ROBOCOPY - Create Backup Script

How to Create a Backup Script using ROBOCOPY Command​

   Information

There are many paid and free software solutions available to backup critical data and files on a computer system. Many users, however, are unaware of an inbuilt Windows 7 command called ROBOCOPY (Robust File Copy) that allows users to create simple or highly advanced backup strategies.


In its simplist form, ROBOCOPY can be likened to an extension of XCOPY on steroids. Some of the more important features that make ROBOCOPY an attractive backup alternative are:

• multi-threaded copying
• mirroring or synchronisation mode between the destination and source
• automatic retry and copy resumption

The examples shown below are primarily geared towards less experienced users, especially those that are unfamilar with batch file creation and running. More experienced users, however, are welcome to explore some of the advanced functionality offered by ROBOCOPY here:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc733145(WS.10).aspx

and also here:

http://www.theether.net/download/Microsoft/Utilities/robocopy.pdf

or by simply typing robocopy /? at a cmd window prompt.

   Note

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

:note: Creating a BACKUP strategy

The easiest way to use the ROBOCOPY command to create a backup strategy is by creating a batch (.BAT) file. A batch file is a simple text file, that when executed, runs several commands one after the other.

Step 1

Click rb: and in the search box, type notepad. Select Notepad to open up a new blank Notepad document.


Step 2

Type the ROBOCOPY commands into the Notepad document, save it as a .BAT file, and then execute it.

In the example below, I have 3 folders (Data1, Data2, and Data3) containing some data that I wish to backup. One folder is located on E: drive and the other two are located on F: drive. I wish to back these up as follows:

Data1 folder on E: backup to a folder called Backups on G: (external USB drive)
Data2 folder on F: backup to a folder called Backups on G: (external USB drive)
Data3 folder on F: backup to a folder called Backups on Q: (network storage drive)

The general format of the ROBOCOPY command is:

robocopy <source> <destination> <options>

In the empty Notepad document, the simplist form of the command would look like this:

robocopy E:\Data1 G:\Backups\Data1
robocopy F:\Data2 G:\Backups\Data2
robocopy F:\Data3 Q:\Backups\Data3
pause

   Tip

If source or destination paths contain spaces in them, enclose these in double quotes e.g. "C:\My Data\My Music"

Only the source

• E:\Data1
• F:\Data2
• F:\Data3

and the destination

• G:\Backups\Data1
• G:\Backups\Data2
• Q:\Backups\Data3

are mandatory inputs into the ROBOCOPY command.

   Tip

The PAUSE command at the bottom of the .BAT file allows the cmd window to stay open after it has completed to allow me to see the output from ROBOCOPY.

If I save the .BAT file to my Desktop, and run it by double-clicking it, then a cmd window is opened and the .BAT file executes the three ROBOCOPY commands as shown below.

​

The same information is repeated for every ROBOCOPY line in the .BAT file.




In order to utilise some of the powerful functionality in ROBOCOPY, I need to utilise some options in the ROBOCOPY command line. In this next example I want to edit my existing backup strategy such that:

1. All sub-folders within my data folders are backed up, even if they are empty.
2. The backup only copies newer files to my existing backup - this means a faster backup time.
3. The percentage progress counter for copying is not shown - this neatens the overall appearance of the ROBOCOPY information, and creates a smaller log file.
4. The information normally echoed to the cmd window is saved to a log file that I can examine at a later stage.

In order to do this, I need to specify some additional options in my ROBOCOPY commands like this:

robocopy E:\Data1 G:\Backups\Data1 [B][COLOR=red]/e /mir /np /log:backup_log.txt[/COLOR][/B]
robocopy F:\Data2 G:\Backups\Data2 [B][COLOR=red]/e /mir /np /log+:backup_log.txt[/COLOR][/B]
robocopy F:\Data3 Q:\Backups\Data3 [B][COLOR=red]/e /mir /np /log+:backup_log.txt[/COLOR][/B]
pause

Where:
/e = copy all sub-folders, even empty ones
/mir = mirror (check the files in the destination, and only copy newer files)
/np = no progress counter
/log: = create a logfile

   Tip

Note the use of the /log+: option in the 2nd and 3rd line of the .BAT file. This option ensures that the results of the 2nd and 3rd ROBOCOPY are appended to the log file created in the 1st ROBOCOPY line, meaning I only need one log file to capture all the information I backup.

The log file is always saved to the same folder as the .BAT file - in my case, the folder is saved to my Desktop.

Since the output from ROBOCOPY is written to the log file, the cmd window will not display the output from ROBOCOPY. If I wish to have this information written to both the log file and the cmd window for visual tracking of the backup process, then I can add the /tee option to each line in the .BAT file, as shown below.

robocopy E:\Data1 G:\Backups\Data1 /e /mir /np [B][COLOR=red]/te[/COLOR][COLOR=red]e[/COLOR][/B] /log:backup_log.txt
robocopy F:\Data2 G:\Backups\Data2 /e /mir /np [COLOR=red][B]/tee[/B][/COLOR] /log+:backup_log.txt
robocopy F:\Data3 Q:\Backups\Data3 /e /mir /np[COLOR=red][B] /tee[/B][/COLOR] /log+:backup_log.txt
pause

This is an example of the typical output to the the log file - it looks exactly the same as what is echoed to the cmd window.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   ROBOCOPY     ::     Robust File Copy for Windows                              
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Started : Sun Sep 18 23:35:01 2011
   Source : E:\Data1\
     Dest : G:\Backups\Data1\
    Files : *.*
 
  Options : *.* /S /E /COPY:DAT /PURGE /MIR /R:1000000 /W:30 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                    2 E:\Data1\
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
               Total    Copied   Skipped  Mismatch    FAILED    Extras
    Dirs :         1         0         1         0         0         0
   Files :         2         0         2         0         0         0
   Bytes :   442.1 k         0   442.1 k         0         0         0
   Times :   0:00:00   0:00:00                       0:00:00   0:00:00
   Ended : Sun Sep 18 23:35:01 2011

Since one of the data folders I am backing up is being copied across a network, I want to ensure that any possible network outages do not cause some critical files to be skipped in the backup. To do this, I can make use of the /z option in the 3rd line of my .BAT file (backup to my network storage) as shown below.

robocopy E:\Data1 G:\Backups\Data1 /e /mir /np /tee /log:backup_log.txt
robocopy F:\Data2 G:\Backups\Data2 /e /mir /np /tee /log+:backup_log.txt
robocopy F:\Data3 Q:\Backups\Data3 /e /mir /np [B][COLOR=red]/z[/COLOR][/B] /tee /log+:backup_log.txt

This option implements a "retry" for the copying. If I were part way through the copying process, and I lost connection with the network, then ROBOCOPY would automatically restart the copying at the point of failure once the network connection was re-established. It would retrying a million times every 30 seconds (the default settings shown in the image above). The only drawback with this option, is that it can significantly increase the backup time.

ROBOCOPY also has the ability to perform faster multi-threaded copying by simply using the option /mt. I can choose the number of threads to use by specifying a number between 1 and 128 after the /mt option, or if I just specify /mt without a number then the it will use 8 threads by default. In the example below, I use 4 threads to copy to my USB drive, and 8 threads (no number) to copy to my network drive.

robocopy E:\Data1 G:\Backups\Data1 /e /mir /np /tee [B][COLOR=red]/mt:4[/COLOR][/B] /log:backup_log.txt
robocopy F:\Data2 G:\Backups\Data2 /e /mir /np /tee [COLOR=red][B]/mt:4[/B][/COLOR] /log+:backup_log.txt
robocopy F:\Data3 Q:\Backups\Data3 /e /mir /np [COLOR=black]/z[/COLOR] /tee [COLOR=red][B]/mt[/B][/COLOR] /log+:backup_log.txt

Below is a template that you can use to create your own backup strategy using ROBOCOPY. Simply copy and paste the lines into a blank text document, and then edit as appropriate.

rem --- Edit the lines below to create your own backup strategy
rem --- The /mir option has been left out for safety sake
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

   Tip

The can automate your backup's by using the Windows 7 Task Scheduler to run the .BAT file at specific times.

For more information please refer to this tutorial by Orbital Shark:
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/12444-task-scheduler-create-new-task.html

I hope this brief tutorial helps you access the power and simplicity of ROBOCOPY to create some effective backup strategies.

Regards,
Golden

 

[ROBO731]

I'll have a look around and see what I can find. Thanks.

 

[Golden]

Imaging using something like Macrium would probably be a better option.

 

[ROBO731]

Yeah, but I'm not willing to pay for macrium and the free version doesn't let you exclude folders or backup certain folders.

 

[ghadley]

Robocopy Log file Maximum Size

Dear Experts,

I have robocopy running continuously to mirror a folder every X hours. The windows 2008R2 server running the code is set to start the script at startup. Everything appears to be working fine, except the log files are becoming to be gigs big (too big to open with notepad, etc). I can manually stop the process, rename the log file, then the restart the process, but I am looking for a way to programmatically limit the size of the log file. Is this possible? Thanks!

-GH

 

[Golden]

Hi,

Unfortunately, its not possible to limit the size of the logfile - that would defeat the purpose of the the logfile : to log everything it does.

A workaround might be to write to a new logfile every X hours, so you write to several different named logfiles during the course of a day. Perhaps using the date to name the logfile, like this?

SET log_fname=%prefix%%date:~-4,4%%date:~-10,2%%date:~-7,2%.log

Regards,
Golden

 

[Nuno Lopes]

Hi all,

I´ve create a .bat file with the help of this tutorial, to make a backup of a directorie to my Skydrive account, this is the script.

robocopy.exe "C:\Radio\DXLab" "C:\Users\userid\SkyDrive\Radio\DXLab Backups\teste" /e /mir /np /z /tee /log:backup_log.txt

Now what I was trying to do is:

Inside DXLab directorie is an Folder - Luncher, with an Luncher.exe, that lunches 7 applications, and when I terminate the Luncher.exe it terminates all 7 applications.

Now what I wanna do is when Luncher.exe close, the Backup.bat will make the backup of that session.

I've already converted .bat to .exe and the script works good.

Any ideia on how to do this.

Thanks.

 

[Ezra NLV]

How to MOVE deleted file/folder to another location instead of deletin

Hi,

I am hoping if someone can help me with a backup solution I have in mind.

I have a production site and an offsite.
Daily, I want to do a backup from production to offsite.

Challenge is, if files or folders are deleted from source, then the files/folders from destination must be MOVED to a folder in \\OffSiteServer\ShareName1\DELETED\<DateOfBackup>\path structure to file/folder.
Using the purge or mir does not work for me (for the moment) as it just purges off the data from destination. I need to keep the data for several years.

- The idea is to have a snapshot every beginning of the month. (Easy to manage this using \\OffsiteServer\ShareName1\<DateOfBackup>.)
- Next, incremental daily backup using /MAXAGE:1 (Easy to manage this as well using \\OffsiteServer\ShareName1\<DateOfBackup> and /MAXAGE:1)
- But the MOVING of files/folder from destination is something I cannot figure out how to achieve.
- The monthly snapshot is not to be touched as it is a snapshot as at that point in time. A comparison has to be done somehow if a file/folder has been deleted, then copy it from last available backup date to \\OffSiteServer\ShareName1\DELETED\<DateOfBackup>\path structure to file/folder. Additionally, it has to check in the \\OffSiteServer\ShareName1\DELETED subfolders that if it has been deleted already, it should not copy the file/folder into DELETED again (i.e. no multiple copies daily).

No, I do not have a script at the moment as I am lost at this point.

I would appreciate any help anyone can render at this moment.

Thank you all for your kind help.

Best Regards,
Ezra.

 

[vipul19]

robocopy help

Hi all:

Just need a little help with closing the window automatically. I run a .bat file that contains:

robocopy C:\Users\VA\Documents T:\ /mir /maxage:3 /r:0 /w:0 /np /mt /xf Backup-TC /log+:robobackuplog.txt



I would like the window to close automatically when done. Tried adding exit, didn't work. Any help is appreciated!

 

[Golden]

Try using :

start "" robocopy C:\Users\VA\Documents T:\ /mir /maxage:3 /r:0 /w:0 /np /mt /xf Backup-TC /log+:robobackuplog.txt
EXIT

 

[vipul19]

It didn't work...any other ideas?

I attached a screen shot.

Thanks again.

 

[vipul19]

It worked - sorry, I didn't see the "start" on your line.

Thanks!

 

[Golden]

Glad to be of service

 

[BLAU0179]

Robocopy Script

Bill thank for the tutorial. I have a little problem and I would have some suggestion from you. I have done it and it works correctly if I run it in a manual mode. If I automate it as Task Scheduler it does not work. I receive a message (see attached) that the option instruction /log:backup_log.txt is not a valid parameter and the task does not start.
The script should copy from a network drive <P> to a <E> storage drive.
This the script I have done :
robocopy "P:\Archivio Comune" "E:\Backups Archivio Comune" /e /mir /np /z /tee /log:backup_log.txt
I have also modified the option instruction as /log:backup.txt but the result is the same.
Do you have any idea why the it works in manual mode and not as automated Task Scheduled ?
Thank in advance for you help and suggestion.

 

[Golden]

Have you tried running the task with highest privileges?

 

[BLAU0179]

Robocopy

Thank for the immediate replay and thank for the suggestion. Yes with the highest privileges the task works,no error ,it is createed the backup file but does not create the log.txt file in the same folder where there is the script. It may be in an other folder ? Thank a lot.

 

[Golden]

Check the desktop? Is it there?

 

[BLAU0179]

Robocopy

Non in the Desktop. When I run it manually the log.txt is created into the same folder of the script. I did a search in the C:\ but nowhere there is the log.tpx

 

[Golden]

Try this:

robocopy "P:\Archivio Comune" "E:\Backups Archivio Comune" /e /mir /np /z /tee /log: "P:\Archivio Comune\backup_log.txt"

The logfile should now be saved to "P:\Archivio Comune

 

[BLAU0179]

Robocpy

No way. With the last script you sent also in manual mode the backup.txt is not written. In both mode , manual and Task Schedule, the backup file is written but not the log.txt file.

 

[Golden]

Try removing space between log: "P