win 7 not overwriting file on copy

[ryker]

This just happened, not before. win 7-64 ult. set up my other computer on my home network, was by wifi. Now it is by cat5. So I went to copy some files over as I have done a lot of times, and this particular time, it did not overwrite the files, leaving several still in the folder. I had just copied a lot of files over, in different folders, (ms money-firefox-documents), with no problem at all. This time in this folder, (contains .exe docx. files), it copy the files over, but left the ones that were not in the folder anymore, still there. It usually does not do this. It takes them out.

Reason this bothers me, when I copy over financial files, if it did this (which it hasn't-yet), it would create a real mess, some of them being excel files. It would leave figures, possibly, where they should not be.

Any ideas why it did this.

 

[lehnerus2000]

This time in this folder, (contains .exe docx. files), it copy the files over, but left the ones that were not in the folder anymore, still there.

Could you rephrase this part as it is confusing?

Could you post sceenshots (before and after)?

Tutorial
Screenshots and Files - Upload and Post in Seven Forums

 

[ryker]

Could you rephrase this part as it is confusing?

Could you post sceenshots (before and after)?

Can't post pictures, I erased the files manually.

Here's what happened. I have a folder named Win7. In it, it contains many files, a lot of them are .exe files, along with other .pdf. docx, .zip .txt. You can see these in win7 explorer file system. (Not I.E.). There are 15 firefox .exe files, complete installation files for the program I had saved. I decided I did not need them, so on my main computer, I deleted them. What I'm describing, I'm sure you have done. So I did a logon to the other computer, (which contains an exact copy of this folder, Win7), and copied it to the other computer. It copied everything over, except it left the firefox.exe files on the 2nd computer. Since replacing the complete Win7 folder with the copy over it, it should have erased those files, since they were not in the folder being put on the computer. Every other time I have done this, that is what has happened, but not this time.

Think of backing up a folder, it overwrites everything, and puts on the computer just what is backed up or copy to it. The folder after the backup or copy should be the new one, not the new one with files from the old left in it. If I work on an excel financial folder, a folder I already have on the 1st. computer, and it's also on the 2nd computer when I copy it over there for safety, lets says it's called "March Numbers", I work on this file some, and then copy it over to the 2nd computer to replace the same named filed I worked on last time, and yet it copies over but leaves numbers in the file that I had removed from the file I just worked on, on the 1st computer, it would be worthless. It would be coping over the just worked on file, except it would not be overwriting the file on the 2nd computer, it would be combining them with old numbers also. When I copy the file over with the same name, and win7 asked me if I'm sure I want to replace the file, (I'm sure you've seen this before), and I say "yes", I want to replace it, it should be replaced with the one being copied over, exactly. The folder should have been copied over without the firefox files left in there, they should have been erased by the new copy. That didn't happen this time. It left stuff there it should not have.

This is the 1st time I noticed it doing this, after I took the wireless wifi out, and hooked the computers up to be able to talked to each other through the router, by Cat5. Still should have copied and replaced the folder. Any Ideas?

Thanks

 

[strollin]

The behavior you are describing is the way the file system works. If you copy a same named folder over another folder, the file system should notify you that there are duplicate files and ask what you wish to do about them (keep source, keep destination, or keep both which renames the file being copied in from the source). It does not remove files that already exist in the destination folder. It has worked this way since the DOS days prior to Windows as well.

That's simply the way the Windows file system works. If you wish things to work the way you expect, you will need to use syncing software that will keep 2 folders in sync.

Maybe when you did it in the past, you actually used syncing software instead of the Copy command which is why it worked previously?

 

[TechnoMage2016]

Xcopy

For as long as there has been a "Copy" command, it's had some serious limitations.
That's probably why I and millions of other computer guys started using the command, "XCOPY".
I call it 'COPY' on steroids!

I use it for all my data backups, because it's so powerful and has so many user options.

It's always been IN Windows, including Windows 10.

Go to a command prompt, type in "XCOPY /?" (without the quotes) and you'll get a listing of all the
switches that can be used with the XCOPY command.

I'm pretty sure that you'll find it more useful than the 'Copy' command.

Good Luck,
TechnoMage

 

[strollin]

Xcopy is indeed more powerful than the Copy command but it still won't do what the OP wants it to do.