Backup with Robocopy

Considering my main computer stores important data such as documents, mail, music and more on its single Samsung Spinpoint F1 750GB hard drive with a 600GB data partition, having a backup is essential.

Having tried the built-in backup function when I tested the Windows 7 Release Client was not satisfied with it, although it can make a full operating system drive backup next to backing up data.

Needing a backup solution, looked at not only what tools were already available to me but also what I desired from that backup. Still having a Western Digital 500GB hard drive and Icy Box external enclosure lying about, wanted to use those as backup location. Plus, expected the data on that disk to be readily available should it be connected to another computer.

Eventually a colleague suggested running a simple batch script using Robocopy, so read up on its use at TechRepublic and successfully applied it to back up my data.

Robocopy is included by default into Windows Vista and Windows 7. Primarily designed for reliable mirroring of directories, it does lack a user friendly interface and requires you to create your own custom script including the proper command line options. (Although a version with a graphical interface is apparently available on Microsoft’s Tech Net.)

Nonetheless, creating your own batch file using Robocopy proves fairly straightforward. In all it took me little over 10 minutes to do so, which included testing it and I can now run it by simply clicking the appropriate shortcut on the desktop.
(Alternatively you can program it to run on a schedule using the schedule tasks option.)

While not ideal to back up the Windows system partition with, the advantage of Robocopy is that when selecting the mirroring option, it will create and keep a perfect copy of your data, which was my goal.

Copy + pasting the entire data partition in Windows Explorer was an option if I fancied tying up my computer for hours on end each day or week. If a lot of data is involved, Robocopy in mirror mode will only require a significant amount of time when you run it first, on the following runs will only copy those files that are new or have been changed. You can also set Robocopy to keep a log file, which can be handy.

While it has disadvantages over more elaborate backup software tools, Robocopy does the job for me and while some may feel reluctant about the initial hurdle of creating a batch with command options, it’s a challenge easily overcome using the TechRepublic article as a guide.