Backups with xcopy and batch files

Adam Lowe
May 31, 2009

I. Why use xcopy and batch files for backups?
II. Using xcopy
III. Batch Files
IV. Creating a log file
V. Automating Backups
VI. Additional Notes
A. Video Guide

I. Why use xcopy and batch files for backups?

You will be reading how to create a batch file using xcopy to backup files on your computer. It will detail an explanation of what xcopy and a batch file are. You will be guided through creating a batch file that when run will copy files from folders you have selected from your PC to an external media, how to have this backup run on startup and login, how to schedule it to run regularly, and creating a log file after each backup.

The target audience for this is desktop techs and tech enthusiasts.

There's a lot to take into consideration when assessing backup needs. This method is not suitable for all scenarios.

This can be used on just about any Windows computer.

The backup that will be detailed here is a single full backup from selected locations on you computer to an external drive. This will serve the purpose of keeping an additional copy of vital data in the event of data loss of your original files. This backup method is not ideal for backing up entire systems, keeping track and monitoring several backups, and there are no incremental or differential backups.

There are some benefits to this method of backing up over more comprehensive solutions. It does not cost money or require additional software beyond what is available on every Windows PC. It requires very little technical knowledge to setup. It requires very little technical knowledge for users. Because this only performs the most basic of backup functions, it is very simple for users to understand and backed up files are easily accessible.

II. Using xcopy

xcopy is a command that allows you to copy files from one location to another. You can use the xcopy command in the Command Prompt.

Access the Command Prompt:

Start > All Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt

At the Command Prompt, you now enter the xcopy command. xcopy requires two parameters: what you wish to copy and where you want to copy it to. So using xcopy, you would enter something like this:

xcopy "c:\folder1" "c:\folder2"

In this example, you would be copying the contents of folder1 to folder2.

You can change the way xcopy works by adding switches to the command. Switches are options that tell xcopy to do something different in the way it copies files. Below is the previous example of xcopy with five switches:

xcopy "c:\folder1" "c:\folder2" /E /V /C /Y /F

In the below table, you will see eight switches that we will be using.

E	Copies any subfolder, even if it is empty.
V	Verifies each new file.
C	Continues copying even if erors occur.
T	Overwrites existing files without prompting you.
F	Displays full source and desitnation file names while copying
G	Allows the copying of encrypted files to destination that does not support encryption.
H	Copies hidden and system files.
R	Overwrites read-only files

III. Batch Files

Using xcopy, we can backup our files to another location. However, it would be cumbersom to have to type out the whole command, parameters, and switches every time we wanted to backup. This is where batch files come into the picture. A batch file is a text document that contains the commands we wish to execute. So instead of typing out one or several long commands, they can all be typed into a single batch file and run by double-clicking an icon.

We will be making a batch file using Notepad. Open Notepad from the following location:

Start > All Programs > Accessories > Notepad

Once Notepad is open, enter in the xcopy command that will be performing our backup. At this stage, we will assume you want to backup a folder on your C: drive called finance to a folder on your F: drive called backup. The below image shows Notepad with our entire command written out.

Notepad

If you have other folders that you'd need backed up, you could enter a new xcopy command on a new line in the batch file we are creating.

A typical text document in Notepad will have a file extension of .txt. In order to create a batch file, we will save our file in Notepad with the extension .bat. Save the file. We can save it to our Desktop and call it Backup.bat.

Now that we have our batch file created, anytime we double-click to run the fie, it will backup the folder(s) we selected.

IV. Creating a log file

Recall that using the /C switch will tell xcopy to continue copying even if an error occurs. This is one reason why we can benefit from creating a log file that will detail the activity of our backup.

Also recall the /F switch, which tells xcopy to display the full source and destination while copying. This would typically be shown within the Command Prompt window. However, we can redirect that output to a file. We will make a very simple addition to our previous example. The addition is shown in bold below:

xcopy "C:\finance" "F:\backup" /E /V /C /Y /F > "F:\backuplog.txt"

This will create a text file called backuplog.txt. After running our backup, we will be able access this file and confirm every file has been copied and see any errors that may have occurred.

V. Automating Backups

With our Backup.bat file saved to the Desktop, the user can manually perform a backup by running the file. This is particularly useful for users that want to perform a backup after saving an important file. However, we can also make these backups run regularly (daily, weekly, monthly, etc) or even to run the backup every time the user logs in.

There is a special folder in Windows. Any files, shortcuts, or applications that are placed in it will run when the user logs in. The folder is located here:

Start > All Programs > Startup

If you place a copy or shortcut of the Backup.bat in the Startup folder, the backup will run every time the computer starts up. There are two noteworthy potential disadvantages to this. If there is a lot of files to backup, it may take awhile to complete upon login, which may bother some users. And the user may not have backups occurring frequently enough if they rarely log in and out of the computer.

The second option is to schedule the backup to run regularly. This can be performed using Scheduled Tasks which you can access here:

Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Scheduled Tasks

Here you can add a task to be performed regularly.

VI. Additional Notes

Always keep the user in mind and what's best for them. One of the benefits of this method is it's very easy for the user to understand.

Ultimateley, you'll have to make the assessment of what is the ideal backup solution for a given situation. Although not a feature rich solution, the simplicity can actually be a strength. Many users are confused with "what's actually being backed up" and how to retrieve backed up files. With this solution, were a user to be backing up to an external flash drive, they would be able to easily remove it and place it in a fire proof safe. Or were their computer to break, they could take the flash drive to another computer and immediately access their files.

Although a disadvantage in having fewer backups, the simplicity of having only one full backup is much easier to explain to a user. Explaining to an end-user the difference between full, differential, and incremental backups and telling them about the Grandfather-Father-Son backup rotation, or shadow copies in Windows can be very confusing to end-users, may even scare some away from backups, and can be overkill for many situations.

If you have any comments or questions, please contact me at AdamGabeLowe [a] gmail.com.