| XCOPY | |
|---|---|
 The ReactOS xcopy command | |
| Developers | Microsoft, IBM, DR, Datalight, Novell, Rene Ableidinger, ReactOS Contributors |
| Initial release | 1986, 39–40 years ago |
| Operating system | MS-DOS, PC DOS, MSX-DOS, SISNE plus, OS/2, eComStation, ArcaOS, Windows, DR DOS, ROM-DOS, FreeDOS, ReactOS |
| Type | Command |
| License | FreeDOS: GPL ReactOS: LGPL Others: Proprietary |
| Website | docs |
XCOPY is a shell command for copying files and directory trees from one directory to another or across networks. The command was designed to be more functional than the copy command, but to augment it instead of replacing it.
The name, short for extended copy,[1] is often written as XCOPY or xcopy. As was the prevailing style for DOS systems, the name was typically written in all caps when DOS was a prevalent technology and even today in the context of such obsolete systems. In modern times and for modern systems, prevailing style is to write command names in lower case. Since the command's use spans from DOS to current systems, both representations are commonly used.
The command first appeared in DOS 3.2.[2] The command is available on IBM PC DOS, MS-DOS, OS/2,[3] Windows,[4] FreeDOS,[5] ReactOS,[6] and other systems. DR DOS 6.0[7] and ROM-DOS[8] include an implementation of the XCOPY command. The FreeDOS version was developed by Rene Ableidinger and is licensed under the GPL.[9] The ReactOS version was developed J. Edmeades and is licensed under the LGPL.[10]
As stated by the command that ships with Vista (reported via xcopy /?), Microsoft deprecated xcopy in favor of robocopy.[11] But, since the version in the current release of Windows does not state this and the command is still available in Windows long after Vista was released in 2007, deprecation may have been reversed.
Use
Compression
Since Windows Server 2019 and Windows 10, the command supports a /compress option to optimize throughput across a network. With this option enabled, if the destination computer supports Server Message Block (SMB) compression and the files are very compressible (i.e. not already compressed), there may be significant improvements to performance. [12][13]
Deployment
xcopy deployment or xcopy installation describes installing an application via the relatively simply operation of copying files – either using xcopy or another file copying facility. In contrast, many Windows application installations include additional and more complicated operations such as modifying the Windows Registry. Even when an application is implemented using files (that can be installed via a copy operation), many common facilities provided by Windows require registration before they are available to an application. Often, specialized installation tools (such as Windows Installer, InnoSetup, InstallShield, and NSIS) are used to coordinate these relatively complex operations.
Limitations
The command fails with an "insufficient memory" error when the path plus filename is longer than 254 characters.[14] An option "/J" copies files without buffering;[15] moving very large files without the option (available only after Server 2008R2) can consume all available RAM on a system.
The command will not copy files that are being held open by another process.[16] The command does not support the Windows Volume Shadow Copy service which allows processes to access open files. Therefore, the command is not useful for backing up live systems.
Example
Create a new directory by copying all contents of the existing directory, including any files or subdirectories having the hidden or system attributes and empty directories.
>xcopy e:\existing e:\newcopy /e /i /h
If the pathnames include spaces, they must be enclosed in quotation marks.
>xcopy "D:\Documents and Settings\MY.USERNAME\My Documents\*" "E:\MYBACKUP\My Documents\" /D/E/C/Y
Copy entire drive in to a mapped network drive while ignoring any errors in network restartable mode.
>xcopy *.* z:\Netmirror /E /V /C /F /H /Y /Z 1>out.txt 2>err.txt
Copy a single file without prompt if it is a file or a directory
>cmd /c echo F | xcopy "c:\directory 1\myfile" "c:\directory 2\myfile"
See also
References
- ^ "Windows NT File System Files". Microsoft Help and Support. Microsoft. 2006-11-01.
- ^ Wolverton, Van (2003). Running MS-DOS Version 6.22 (20th Anniversary Edition), 6th Revised edition. Microsoft Press. ISBN 0-7356-1812-7.
- ^ "JaTomes Help - OS/2 Commands". www.jatomes.com. Archived from the original on 2019-04-14.
- ^ Xcopy
- ^ "The FreeDOS Project blog: FreeDOS commands quick-reference". freedos-project.blogspot.com. Archived from the original on 2018-07-22.
- ^ "Reactos/Base/Applications/Cmdutils/Xcopy at master · reactos/Reactos". GitHub.
- ^ DR DOS 6.0 User Guide Optimisation and Configuration Tips
- ^ "Datalight ROM-DOS User's Guide" (PDF). www.datalight.com.
- ^ "FreeDOS 1.2 Updates Package - XCopy (FreeDOS Base)". Ibiblio.org. 2007-09-22. Retrieved 2022-09-08.
- ^ "Reactos/Reactos". GitHub. 26 November 2021.
- ^ Pietrek, Matt (2007-01-16). "Robocopy built into Vista". Under The Hood (an MSDN blog).
- ^ Smith, Russell (27 November 2020). "SMB Compression Lowers Bandwidth and Improves Copy Times in Windows Server and Azure". Petri.
- ^ Output from
xcopy /?in Windows 10 includes "/COMPRESS - Request network compression during file transfer where applicable". - ^ Maciak, Luke (2007-02-05). "Xcopy: Insufficient Memory". Archived from the original on 2018-10-09. Retrieved 2012-02-13.
- ^ "Technet: Xcopy". 2019-05-01.
- ^ CreateFileA function (fileapi.h)
Further reading
- Cooper, Jim (2001). Special Edition Using MS-DOS 6.22, Third Edition. Que Publishing. ISBN 978-0789725738.
- Kathy Ivens; Brian Proffit (1993). OS/2 Inside & Out. Osborne McGraw-Hill. ISBN 978-0078818714.
- John Paul Mueller (2007). Windows Administration at the Command Line for Windows Vista, Windows 2003, Windows XP, and Windows 2000. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0470165799.
External links
- xcopy | Microsoft Docs
- Switches That You Can Use with Xcopy and Xcopy32 Commands, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me
- Xcopy, Microsoft Windows XP
- VariableGHz article depicting CRC errors and XCOPY as a solution Archived 2009-02-07 at the Wayback Machine
- XCOPY Command in a post build event does not execute
- XP_CMDSHELL Does Not Work with XCOPY
- See also Microsoft Product Documentation
- How to deploy an ASP.NET Web application using Xcopy deployment
- .NET Development: Determining When to Use Windows Installer Versus XCOPY
- Visual C++ How to: Deploy using XCopy
