I heard Leo Laporte (an IT expert) say “avoid using copy-paste if possible, it’s a bad way to copy-paste if you want reliability as it’s inherently buggy, Robocopy is much more reliable”
I’d love to get opinions on this. Is copy-paste on File Explorer that buggy an unreliable vs Robocopy? Why?
Here I would discriminate between bulk copying and and copying smaller numbers of files.
Example: If I wished to move many files to an external drive, I would actually prefer to copy them and then delete. That way a partially failed move operation would not leave me in a mess, whereas problems during an extended copy/delete action are easily resolved.
Where some sort of disruption to the copying process may occur, the cited advantage of Robocopy (Robust copy) is:
Naturally, there's nothing stopping MS from including this for file explorer... maybe they will...?Robocopy even works over network sessions that may be subject to disruptions as it has a "resume copy" feature. This comes in very handy when copying large or multiple files over the network.
My personal opinion: He's an idiot
That said, there are times where I prefer robocopy, such as when I specifically want to script an operation or perform certain advanced tasks that you simply cannot do through File Explorer. But File Explorer works just fine within its scope of operation.
Lollhe's more of a presenter than an IT pro.
But his last Podcast with Steve Gibson is very good. Well... Steve, is very good
Yeah totally crap advice. Robocopy has its place but not for general file copying. Who would use a command line text based copy function over the gui of file explorer LOL.My personal opinion: He's an idiot
That said, there are times where I prefer robocopy, such as when I specifically want to script an operation or perform certain advanced tasks that you simply cannot do through File Explorer. But File Explorer works just fine within its scope of operation.
There is a GUI for Robocopy. Then there's Teracopy..
TeraCopy for Windows - Code Sector
- but that's somewhat intrusive so I'm not making any specific recommendation.
And I use neither myself, so these are simply academic observations - as cerberus comments, I just use Windows copy as is. With caution where appropriate as per my first post.
I'm hurt you're saying that about Leo Laporte. I've learned so much from this guy. He makes learning boring stuff a pleasure.My personal opinion: He's an idiot
That said, there are times where I prefer robocopy, such as when I specifically want to script an operation or perform certain advanced tasks that you simply cannot do through File Explorer. But File Explorer works just fine within its scope of operation.
Thanks for your opinion anyway.
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Thanks for your opinions!
LOL. I should have been more specific. I think that one particular opinion was a bit idiotic. I admit, I kinda like the guy a bit myself, but there are some occasions where he simply seems to miss the mark or make some sort of broad assertion with no data to back it up.
I copy huge amounts of data on a daily basis. I probably move around a TB or two EVERY DAY, and a large part of that is done with File Explorer. I can't say that I have ever even once encountered a situation where I had to question whether I ran into some bug because File Explorer didn't do what I expected.
That said, I do also use Robocopy - a LOT! I have a number of more complex tasks where I am copying very specific subdirectories from one location to another and excluding certain folders while at the same time altering file attributes, etc. For these far more complex tasks it simply makes sense to script these operations using Robocopy.
So, my opinion only: I like File Explorer for simplicity, but use Robocopy where more complex operations are needed or scripted operations are needed. In fact, I wrote a program that makes dozens of calls to some very complex Robocopy scripts that often contain a dozen + switches each. There's simply no way I could perform operations that complex with File Explorer.
Sorry if my opinion sounded like a personal attack on Mr. Laporte. That wasn't the way it was meant to come off
Thanks for the info again.
I don't miss out on any of his Tech Guy podcasts. IMHO, his knowledge is very broad, but I haven't found anyone who knows so much about so many subjects and is able to explain so well.
It's true that he's off the mark many times as his knowledge is very broad. I'm a Mac technician and his assertions about Macs are basically correct most of the time.
I'm not sure why he said File Explorer is "buggy" for copying files vs Robocopy, he seems to be wrong there.
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