EDIT: or as jaydeeuk1 has hinted at, you can use /D without a date and this will only copy files where the date on the C drive is later than the date on the external drive.

stevemcol

Takes me back to those heady days of tinkering with config.sys and autoexec.bat to fine tune memory usage. himem.sys, emm386, dos=high etc.
Multi option startups for dos gaming mode. All good fun.
I still use a couple of batch files to clean various drive areas and archive stuff.

nzseries1

stevemcol wrote: »

Multi option startups for dos gaming mode. All good fun.

I get chills just thinking about it!! :eek:

ManAtHome

You can use /M to limit the xcopy to changed files. This also resets the 'updated' flag on copied files so they don't get picked up again until changed.

John_Gray

Personally I would (and do!) use the extremely wonderful ROBOCOPY, which comes with Windows 7.

But if you're happy with XCOPY, stick with it!

asc99c

John_Gray wrote: »

Personally I would (and do!) use the extremely wonderful ROBOCOPY, which comes with Windows 7.

Robocopy is the replacement for xcopy - it's got a pile of extra features that may be useful, including setting a max file size to copy etc. It also seems more reliable for network copies. If you want to use it, it is available for older versions of windows as an additional download. For Windows XP, you need the Windows Resource Kit here:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=9d467a69-57ff-4ae7-96ee-b18c4790cffd&displaylang=en

NB it says Windows Server 2003 up at the top, but XP is also supported.