Will XP Backup copy files Uncompressed to another disk?

[Mel_3]

I'm need to move 60 GB of files from one disk to another.

The copy command bombs when file names are to long and it takes forever to
find them all and correct the problem.

I had a 3rd party backup program but it was on the hard disk that died and
the vendor won't respond so I can reinstall it on a new disk to recover the
data.

The files are not compressed... just 60GB's of files.

Never used the XP backup program... will it let you do a backup (copy, move,
recover, etc) without compressing the files?

What alternatives may exist for moving uncompressed files without having to
worry about file name length?

Thanks for any help.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

I'm need to move 60 GB of files from one disk to another.

The copy command bombs when file names are to long and it takes forever to
find them all and correct the problem.

I had a 3rd party backup program but it was on the hard disk that died and
the vendor won't respond so I can reinstall it on a new disk to recover
the
data.

The files are not compressed... just 60GB's of files.

Never used the XP backup program... will it let you do a backup (copy,
move,
recover, etc) without compressing the files?

What alternatives may exist for moving uncompressed files without having
to
worry about file name length?

Thanks for any help.

Can you be a little more specific and explain what exactly you
mean with "The copy command bombs"?

 

[Mel_3]

- If file names are to long Windows pops up a window and tells me "file name
to long" or some such... I click OK and the copy stops.
- At this point some of the files have copied and some have not...
- There is no way to tell where to "resume" the copy.
- There is no way to tell which file name is to long.
- With thousands of files and folders a search is virtually impossible.
- It could be a combination of path+file name but it doesn't matter... we
have the files on a disk and need to move them to another disk... 60GB worth

- And we want to find a backup utility that will backup complete
folder/directory structures or hard disk without compressing the files.

My question is this... Will the Windows XP backup program allow me to backup
(or recover) files without compressing them?

Thanks for any help.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

ntbackup.exe supports file+path lengths of up to around 32,000
characters, but so does robocopy.exe Version XP010, which is
far easier to use than ntbackup.exe. You can download it from
the Microsoft site.

You should refrain from having such long file/folder names and
place your information into the files themselves.

Note that the preferred method for cloning a disk is, well, a
cloning tool. Most disk manufacturers make them available on
their web site free of charge.

 

[Mel_3]

robocopy is a free Microsoft utility ?

ntbackup.exe supports file+path lengths of up to around 32,000
characters, but so does robocopy.exe Version XP010, which is
far easier to use than ntbackup.exe. You can download it from
the Microsoft site.

You should refrain from having such long file/folder names and
place your information into the files themselves.

Note that the preferred method for cloning a disk is, well, a
cloning tool. Most disk manufacturers make them available on
their web site free of charge.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Yes.

robocopy is a free Microsoft utility ?

 

[Mel_3]

Downloaded Robocopy as part of the Resources Kit Tools... but can't find a
direct link to Robocopy GUI... TechNet takes me to a screen showing 2008,
2008, 2006, when I try to find the download... maybe you can use the site
better than me and help me find a link to the actual GUI download.

Thanks for the help Pegasus.

Mel_3

PS - Never did find out if the standard XP backup program would only backup
to compressed format... or if it would let you backup 'uncompressed' files.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Sorry, I only use the command line version of robocopy. It's no
big deal using it:

robocpy /s c: q: *.*

To see all available switches, type robocopy /? | more

 

[HeyBub]

I'm need to move 60 GB of files from one disk to another.

The copy command bombs when file names are to long and it takes
forever to find them all and correct the problem.

I had a 3rd party backup program but it was on the hard disk that
died and the vendor won't respond so I can reinstall it on a new disk
to recover the data.

The files are not compressed... just 60GB's of files.

Never used the XP backup program... will it let you do a backup
(copy, move, recover, etc) without compressing the files?

What alternatives may exist for moving uncompressed files without
having to worry about file name length?

Thanks for any help.

COPY C:\MYFOLDER\MY FILE.DOC D:\HERE\MY FILE.DOC

is a way different command than

COPY "C:\MYFOLDER\MY FILE.DOC" "D:\HERE\MY FILE.DOC"

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

COPY C:\MYFOLDER\MY FILE.DOC D:\HERE\MY FILE.DOC

is a way different command than

COPY "C:\MYFOLDER\MY FILE.DOC" "D:\HERE\MY FILE.DOC"

The issue you touch on relates to file/folder names with embedded
spaces. It has nothing to do with the OP's issue of excessively long
file+folder names.

 

[Mel_3]

In what way is it different? I see the quote marks but didn't think you could
do that at the command line. Thanks for any education.

 

[Donald Anadell]

Downloaded Robocopy as part of the Resources Kit Tools... but can't find a
direct link to Robocopy GUI... TechNet takes me to a screen showing 2008,
2008, 2006, when I try to find the download... maybe you can use the site
better than me and help me find a link to the actual GUI download.

You should be able to download RoboCopy GUI using this link:
http://download.microsoft.com/downl...8546-25c359cc0842/UtilitySpotlight2006_11.exe
Keep in mind that you must have Microsoft .NET Framework version 2.0
installed prior to installing RoboCopy GUI.

Good luck,

Donald Anadell

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

In what way is it different? I see the quote marks but didn't think you
could
do that at the command line. Thanks for any education.

You can always surround your folder/file names with double
quotes when working at the Command Prompt. You MUST
do it when the folder/file name contains embedded spaces.

 

[HeyBub]

In what way is it different? I see the quote marks but didn't think
you could do that at the command line. Thanks for any education.

How does copy parse?
COPY MY FILE JONES

It thinks to itself:
1. Get ready to find the file "MY",
2. Then get ready to copy and rename it to "FILE"
3. WTF is "JONES"?
4. Display "The syntax of the command is illegal"
5. Go away.

Command line parameters are delimited by the SPACE character. However, any
SPACES within double-quotes are ignored when looking for the parameter
delimiters.

 

[Twayne]

I'm need to move 60 GB of files from one disk to another.

The copy command bombs when file names are to long and it takes
forever to find them all and correct the problem.

I had a 3rd party backup program but it was on the hard disk that
died and the vendor won't respond so I can reinstall it on a new disk
to recover the data.

The files are not compressed... just 60GB's of files.

Never used the XP backup program... will it let you do a backup
(copy, move, recover, etc) without compressing the files?

Yes. One of the complaints about ntbackup in fact, is that it won't
compress the backups. They will however all be in one file, exactly as
any backup would be. And long filenames aren't a problem; you just give
it permission to sort them out when asked.

What alternatives may exist for moving uncompressed files without
having to worry about file name length?

If you're just looking to simply copy files, have a look at either xcopy
or xxcopy, an xcopy superset located at xxcopy.com.

Hope I understood what you need.

 

[Mel_3]

How can I check which version of the .NET Framework I have on an XP PC ?
Thanks.

 

[Mel_3]

Who produces xcopy or xxcopy? I got stuck in this when I used a neat backup
program I acquired on line... but after they were paid they no longer
responded to help request.

What we liked about that program is we could instruct it to simply copy the
hard disk or desired folders/directories to another disk... so they all
remained seperate files in their respective folders... they were not all put
into one big 'backup' file... Since disk space is so inexpensive we selected
to just have the daily backups done that way for easy access/use from any PC.

Thanks again for the help.

 

[Jim]

Who produces xcopy or xxcopy? I got stuck in this when I used a neat
backup
program I acquired on line... but after they were paid they no longer
responded to help request.

What we liked about that program is we could instruct it to simply copy
the
hard disk or desired folders/directories to another disk... so they all
remained seperate files in their respective folders... they were not all
put
into one big 'backup' file... Since disk space is so inexpensive we
selected
to just have the daily backups done that way for easy access/use from any
PC.

Thanks again for the help.

MS supports xcopy. I don't know about xxcopy.
Help & Support has a description of how to use xcopy.
Jim

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

How can I check which version of the .NET Framework I have on an XP PC ?

You should, and probably do, have more than one version. Different
programs written with different versions of .net need different
versions of the .net framework.

But in general, there's no need to worry about this at all. If you try
to run a program that needs a particular version and you don't have
it, the program will let you know, and you can download it then.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Who produces xcopy or xxcopy? I got stuck in this when I used a neat
backup
program I acquired on line... but after they were paid they no longer
responded to help request.

What we liked about that program is we could instruct it to simply copy
the
hard disk or desired folders/directories to another disk... so they all
remained seperate files in their respective folders... they were not all
put
into one big 'backup' file... Since disk space is so inexpensive we
selected
to just have the daily backups done that way for easy access/use from any
PC.

Thanks again for the help.

MS does not only support xcopy.exe, as Jim suggests, it is
actually a native Windows command.

xxcopy.exe is a third-party command. Type this line into a
Google search window to find its author:
download xxcopy.exe

These days robocopy.exe is the preferred command for copying
large amounts of information. However, it will not copy files that
are currently locked (e.g. registry files).