How do you do this? (should be simple)

mattyj1085

mattyj1085

mattyj1085

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I have 2 folders C:\MP3s and backed up D:\MP3s. I have ripped a few more CDs to C:\ a while ago but forgot which.

Is it possible to update D:\MP3s withough overwriting everything from C:\ or sitting here pressing the no button on each file it tries to overwrite?

This would be useful in general for moving files around and backing up



Thanks
 
Robocopy is a command-line utility which comes with Vista - it's very useful for all kinds of file management. Open up a command prompt, and type "robocopy /?" for a list of options, or just google for it.

The command "robocopy c:\MP3s d:\MP3s /MIR" will create an exact duplicate of your C:\MP3s folder structure at D:\MP3s, but during the copying process it will skip any existing files if they are already identical in both locations.
 
I use Karen's Replicator for this.

You just set up jobs - such as backup files from folder C:\My Docs\Photos to D:\Backed-up photos for example - and then you can set it to run periodically or just when you ask it to. It will just update those files and folders that are different in the source and the destination, and ignore those that don't need updating. You can set it to mirror or ignore deletions on the source folder as well.

It's pretty easy to use and fast. I use to back-up my work, music, photos and apps to my external drive. Would be lost without it, tbh.

Some people prefer Synctoy, but I like Karen's. suits my needs well - and will suit yours too by the sounds of it.
 
Thanks everyone. unfortunately i dont have Vista. i tried sync toy first but didnt like it (just how i dont like anything in windows with 'sync' in the name. it usually takes forever then doesnt work from past experience!

Karens replicator is a great tool. cheers stumpusplunket
 
hmmm, it seems even karens replicator cannot do what i needed really. I moved some mp3s from a folder called C:\MP3s\Sis to C:\MP3s\rock then deleted the Sis folder.
What its doing is deleting all the mp3s in Sis (and the folder) and recreating them in rock, taking ages.

Does any software know how to move mp3s from one place to another or is that too clever?
 
I'm not sure I understand. I may have misunderstood what you're trying to do, but couldn't you just use Karen's to replicate one folder to your desired destination, and then delete the source folder and delete the job from Karen's (if you only set it to run when you tell it to, it won't bother copying things you don't want it to).

Like I say, I may not have quite grasped what you're trying to do here, though.
 
C:\MP3s needs copying exactly to G:\MP3s

There was a folder 'C:\MP3s\Sis' that contained a load of rock music. I moved it from 'C:\MP3s\Sis' to 'C:\MP3s\Rock' and deleted the 'Sis' folder.

Now I want this doing on G:\ so it matches. (Sis folder deleting and moving all the rock to a new folder 'G:\MP3\Rock' where all my backed up rock is)

I dont think I can be done as there is no way of a program knowing that i moved it all and deleted the old folder.


Does this then mean everytime I move files to a different folder on C:\MP3s that it will remove them on G:\MP3s and recopy them?
 
It will if you set the program to mirror deletions on the source. Basically this means that every time you delete a file in the source folder, it will delete it in the destination folder as well. But you can just uncheck this box when setting up a job. If you do this, it will just ignore deletions and leave the files intact in the destination folder. But this doesn't sound like what you want to do, either.

For what you want to do there's no simple way around, I don't think, without letting the app do its usual copying routine, which you say is taking too long. KR will work for this type of task, but it will also do it the way you describe: deleting from one sub-folder and then copying from the source to the new sub-folder.

I just leave KR running when I go to bed when I've made substantial changes to my file structure like this. It can sometimes take a while, but then most changes aren't so substantial and run much quicker. Sorry, but I can't think of anything else to suggest.
 
Thanks i thought this. I will just setup the folders first and try to not move things around too much. I let it run and its done its job.

There is no way for a program to know where you want things to go, unless it scans every filename in the folder and then moves them around to match the source. Maybe there is a program out there that can do this, maybe not.
 
mattyj1085 said:
robocopy? Is this a program?

Will this also create and delete folders to match what i did on C: and then move the tracks around?
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Yes. And yes. Very good program. :)

mattyj1085 said:
Thanks everyone. unfortunately i dont have Vista. i tried sync toy first but didnt like it (just how i dont like anything in windows with 'sync' in the name. it usually takes forever then doesnt work from past experience!

Karens replicator is a great tool. cheers stumpusplunket
Click to expand...
Robocopy comes supplied with Vista but you can get it for XP. There's also a pretty decent guide from MS in a Word file. Takes a while to read through it and understand what it tells you and what flags to use but it is doable. And worth it. :)

Download the Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools and run the installer and then get the robocopy.exe from installation location folder. The documentation is included in the download. If you need any help writing an actual Robocopy batch script reply here or add me to MSN. :)
 
MarcLister said:
Download the Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools and run the installer and then get the robocopy.exe from installation location folder.
Click to expand...
You can also get Robocopy for XP here (along with a nice GUI if you need it), without having to install the full Resource Kit.

I have a feeling it may actually be possible to do what the OP wants using Robocopy (and other command-line tools), but it will inevitably need a fairly complicated batch script (a recursive "for" command?), and I doubt if it would run very quickly due to all the scanning and comparing which would be involved. Also, I'm a bit reluctant to set off down that road, as I'll probably end up in the wee small hours of the morning still trying to make it work... :D
 
CaptainCrash said:
You can also get Robocopy for XP here (along with a nice GUI if you need it), without having to install the full Resource Kit.
Click to expand...
GUI rubbish. :) Notepad++ is the way to go. :cool:

CaptainCrash said:
I have a feeling it may actually be possible to do what the OP wants using Robocopy (and other command-line tools), but it will inevitably need a fairly complicated batch script (a recursive "for" command?), and I doubt if it would run very quickly due to all the scanning and comparing which would be involved.
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Yes, would either be a batch script with many commands or several batch scripts each being run by a master batch script.

CaptainCrash said:
Also, I'm a bit reluctant to set off down that road, as I'll probably end up in the wee small hours of the morning still trying to make it work... :D
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You and me both! :o
 
mattyj1085 said:
I have 2 folders C:\MP3s and backed up D:\MP3s. I have ripped a few more CDs to C:\ a while ago but forgot which.

Is it possible to update D:\MP3s withough overwriting everything from C:\ or sitting here pressing the no button on each file it tries to overwrite?

This would be useful in general for moving files around and backing up



Thanks
Click to expand...

If I understand your question, then you're talking about synchronising folders up? If this is the case then Dsynchronize is your best friend! http://dimio.altervista.org/eng/ (half way down)

It can easily sync up to folders, ignorning files that are already copied, removing ones that are no longer in the source folder etc etc. Infact I use if for exactly what you're describing to backup my music to a USB drive.

I also use it backup my pictures and my mail and my data folders! It's the best sychronising app I've found!
 
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NeilFawcett said:
Interesting! Can it ignore files already copied etc? - ie: It will not copy all your 10,000 pictures, only the 5 new ones you added?
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Yes I think it does. It scans through and sees what is already in the destination folder and only takes from the source folder what is NOT present in the destination folder.

Robocopy guide said:
If you require the destination directory tree to be maintained as an exact mirror of the source directory tree, you must delete files and directories from the destination whenever they disappear from the source. To accomplish this, use the /E and /PURGE switches in combination, or use the /MIR switch
Click to expand...
 
MarcLister said:
Yes I think it does. It scans through and sees what is already in the destination folder and only takes from the source folder what is NOT present in the destination folder.
Click to expand...

Sounds like it matches DSychronize at least in those main features then.

I'd still recommend Dsychronise if only because I suspect it's easier to configure/maintain and you get a GUI of the updates!
 
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