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#11
Win10 User, If you're not going to use a professional tool like Paragon, then both Bree & "slicendice" have given you some great options for backing up directories and files. Sorry, we can't offer much info or thoughts on SyncToy, save to say it is Microsoft, and it might be a great option for you; however we don't use any Sync features at all, and disable the ability to sync data on our systems in general for security.
With xCopy - Be sure to use it with the following switches in Command Line to keep the Permissions, Ownerships, Auditing Information, etc.
EXAMPLE xCopy in Command Prompt:
xcopy /x /k /b /e /g /f c:\xdrivedata\*.* x:\drivedata
Be careful with the " /g " switch because that will allow copying of encrypted data to a destination that doesn't support encryption, and will cause the encryption on those same files to be lost at the point they're copied to. The original files will keep their encryption. Sometimes it is necessary to use the " /g " switch, but other times not. When and when not to use the " /g " switch is strictly at your discretion.
With RoboCopy, just be mindful of the following from the Wiki Bree was kind enough to post the most, because there may be cases when you want to use xCopy or a professional tool that allows for more precision control:
[BEGINS QUOTE FROM WIKI];
Folder copier, not file copier[edit]
Robocopy syntax is markedly different from standard copy commands, as it accepts only folder names as its source and destination arguments. File names and wild-card characters (such as "*.*") are not valid source or destination arguments.
However, files may be selected or excluded using the optional "file" filtering argument (which may include wildcards) along with various other options.[14] File specifications can refer only to the filenames relative to the folders already selected for copying. Fully qualified path names are not supported.
For example, to copy the file foo.txt from directory c:\bar to c:\baz, one could use the following syntax:
robocopy c:\bar c:\baz foo.txt
And to copy only PDF files — with file extension .pdf — from directory c:\bar to c:\baz, one could use the following syntax:
robocopy c:\bar c:\baz *.pdf
;[ENDS QUOTE FROM WIKI]
A lot of great ideas and preventative maintenance leads here, and definitely plenty of options to choose from.
Best of Luck,
SLI - IT-IS Team
Last edited by StepLadderInc; 07 Apr 2018 at 06:43.