I have a folder with about 35GB of data and, after I started
moving file after file, from one column F: to another N:, it seemed very
slow and tedious. I could not select all the files, not even 2 together,
and I thought about renaming the two folders.

I renamed N with O, but it ended up with (O(N.

Any safe and quick way to do this?

TIA

"Seum" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...

>I have a folder with about 35GB of data and, after I started
> moving file after file, from one column F: to another N:, it seemed very
> slow and tedious. I could not select all the files, not even 2 together,
> and I thought about renaming the two folders.
>
> I renamed N with O, but it ended up with (O(N.
>
> Any safe and quick way to do this?

We are not clear about moving files from one "column" to another.

Repost saying what methods you used to copy (e.g. Windows
Copy, XXCOPY, some Linux utility etc.) with sample times per 1 Gb.

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

Seum wrote:
> I have a folder with about 35GB of data and, after I started
> moving file after file, from one column F: to another N:, it seemed very
> slow and tedious. I could not select all the files, not even 2 together,
> and I thought about renaming the two folders.
>
> I renamed N with O, but it ended up with (O(N.
>
> Any safe and quick way to do this?
>
> TIA

Robocopy, running in file synchronization mode (mirroring).

I use this, to copy one partition to another, with the intent to
preserve every aspect of the file system.

robocopy J:\ E:\ /mir /copy:datso /dcopy:t /r:3 /w:2 /zb /np /tee /v /log:robocopy_j_to_e3.log

You run that from command prompt, being *very careful* to check
syntax. Why ? Because in that example, E: will be erased, before
J: is transferred. What robocopy will be doing, is trying to mirror
the contents of J:, onto E:. If E: had "extra files" on it, then
it would no longer be a mirror. Robocopy also has other operating
modes besides mirror, but mirror is what I use for the things I do.

By typing the wrong drive letter by accident, I've had the contents
of E: start to be erased, before I could stop the command. I lost
a gigabyte of files, by making a typing mistake.

As far as I know, version XP026 comes with this download. This would be
the minimum version I would consider using. I think version XP027 may
come with Windows 7.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/m...spotlight.aspx

You can find more info on the various versions, here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robocopy

That is supposed to be a folder copying tool, but seems to work at the
partition level. You could also use it like this:

robocopy J:\some_folder E:\some_other_folder ...

to copy just the "some_folder".

I've never used the GUI for it, and I don't know if the
GUI helps at all, or not. I've basically been using the same
command parameters, for a long time, without changing them. I
just change the drive letters, when copying an entire drive
from one place to another.

Be careful!

Paul

On Fri, 12 Aug 2011 22:13:56 +0100, Seum <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>I have a folder with about 35GB of data and, after I started
>moving file after file, from one column F: to another N:, it seemed very
>slow and tedious. I could not select all the files, not even 2 together,
>and I thought about renaming the two folders.
>
>I renamed N with O, but it ended up with (O(N.
>
>Any safe and quick way to do this?

Go download Total Commander--the free version is fully functional,
just nagware.

It makes it very easy to select a whole directory and copy it. I've
done copies in excess of 1tb with it.

Don Phillipson wrote:
> "Seum" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>
>> I have a folder with about 35GB of data and, after I started
>> moving file after file, from one column F: to another N:, it seemed very
>> slow and tedious. I could not select all the files, not even 2 together,
>> and I thought about renaming the two folders.
>>
>> I renamed N with O, but it ended up with (O(N.
>>
>> Any safe and quick way to do this?
>
> We are not clear about moving files from one "column" to another.
>
> Repost saying what methods you used to copy (e.g. Windows
> Copy, XXCOPY, some Linux utility etc.) with sample times per 1 Gb.


One computer with 2 HDs.
Transfer files from one HD to the other.

Seum wrote:
> I have a folder with about 35GB of data and, after I started
> moving file after file, from one column F: to another N:, it seemed very
> slow and tedious. I could not select all the files, not even 2 together,
> and I thought about renaming the two folders.
>
> I renamed N with O, but it ended up with (O(N.
>
> Any safe and quick way to do this?
>
> TIA

I just hit it. Copy F to N. How could I have missed that. :-(

Paul wrote:
> Seum wrote:
>> I have a folder with about 35GB of data and, after I started
>> moving file after file, from one column F: to another N:, it seemed
>> very slow and tedious. I could not select all the files, not even 2
>> together, and I thought about renaming the two folders.
>>
>> I renamed N with O, but it ended up with (O(N.
>>
>> Any safe and quick way to do this?
>>
>> TIA
>
> Robocopy, running in file synchronization mode (mirroring).
>
> I use this, to copy one partition to another, with the intent to
> preserve every aspect of the file system.
>
> robocopy J:\ E:\ /mir /copy:datso /dcopy:t /r:3 /w:2 /zb /np /tee /v
> /log:robocopy_j_to_e3.log
>
> You run that from command prompt, being *very careful* to check
> syntax. Why ? Because in that example, E: will be erased, before
> J: is transferred. What robocopy will be doing, is trying to mirror
> the contents of J:, onto E:. If E: had "extra files" on it, then
> it would no longer be a mirror. Robocopy also has other operating
> modes besides mirror, but mirror is what I use for the things I do.
>
> By typing the wrong drive letter by accident, I've had the contents
> of E: start to be erased, before I could stop the command. I lost
> a gigabyte of files, by making a typing mistake.
>
> As far as I know, version XP026 comes with this download. This would be
> the minimum version I would consider using. I think version XP027 may
> come with Windows 7.
>
> http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/m...spotlight.aspx
>
> You can find more info on the various versions, here.
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robocopy
>
> That is supposed to be a folder copying tool, but seems to work at the
> partition level. You could also use it like this:
>
> robocopy J:\some_folder E:\some_other_folder ...
>
> to copy just the "some_folder".
>
> I've never used the GUI for it, and I don't know if the
> GUI helps at all, or not. I've basically been using the same
> command parameters, for a long time, without changing them. I
> just change the drive letters, when copying an entire drive
> from one place to another.
>
> Be careful!
>
> Paul

Thanks Paul, I just started a copy process by selecting the K: column
and the N: column and copying. Oppss!! I just realized that I want to
move, not just copy. It has started and indicates that it will take over
5 hours.

Paul wrote:
> Seum wrote:
>> I have a folder with about 35GB of data and, after I started
>> moving file after file, from one column F: to another N:, it seemed
>> very slow and tedious. I could not select all the files, not even 2
>> together, and I thought about renaming the two folders.
>>
>> I renamed N with O, but it ended up with (O(N.
>>
>> Any safe and quick way to do this?
>>
>> TIA
>
> Robocopy, running in file synchronization mode (mirroring).
>
> I use this, to copy one partition to another, with the intent to
> preserve every aspect of the file system.
>
> robocopy J:\ E:\ /mir /copy:datso /dcopy:t /r:3 /w:2 /zb /np /tee /v
> /log:robocopy_j_to_e3.log
>
> You run that from command prompt, being *very careful* to check
> syntax. Why ? Because in that example, E: will be erased, before
> J: is transferred. What robocopy will be doing, is trying to mirror
> the contents of J:, onto E:. If E: had "extra files" on it, then
> it would no longer be a mirror. Robocopy also has other operating
> modes besides mirror, but mirror is what I use for the things I do.
>
> By typing the wrong drive letter by accident, I've had the contents
> of E: start to be erased, before I could stop the command. I lost
> a gigabyte of files, by making a typing mistake.
>
> As far as I know, version XP026 comes with this download. This would be
> the minimum version I would consider using. I think version XP027 may
> come with Windows 7.
>
> http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/m...spotlight.aspx
>
> You can find more info on the various versions, here.
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robocopy
>
> That is supposed to be a folder copying tool, but seems to work at the
> partition level. You could also use it like this:
>
> robocopy J:\some_folder E:\some_other_folder ...
>
> to copy just the "some_folder".
>
> I've never used the GUI for it, and I don't know if the
> GUI helps at all, or not. I've basically been using the same
> command parameters, for a long time, without changing them. I
> just change the drive letters, when copying an entire drive
> from one place to another.
>
> Be careful!
>
> Paul

OK Paul, I'll take your word for it. My E is already empty.

Here was my first attempt:
Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7600]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Users\jvalh>robocopy K:\ N:\ /mir /copy:datso /dcopy:t /r:3 /w:2 /zb
/np /tee /v /log:robocopy_j_to_e3.log

Log File : C:\Users\jvalh\robocopy_j_to_e3.log

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ROBOCOPY :: Robust File Copy for Windows
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Started : Sat Aug 13 09:58:16 2011

Source : K:\
Dest : N:\

Files : *.*

Options : *.* /V /TEE /S /E /COPYATSO /DCOPY:T /PURGE /MIR /ZB /NP
/R:3 /W:2

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ERROR : You do not have the Backup and Restore Files user rights.
***** You need these to perform Backup copies (/B or /ZB).

ERROR : Robocopy ran out of memory, exiting.
ERROR : Invalid Parameter #%d : "%s"

ERROR : Invalid Job File, Line #%d :"%s"

Started : %hs

Source %c

Dest %c
Simple Usage :: ROBOCOPY source destination /MIR

source :: Source Directory (drive:\path or
\\server\share\path).
destination :: Destination Dir (drive:\path or
\\server\share\path).
/MIR :: Mirror a complete directory tree.

For more usage information run ROBOCOPY /?


**** /MIR can DELETE files as well as copy them !

C:\Users\jvalh>
================================================
More problems here:

1 2GB memory is not enough for (greedy!) Robocopy.
2 I don't have the authority. This one has problems.
The computer has two users - a big 'un and a small 'un. Big 'un
has all the authority but the user interface is totally
different e.g. no emails at all in T'Bird. Q: Was the big 'un
sleeping?

I hope this doesn't keep you awake at night Paul :-)

Seum wrote:
> Paul wrote:
>> Seum wrote:
>>> I have a folder with about 35GB of data and, after I started
>>> moving file after file, from one column F: to another N:, it seemed
>>> very slow and tedious. I could not select all the files, not even 2
>>> together, and I thought about renaming the two folders.
>>>
>>> I renamed N with O, but it ended up with (O(N.
>>>
>>> Any safe and quick way to do this?
>>>
>>> TIA
>>
>> Robocopy, running in file synchronization mode (mirroring).
>>
>> I use this, to copy one partition to another, with the intent to
>> preserve every aspect of the file system.
>>
>> robocopy J:\ E:\ /mir /copy:datso /dcopy:t /r:3 /w:2 /zb /np /tee /v
>> /log:robocopy_j_to_e3.log
>>
>> You run that from command prompt, being *very careful* to check
>> syntax. Why ? Because in that example, E: will be erased, before
>> J: is transferred. What robocopy will be doing, is trying to mirror
>> the contents of J:, onto E:. If E: had "extra files" on it, then
>> it would no longer be a mirror. Robocopy also has other operating
>> modes besides mirror, but mirror is what I use for the things I do.
>>
>> By typing the wrong drive letter by accident, I've had the contents
>> of E: start to be erased, before I could stop the command. I lost
>> a gigabyte of files, by making a typing mistake.
>>
>> As far as I know, version XP026 comes with this download. This would be
>> the minimum version I would consider using. I think version XP027 may
>> come with Windows 7.
>>
>> http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/m...spotlight.aspx
>>
>> You can find more info on the various versions, here.
>>
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robocopy
>>
>> That is supposed to be a folder copying tool, but seems to work at the
>> partition level. You could also use it like this:
>>
>> robocopy J:\some_folder E:\some_other_folder ...
>>
>> to copy just the "some_folder".
>>
>> I've never used the GUI for it, and I don't know if the
>> GUI helps at all, or not. I've basically been using the same
>> command parameters, for a long time, without changing them. I
>> just change the drive letters, when copying an entire drive
>> from one place to another.
>>
>> Be careful!
>>
>> Paul
>
> OK Paul, I'll take your word for it. My E is already empty.
>
> Here was my first attempt:
> Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7600]
> Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
>
> C:\Users\jvalh>robocopy K:\ N:\ /mir /copy:datso /dcopy:t /r:3 /w:2 /zb
> /np /tee /v /log:robocopy_j_to_e3.log
>
> Log File : C:\Users\jvalh\robocopy_j_to_e3.log
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> ROBOCOPY :: Robust File Copy for Windows
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> Started : Sat Aug 13 09:58:16 2011
>
> Source : K:\
> Dest : N:\
>
> Files : *.*
>
> Options : *.* /V /TEE /S /E /COPYATSO /DCOPY:T /PURGE /MIR /ZB /NP
> /R:3 /W:2
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> ERROR : You do not have the Backup and Restore Files user rights.
> ***** You need these to perform Backup copies (/B or /ZB).
>
> ERROR : Robocopy ran out of memory, exiting.
> ERROR : Invalid Parameter #%d : "%s"
>
> ERROR : Invalid Job File, Line #%d :"%s"
>
> Started : %hs
>
> Source %c
>
> Dest %c
> Simple Usage :: ROBOCOPY source destination /MIR
>
> source :: Source Directory (drive:\path or
> \\server\share\path).
> destination :: Destination Dir (drive:\path or
> \\server\share\path).
> /MIR :: Mirror a complete directory tree.
>
> For more usage information run ROBOCOPY /?
>
>
> **** /MIR can DELETE files as well as copy them !
>
> C:\Users\jvalh>
> ================================================
> More problems here:
>
> 1 2GB memory is not enough for (greedy!) Robocopy.
> 2 I don't have the authority. This one has problems.
> The computer has two users - a big 'un and a small 'un. Big 'un
> has all the authority but the user interface is totally
> different e.g. no emails at all in T'Bird. Q: Was the big 'un
> sleeping?
>
> I hope this doesn't keep you awake at night Paul :-)
>

All I can tell you is, it works for me, running as Admin.

Some of those parameters in the command, are to preserve
ownership and permissions on the files, so that the
copy is as exact as possible.

If a "little user", tries to transfer files owned by a
"big user", what would you expect the outcome to be ? The
command has to be run with sufficient permissions, to
wrangle the file ownership properly. You wouldn't expect
a limited user, to be trashing the Administrator's files...

The main advantage of robocopy, is asynchronous operation.
It can be reading one disk, and writing the other disk, at
the same time. It makes maximum usage of any hardware
performance you've got. That's why I like it, versus
some kinda copy and paste. If you transfer thousands of
small files, it works as slow as any other transfer method,
because the transfer speed in that case, is affected by
the rate you can move the disk head around.

Paul

On Sat, 13 Aug 2011 08:45:47 +0100, Seum <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>Don Phillipson wrote:
>> "Seum" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>>
>>> I have a folder with about 35GB of data and, after I started
>>> moving file after file, from one column F: to another N:, it seemed very
>>> slow and tedious. I could not select all the files, not even 2 together,
>>> and I thought about renaming the two folders.
>>>
>>> I renamed N with O, but it ended up with (O(N.
>>>
>>> Any safe and quick way to do this?
>>
>> We are not clear about moving files from one "column" to another.
>>
>> Repost saying what methods you used to copy (e.g. Windows
>> Copy, XXCOPY, some Linux utility etc.) with sample times per 1 Gb.
>
>
>One computer with 2 HDs.
>Transfer files from one HD to the other.

I've tried several different programs, including Xcopy, XXcopy and
others, but for use with Win 7, Robocopy seems to work best. In
addition to the fact that it's problem-free, it's advantages are that
it's fast, it's easy to write macros for, and you already have it on
your computer.

If you're still on XP, then probably XXCopy is best.