ROBOCOPY - Create Backup Script

frajoti · Feb 22, 2016

Hi,

I was looking for a simple backup programm, utility, ... to backup my files. The program should be portable. I like to backup one time all files (full backup) and then for the next seven times the difference (differential or incremental backup).

I tried to tweak robocopy to make differential backups. With the option /MAXAGE I think I found a solution even if it's not a real differential backup because it's based only on date and not on date and time.

I took the script from Post 13 and modified it.

Some explanations:

robocopy didn't work correctly without administrator privileges. So I check that with fsutil.
I would like to use TARGETDIR as a variable in for example TARGETFULL. But that didn't work. So I wrote the target directory in all other TARGET variables.
The first time a full backup is made the delete command fails.

Can anybody have a look on my modified script?

Code:

echo off
mode con lines=45 cols=125

:Start
call :isAdmin
if %errorlevel% == 0 (
GOTO Menu
) else (
echo Error: No administrator privileges.
GOTO Quit
)

:isAdmin
fsutil dirty query %systemdrive% >nul
exit /b

:Menu
cls
echo.
echo ******************************
echo *** Robocopy Backup Script ***
echo ******************************
echo.
echo 1 - Run ROBO #1 - Full
echo 2 - Run ROBO #2 - Diff
echo 3 - Exit
echo.
echo ******************************
echo.

set day=%date:~-10,2%
set month=%date:~-7,2%
set year=%date:~-4%

set hour=%time:~-11,2%
set minute=%time:~-8,2%
set second=%time:~-5,2%

set source="<put_source_dir_here>"
set targetdir="<put_target_dir_here>"
set targetfull="<put_target_dir_here>\Full\%year%.%month%.%day%-%hour%.%minute%.%second%"
set targetdiff="<put_target_dir_here>\Diff\%year%.%month%.%day%-%hour%.%minute%.%second%"
set logfilefull="<put_target_dir_here>\%year%.%month%.%day%-%hour%.%minute%.%second%.full.log"
set logfilediff="<put_target_dir_here>\%year%.%month%.%day%-%hour%.%minute%.%second%.diff.log"

SET /P M=Type 1, 2 or 3 then press ENTER: 
IF %M%==1 GOTO Full
IF %M%==2 GOTO Diff
IF %M%==3 GOTO Quit

:Full
del "%targetdir%\*.last_full"
robocopy "%source%" "%targetfull%" /MIR /R:3 /W:3 /V /LOG+:"%logfilefull%" /TEE
type NUL > "%targetdir%\%year%%month%%day%.last_full"
pause
GOTO MENU

:Diff
For /F %%i in ('dir /B %targetdir%\*.last_full') do set last_full=%%~ni
robocopy "%source%" "%targetdiff%" /MAXAGE:%last_full% /R:3 /W:3 /V /LOG+:"%logfilediff%"
pause
GOTO MENU

:Quit
pause

Best regards, Frank

anyoneis · Mar 7, 2016

Watch out for "/MIR"

Nice article! A couple of suggestions:

1. "/MIR" will delete unmatched files and directories on the destination - this may or may not be what you want. It is defined as:
/MIR :: MIRror a directory tree (equivalent to /E plus /PURGE).
(/PURGE :: delete dest files/dirs that no longer exist in source.
/E :: copy subdirectories, including Empty ones.)
2. You may need to use "/XJ" if you are copying certain directories or files based on windows junction points. This will often be needed when you are copying from system-managed directory trees.

David

Sheepdog110 · Mar 22, 2016

I've got a successful batch file using robocopy to back up certain files to an external hard drive and it needs to back up as often as possible. The source is a LONG path on the C drive and the destination is on the D drive.

We have about 12 users who upload their files throughout the day (24/7) and these files are uploaded to the source parent folder. The users then drag and drop their files through a maze of folders about six levels beyond the parent folder.

The problem I'm running into is that Task Scheduler is set to run the batch file every five minutes (the closest thing I could find to an instantaneous backup), which copies the files to whatever folder it happens to be in while users are moving them throughout the directory tree. This creates a lot of clutter. Does anyone know whether you can exclude any files from being copied from those folders until they get to their final destination other than writing a script for each specific folder?

The reason I don't want to do this is because the folders are organized by year, then month, then user ID, then by purpose. This means that I would need to write hundreds of robocopy commands and then update them at least every year. I'd like to avoid that, if at all possible.

EDIT: I have stayed away from /mir because deleting anything is a policy violation and, depending on what is deleted, possibly a violation of law.

EDIT 2: Also, it is against policy to download third party software as well, so that idea is most likely not an option before it gets mentioned. However, admin might bend the rules depending on the software. So if anyone has some good suggestions, that would be great too.

Thanks guys!

apc7468 · Apr 7, 2016

RoboCopy with a Western Digital MyBookLiveDuo

I have tried the simple copy command to test a backup .bat file but i keep getting this error.

ERROR : Invalid Parameter #3 : "\\Z:\[FOLDER NAME]

The MyBookLiveDuo drive is mapped with a public share (Z:\) and a folder that i want to use to back up to. I think that it has something to do with type of drive, i think it uses a different operating system than windows but works with windows, mac, etc.

i am not too versed in all of this type of stuff so I may not even be describing my problem correctly. I am just hoping that someone has run across this before.

Thanks

Sheepdog110 · Apr 8, 2016

Sheepdog110 said:
I've got a successful batch file using robocopy to back up certain files to an external hard drive and it needs to back up as often as possible. The source is a LONG path on the C drive and the destination is on the D drive.

We have about 12 users who upload their files throughout the day (24/7) and these files are uploaded to the source parent folder. The users then drag and drop their files through a maze of folders about six levels beyond the parent folder.

The problem I'm running into is that Task Scheduler is set to run the batch file every five minutes (the closest thing I could find to an instantaneous backup), which copies the files to whatever folder it happens to be in while users are moving them throughout the directory tree. This creates a lot of clutter. Does anyone know whether you can exclude any files from being copied from those folders until they get to their final destination other than writing a script for each specific folder?

The reason I don't want to do this is because the folders are organized by year, then month, then user ID, then by purpose. This means that I would need to write hundreds of robocopy commands and then update them at least every year. I'd like to avoid that, if at all possible.

EDIT: I have stayed away from /mir because deleting anything is a policy violation and, depending on what is deleted, possibly a violation of law.

EDIT 2: Also, it is against policy to download third party software as well, so that idea is most likely not an option before it gets mentioned. However, admin might bend the rules depending on the software. So if anyone has some good suggestions, that would be great too.

Thanks guys!

Disregard. I wrote commands for each final destination folder to solve this problem. Works like a charm. I was hoping to avoid that, but it needed to be done ASAP and other options were limited. If anyone knows an answer to this, it might still help someone else.

chmcke01 · May 3, 2016

Something wrong?

Here is my robocopy script I created that "worked" to backup user data to the server but I started it on Friday at around noon and it was still not done when the user came in this morning:

Code:

robocopy "c:\Users\Lamar" "\\grantserver09\Backup\LFowler12" /E /V /XO /XA:H /LOG:"Backup_Log.txt" /FFT /ZB /R:1 /W:1 /tee

So I fixed up a quick XCopy script, emptied the folder on the server so it was a fair comparison, and that finished in about an hour:

Code:

xcopy "c:\Users\Lamar" "\\grantserver09\Backup\LFowler12" /c /d /e /g /i /r /s /y

Is there something wrong with my robocopy script that would cause it to be so slow? I tried it with and without the /MT and it actually seemed to make it slower with it?

essenbe · May 3, 2016

Chmcke01, can you tell me exactly what you are wanting to do? I am no expert with robocopy although I do use it. I am unfamiliar with some of the switches you are using and have not been able to find them. This can give you an idea of the switches and what they do http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/1073.robocopy-and-a-few-examples.aspx

You can also, in the command window use robocopy /? to get all of the options available. The MT command sets the number of threads to be used in the operation, the default being 8. Obviously, the amount of time it takes depends on how much data and they type of files you are copying.

The quotation marks are not necessary unless to folders have spaces in the name. ie., LFowler needs no quotation marks, but L Fowler does need quotation marks.

If we knew exactly what you are trying to do, it may help us. I am sure Golden will be around later this evening and be much better help than I am.

chmcke01 · May 3, 2016

Script

essenbe said:
Chmcke01, can you tell me exactly what you are wanting to do? I am no expert with robocopy although I do use it. I am unfamiliar with some of the switches you are using and have not been able to find them. This can give you an idea of the switches and what they do Robocopy and a Few Examples - TechNet Articles - United States (English) - TechNet Wiki

You can also, in the command window use robocopy /? to get all of the options available. The MT command sets the number of threads to be used in the operation, the default being 8. Obviously, the amount of time it takes depends on how much data and they type of files you are copying.

The quotation marks are not necessary unless to folders have spaces in the name. ie., LFowler needs no quotation marks, but L Fowler does need quotation marks.

If we knew exactly what you are trying to do, it may help us. I am sure Golden will be around later this evening and be much better help than I am.

I provide IT support for a small business with about 5 users each with their own computer. Their last IT guy setup Retrospect backup backing up the user folder to the server and then CrashPlan Pro was installed on the server to backup to their cloud service (because they let you backup an unlimited amount of data on a single computer for $10 per month).

The first problem was that Retrospect doesn't save the data in a format that can be easily viewed to compare the backed up copy to the copy still on the original drive. The next problem was that one of the users got a message that their computer hadn't backed up in a few days so they uninstalled it from the server and reinstalled it but now it is asking for the key which nobody knows.

So, I figured for so few users I could make a basic xcopy script set to run at login and I did and it worked...but several people have told me that robocopy is worlds better than xcopy.

Which switches are you not familiar with? /XA:H excludes hidden files, /fft is Fat File Timing which several sites recommended for transfers over the network, /tee displays output to the cmd window in addition to the log. Without it if you have the log turned on then it looks like nothing is happening in the window and I feared the users would close it out if it didn't look like it was doing anything.

essenbe · May 5, 2016

I am hoping Golden will help with your problem, but for what it's worth, I use the following for my backups

robocopy <source> <destination> /e /mir /np /tee /mt:10 /log:backup_log.txt For your purposes I would add the z switch.

xFiReStOrMx · May 24, 2016

Thanks for all the info.

I am curious however why it states the following:

ROBOCOPY is a FOLDER copier, not a FILE copier - the source and destination syntax arguments in ROBOCOPY can only be folder names.

This is totally false and ROBOCOPY can absoltutely copy single files.

To copy files you simply add the source file after the desination folder. For Example:

ROBOCOPY "source folder" "destination folder" "file from source folder" /DCOPY:T /COPY:DAT /E

It's also easy to batch copy many files by creating a .bat with each line one after the other. Don't call the file robocopy though or it will just run an endless loop.

BTW is /DCOPY:T redundant when using /COPY:DAT ? I assume it is, but it's never caused ant issues so I've always just used them both.

Regards,

Alan.

essenbe · May 24, 2016

Alan, robocopy is a folder copier. It copies one folder to another folder. The switches allow you to determine what is copied. In your post above

ROBOCOPY "source folder" "destination folder"

You are copying "Source Folder" to "Destination Folder", both being folders. The switches determine what is copied. a /mir switch will copy the folder and all contents ie. mirror. Of course it copies the files inside the folder. It would make little sense to copy an empty folder without the files and folders inside too.

The default copy flags is DAT, DCOPY:T copies the directory time stamps. Whether it also copies the Security and attributes, I don't know as I don't use them. My guess is that they would be somewhat different. Every command seems to be somewhat different.

xFiReStOrMx · May 24, 2016

Thank you for your reply. I am quite aware of this, however I am simply pointing out that the NOTE is wrong. It plainly states that "the source and destination syntax arguments in ROBOCOPY can only be folder names." which is wrong, you can also add a syntax for a specific file.

There is other uses to ROBOCOPY than just copying the entire flolder, sometimes its useful to copy specific files only and also use ROBOCOPY's features, it's syntaxes.

Regards,

Alan

essenbe · May 24, 2016

xFiReStOrMx said:
Thank you for your reply. I am quite aware of this, however I am simply pointing out that the NOTE is wrong. It plainly states that "the source and destination syntax arguments in ROBOCOPY can only be folder names." which is wrong, you can also add a syntax for a specific file.

There is other uses to ROBOCOPY than just copying the entire flolder, sometimes its useful to copy specific files only and also use ROBOCOPY's features, it's syntaxes.

Regards,

Alan

Correct, that's why I said

The switches determine what is copied

It is still copied one folder to another folder, the switches determined what type files are or are not copied.

xFiReStOrMx · May 24, 2016

Fair enough. I am only pointing out that it can be used to copy specific files instead of whole folders. I use this sometimes to copy multiple specific files (for example files I want to keep data on i.e. using the DAT).

d95gas · Jun 27, 2016

Cry for help ..... and I know I should go through all 28 pages again as I think the answer is probably here, but having had a skim through, I cannot see it.

Looking to use Robocopy to backup c:\SOURCE to :d:\SOURCE with date

I would want a different folder for each night, either in dd/mm/yy format or even just day of the week "Monday, Tuesday, etc" on a 4 week cycle.

I have tried various things but all seem to fail, as the data is critical and I am up against the clock, I thought I would just ask the question and see what comes back.

Many thanks

Pyprohly · Jul 1, 2016

D95gas,

Your batch file can do that. All you need to get the script to do is create a folder with the desired date, then perform a Robocopy to that folder.

Here’s something you may modify to your liking.

Code:

@echo off
setlocal EnableDelayedExpansion

set "source=C:\SOURCE"
set "destination=D:\SOURCE"
set "destination_new_foldername=`YEAR-`MONTH-`DAY"

goto :main
:GetUTCDateTime
setlocal EnableDelayedExpansion
	for /f "delims=" %%D in (' wmic OS get LocalDateTime ^| find "." ') do (
		set "dt=%%~D"
		set "DATETIME.YEAR=!DT:~0,4!"
		set "DATETIME.MONTH=!DT:~4,2!"
		set "DATETIME.DAY=!DT:~6,2!"
		set "DATETIME.HOUR=!DT:~8,2!"
		set "DATETIME.MINUTE=!DT:~10,2!"
		set "DATETIME.SECOND=!DT:~12,2!"
		set "DATETIME.FRACTIONS=!DT:~15,6!"
		set "DATETIME.OFFSET=!DT:~21,4!"
		if "%DATETIME.HOUR%" gtr "11" (set DATETIME.PERIOD=PM) else set "DATETIME.PERIOD=AM"
	)
	for /f "delims=" %%I in (' date /t ') do (
		set "dayofweek=%%~I"
		set "DATETIME.DAYOFWEEK=!DAYOFWEEK:~0,3!"
	)
endlocal & (
	set "DATETIME.YEAR=%DATETIME.YEAR%"
	set "DATETIME.MONTH=%DATETIME.MONTH%"
	set "DATETIME.DAY=%DATETIME.DAY%"
	set "DATETIME.HOUR=%DATETIME.HOUR%"
	set "DATETIME.MINUTE=%DATETIME.MINUTE%"
	set "DATETIME.SECOND=%DATETIME.SECOND%"
	set "DATETIME.FRACTIONS=%DATETIME.FRACTIONS%"
	set "DATETIME.OFFSET=%DATETIME.OFFSET%"
	set "DATETIME.PERIOD=%DATETIME.PERIOD%"
	set "DATETIME.DAYOFWEEK=%DATETIME.DAYOFWEEK%"
)
goto :eof

:main

if not exist "%SOURCE%"\* echo Source location not found& exit /b 1
if not exist "%DESTIN%"\* echo Destination location not found& exit /b 1

call :GetUTCDateTime
for %%I in (`YEAR `MONTH `DAY `HOUR `MINUTE `SECOND `FRACTIONS `OFFSET `PERIOD) do (
	set "timeunit=%%~I"
	call call set "destination_new_foldername=!DESTINATION_NEW_FOLDERNAME:%%~I=%%%%DATETIME.%%TIMEUNIT:~1%%%%%%!"
)

if exist "%DESTINATION%\%DESTINATION_NEW_FOLDERNAME%"\* (
	echo Destination folder already contains a folder with name "%DESTINATION_NEW_FOLDERNAME%"
	exit /b 1
)

robocopy "%SOURCE%" "%DESTINATION%\%DESTINATION_NEW_FOLDERNAME%"

xFiReStOrMx said:
I am curious however why it states the following:

ROBOCOPY is a FOLDER copier, not a FILE copier - the source and destination syntax arguments in ROBOCOPY can only be folder names.

Click to expand...

This is totally false and ROBOCOPY can absoltutely copy single files.

Good catch of detail. While the text in blue is a correct statement, I agree that calling Robocopy a folder copier is not right. Robocopy most definitely has the capability to copy single files, so calling the tool a folder copier would certainly be misleading.

chrishammond · Oct 7, 2016

Robocopy & Nas to External USB 2tb HDD

First of all thanks so much for an excellent tutorial - I'm wondering if there is a way of using robocopy or another batch file to run backups from a NAS to an external USB

Let me explain... (long winded I apologise)

Recently a friend has been hit with locky variant .odin - and like a jack*ss backups never get done

The old excuse 'no time' or 'I'll do it tomorrow' :party:

(I think he's a party animal) He uses a programme to backup the systems weekly to the NAS - (came free with the device) but relies on him plugging in the external drive and dragging/dropping files onto said external system...

I would assume that robocopy would (if the network drive was mapped) be able to find the files and then back them up without him having to do a lot of stuff

Now herein lies a problem - the only batch file I have ever edited was a simple one line affair that listed contents of a directory (you had to drop the bat into the file you wanted to list - then it would run alphabetical list and add filelist.txt and a few other things to the directory) and the only programming skill he has is the microwave oven

I'm not asking for a custom script (though it would be appreciated) but I do want to have a go at doing it myself as then I can also use it with a few alterations for myself

:huh:

I swear if I ever meet the b*stards I'd rip them a few more holes :devil::devil::devil::devil::devil::devil:

I forgot one important detail - the NAS is used by computers in almost every room ( i dont think he has one in the loo) and needs to be seen on the network

Pyprohly · Oct 8, 2016

chrishammond said:
Now herein lies a problem - the only batch file I have ever edited was a simple one line affair that listed contents of a directory (you had to drop the bat into the file you wanted to list - then it would run alphabetical list and add filelist.txt and a few other things to the directory) and the only programming skill he has is the microwave oven

Lucky you, the Robocopy command requires only one line by default.

So what’s the problem? :sarc:

essenbe · Oct 8, 2016

This may help for the batch file or command

Code:

rem --- Edit the lines below to create your own backup strategy
rem --- Add more lines for each new folder requiring backup
rem --- Specified 4 threads to use for multi-threaded copying
rem --- The results of the backup can be found in my_backup_log.txt 
robocopy <source> <destination> /e /np /tee /mt:4 /log:my_backup_log.txt
robocopy <source> <destination> /e /np /tee /mt:4 /log+:my_backup_log.txt
robocopy <source> <destination> /e /np /tee /mt:4 /log+:my_backup_log.txt
pause

You can save the command to notepad and give it a name with the .bat extension and it will create a batch file. This one of my data backup files I use.

Code:

echo
robocopy E:\users X:\Robocopy_W10_Data /e /mir /np /tee /mt:10 /log:backup_log.txt
pause

Name it Robocopy.bat and it will be a batch file. Just click it and it will run. You can automate it if you want by adding a nw Task in Task Scheduler Task Scheduler - Create New Task

Pyprohly · Oct 8, 2016

essenbe said:
Name it Robocopy.bat and it will be a batch file. Just click it and it will run.

Except don’t name it “Robocopy” or big problems.

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