Solved New Computer: File Backup and Transfer Using RoboCopy

Stecyk · Jan 8, 2023

Because I am new to this board, please forgive my blunders and help me become better.

I am getting a new computer this week and am wanting to map out my strategy for transferring data and one program. While I am not a complete newbie, my technical skills are at the lower end of the spectrum. So I want to clarify my process before I begin.

Some of my data is stored on OneDrive, and I will create a separate thread about my data on OneDrive. The transfer of that data will be treated separately from what I am discussing in this thread.

On my current Windows 10 computer, I have three drives: C, S, and T.

C: Operating system
S: Documents
T: Media file

I want to back them up to a separate standalone disk drive using Robocopy. I am primarily interested in data, as opposed to program, with one exception. The one exception program is thinkorswim, a trading platform that is written in java. All my customizations are stored in various files and folders located in the following folder:

C:\Program Files\thinkorswim

For this one program, my plan is to install thinkorswim fresh so that Windows properly registers the app and creates the desktop icon. Then, I want replace the new contents of the thinkorswim directory with my backed up thinkorswim directory. More on the thinkorswim restoration to come soon.

@Try3 provided information in another thread that seems helpful to me and my situation.

Code:

RoboCopy "Z:\wherever" "C:\Users\%UserName%\wherever" /S /R:10 /MT:32 /DCOPY:DAT /XA:SH /MIR

So if I want to copy my C drive, I would use the following to copy to a standalone Drive F:

Code:

Robocopy "C:\" "F:\CDrive\" /S /R:10 /MT:32 /DCOPY:DAT

Similarly, for S drive:

Code:

Robocopy "S:\" "F:\SDrive\" /S /R:10 /MT:32 /DCOPY:DAT

And T drive would be likewise.

Now that I have the drives completely backed up, I can use these drives to upload the data to my new computer. I would not restore entire drives, just the data. And I would not restore OneDrive. I will let OneDrive handle OneDrive.

As far thinkorswim is concerned, after I have deleted the contents of "C:\Program Files\thinkorswim," I believe that I can use Robocopy to transfer the backed-up folder to the C drive of my new computer. Do I need to change any of the RoboCopy switches? I don't believe so, but I thought I should ask just in case.

Any thoughts or concerns on what I have written?

Thank you!

cereberus · Jan 8, 2023

Stecyk said:
Because I am new to this board, please forgive my blunders and help me become better.

I am getting a new computer this week and am wanting to map out my strategy for transferring data and one program. While I am not a complete newbie, my technical skills are at the lower end of the spectrum. So I want to clarify my process before I begin.

Some of my data is stored on OneDrive, and I will create a separate thread about my data on OneDrive. The transfer of that data will be treated separately from what I am discussing in this thread.

On my current Windows 10 computer, I have three drives: C, S, and T.

C: Operating system
S: Documents
T: Media file

I want to back them up to a separate standalone disk drive using Robocopy. I am primarily interested in data, as opposed to program, with one exception. The one exception program is thinkorswim, a trading platform that is written in java. All my customizations are stored in various files and folders located in the following folder:

C:\Program Files\thinkorswim

For this one program, my plan is to install thinkorswim fresh so that Windows properly registers the app and creates the desktop icon. Then, I want replace the new contents of the thinkorswim directory with my backed up thinkorswim directory. More on the thinkorswim restoration to come soon.

@Try3 provided information in another thread that seems helpful to me and my situation.

Code:

RoboCopy "Z:\wherever" "C:\Users\%UserName%\wherever" /S /R:10 /MT:32 /DCOPY:DAT /XA:SH /MIR

So if I want to copy my C drive, I would use the following to copy to a standalone Drive F:

Code:

Robocopy "C:\" "F:\CDrive\" /S /R:10 /MT:32 /DCOPY:DAT

Similarly, for S drive:

Code:

Robocopy "S:\" "F:\SDrive\" /S /R:10 /MT:32 /DCOPY:DAT

And T drive would be likewise.

Now that I have the drives completely backed up, I can use these drives to upload the data to my new computer. I would not back up entire drives, just the data. And I would not restore OneDrive. I will let OneDrive handle OneDrive.

As far thinkorswim is concerned, after I have deleted the contents of "C:\Program Files\thinkorswim," I believe that I can use Robocopy to transfer the backed-up folder to the C drive of my new computer. Do I need to change any of the RoboCopy switches? I don't believe so, but I thought I should ask just in case.

Any thoughts or concerns on what I have written?

Thank you!

Robocopy is not the right tool to backup up C drive as there are so many hidden files that cannot be simply copied. Also many files will not copy as in use by OS.

You have to use an imaging backup tool like Macrium Reflect Free, or similar.

Stecyk · Jan 8, 2023

cereberus said:
Robocopy is not the right tool to backup up C drive as there are so many hidden files that cannot be simply copied. Also many files will not copy as in use by OS.

You have to use an imaging backup tool like Macrium Reflect Free, or similar.

Thank you, @cereberus, for your comments.

I don't think OS and hidden files are much of a worry to me. I will be using a new computer with a new OS. With the exception of thinkorswim, I will be reinstalling all my software. Any hidden files or others associated with new software is not a concern. So OS and hidden files are not a concern.

My primary concern is data files and thinkorswim. thinkorswim will not be in use when I back it up, so there should not be any issues.

I have Acronis. Yes, I know, many people have issues with the software. I have the business version. Many years ago, I had a huge problem and needed to have an Acronis professional assist. We ended up using XCopy, if I recall correctly, to solve some of the issues. From my quick reading on the internet, RoboCopy seems to have supplanted XCopy, though either is likely sufficient for my purposes.

SIW2 · Jan 8, 2023

you could have a look at Karens replicator.

Karen's Replicator the Backup Utility for Windows v3.7.6 Released May 25, 2020 | Karen's Power Tools | Karen's Software

Automatically backup files, directories, even entire drives! Karen's Replicator copies selected files from one drive/folder to another. Source and Destination folders can reside anywhere on your network.

www.karenware.com

james73 · Jan 8, 2023

I've had issues in the past with RoboCopy not copying all the files it was supposed to.

Stopped using it and started using TeraCopy instead. I've found this to be better.

TeraCopy for Windows - Code Sector

Official site of TeraCopy, a free utility designed to copy files faster and more secure. It can verify copied files to ensure they are identical. It skips bad files during copy, not terminating the entire transfer. Seamless integration with Windows Explorer.

www.codesector.com

Haydon · Jan 8, 2023

james73 said:
I've had issues in the past with RoboCopy not copying all the files it was supposed to.

Stopped using it and started using TeraCopy instead. I've found this to be better.

TeraCopy for Windows - Code Sector

Official site of TeraCopy, a free utility designed to copy files faster and more secure. It can verify copied files to ensure they are identical. It skips bad files during copy, not terminating the entire transfer. Seamless integration with Windows Explorer.

www.codesector.com

Whatever file transfer app you use (RoboCopy, TeraCopy, File and Folder Copy of the paid version of Macrium Reflect, etc.) maybe you can use an analysis app like TreeSize Free to verify whether or not all files and folders of the source have arrived at the destination in good order (at least file and folder counts, and file and folder sizes)

If there is a discrepancy, you could/should drill down, e.g. Documents > My Business > Taxes > Tax year 2020 > Tax document xyz, to find where the discrepancy is, and rectify it with a subsequent detail file/folder transfer.

I think that after a mass transfer, conducting a little audit is reasonable, particularly if it is for a one time data migration.

Winuser · Jan 8, 2023

Stecyk said:
Some of my data is stored on OneDrive, and I will create a separate thread about my data on OneDrive.

Sign into your MS account, done.

Stecyk · Jan 8, 2023

Winuser said:
Sign into your MS account, done.

Please see the following post where I discuss my OneDrive question:

Configuring OneDrive Locations for New PC

I will soon be migrating to a new personal computer. I have the following three OneDrives: one free consumer OneDrive, my own corporate OneDrive, and another corporate OneDrive. My main OneDrive is one of the corporate accounts. The free consumer OneDrive is not used much, and the other...

www.elevenforum.com

Haydon · Jan 9, 2023

@OP I reread the thread and want to echo and amplify the caution voiced further above, i.e. RoboCopy can't copy the C:\ drive in its entirety, it is not designed to do that.

Even RoboCopying the entire C:\Users\username folder without any exclusions is problematic, it is better to use exclusion switches or simpler, to RoboCopy individual library folders C:\Users\username\Documents etc. and that works very, very well.

To see what issues you encounter when copying hidden folders > try copying the hidden folder C:\Users\username\AppData > look at the issues in the log file.

Try3 · Jan 9, 2023

Stecyk said:
So if I want to copy my C drive, I would use the following to copy to a standalone Drive F:

I have no idea why you would even contemplate RoboCopying your C drive.
Everything in your post up until then made sense and I was expecting you to ask about, say, copying those thinkorswim configuration files.

Do note that you might cause problems if you just copied the whole of the thinkorswim folder to your new computer.
You'd need to put some work in to identify which are the configuration files worth bothering with - unless their support site / their user forum provided that information.
I routinely backup & transfer some application configuration files between computers but working out what to do for each one is hard work.
In many cases, the configuration files worth bothering with are inside C:\Users\%UserName%\AppData and not in that Program files folder you mentioned. You'd have to dive down into AppData to find specific files of interest; don't try copying the whole of AppData because it would be a waste of time [if it worked].
In other cases, the configuration is written into the Registry rather than into files.

By the way, the switch you omitted from your examples
/XA:SH
is very useful and I urge you to include it. It will stop you uselessly trying to copy things that will not benefit you at all and that possibly might cause the RoboCopying process to fail or cause problems in the new computer by overwriting their equivalents. I'm thinking of, in particular, the desktop.ini file [Hidden, System file] that affects folder viewing.

All the best,
Denis

james73 · Jan 9, 2023

Try3 said:
Stecyk said:

So if I want to copy my C drive, I would use the following to copy to a standalone Drive F:

Click to expand...

I have no idea why you would even contemplate RoboCopying your C drive.
Everything in your post up until then made sense and I was expecting you to ask about, say, copying those thinkorswim configuration files.

Yeah, just re-read that.

If you want to copy an entire drive, just clone it using something like AOMEI Backupper. The Standard Edition is free for personal use.

I just rebuilt my PC two weeks ago and used this to move all my data to an external drive, then back into my new PC once the build was complete. Never lost a single bit of data.

AOMEI Backupper | Best Backup Software for Windows PC and Server

AOMEI Backupper offers free and affordable data backup & disaster recovery software to protect your computer.

www.aomeitech.com

Haydon · Jan 9, 2023

Yeah, what @Bree has done and promulgated may also work very well in this case: create an image of the old W10 computer with Macrium Reflect, restore the C: partition and data on the S: and T: drives to the new computer > upgrade with WU to W11 with all the files and configured apps intact, very convenient! The 3-fold OneDrive issue can be solved subsequently.

Stecyk · Jan 9, 2023

Try3 said:
I have no idea why you would even contemplate RoboCopying your C drive.
Everything in your post up until then made sense and I was expecting you to ask about, say, copying those thinkorswim configuration files.

Do note that you might cause problems if you just copied the whole of the thinkorswim folder to your new computer.
You'd need to put some work in to identify which are the configuration files worth bothering with - unless their support site / their user forum provided that information.
I routinely backup & transfer some application configuration files between computers but working out what to do for each one is hard work.
In many cases, the configuration files worth bothering with are inside C:\Users\%UserName%\AppData and not in that Program files folder you mentioned. You'd have to dive down into AppData to find specific files of interest; don't try copying the whole of AppData because it would be a waste of time [if it worked].
In other cases, the configuration is written into the Registry rather than into files.

By the way, the switch you omitted from your examples
/XA:SH
is very useful and I urge you to include it. It will stop you uselessly trying to copy things that will not benefit you at all and that possibly might cause the RoboCopying process to fail or cause problems in the new computer by overwriting their equivalents. I'm thinking of, in particular, the desktop.ini file [Hidden, System file] that affects folder viewing.

All the best,
Denis

Okay, everyone has explained that Robocopy is a poor method for the C drive. So, no Robocopy for C drive.

Regarding thinkorswim, I will contact their support. I have seen in other online forums where others have replaced the entire contents of their thinkorswim directory.

Here are a few references:

Looking at number 4, RmS59 says the following:

I know this is likely not an issue any longer, but you can simply copy the entire \Program Files\thinkorswim directory from one computer to the next. Make sure that your shortcut points to the right place, and you are good to go

The great thing about this is that all of your history and custom studies and chart layouts and quote window layouts transfer without a hitch...

That's exactly what I want to do. This directory is on the C drive. thinkorswim is written in Java, and they provide their own Java as well. To my simple understanding, the folder is self-contained.

Thank you for /XA:SH, I will include that.

Most everyone has said not to use RoboCopy for everything. I understand.

Here's my plan now. I will use Acronis Cyber Protect because I already own it. In fact, I just backed up all three of my drives now. I will back them up again just prior to setting up my new PC. And I will use Robocopy to back up my data files only on my two other drives, S and T. Robocopy is more of a back up to a back up.

Because I will have access to my old computer for a while, if I have any difficulties, I can always use another backup solution besides Acronis. With Acronis (and possibly others), I can mount the drives and then drag and drop where I want my files to reside when I am restoring. So I am hoping it will be easy.

Thank you for commenting.

Stecyk · Jan 9, 2023

Thank you @Haydon and @james73 for your comements.

Many years ago when a lot of users were unhappy about Acronis, I believe many migrated to Macrium Reflect. At that time, I stopped using Acronis's consumer version and began using its commercial version of the software. The price difference was small, and with the commercial version, Acronis offered (and still offers) live support.

So I will go with Acronis Cyber Protect for now. If that does not work for me, I will move to Macrium.

Stecyk · Jan 9, 2023

SIW2 said:
you could have a look at Karens replicator.

Karen's Replicator the Backup Utility for Windows v3.7.6 Released May 25, 2020 | Karen's Power Tools | Karen's Software

Automatically backup files, directories, even entire drives! Karen's Replicator copies selected files from one drive/folder to another. Source and Destination folders can reside anywhere on your network.

www.karenware.com

Thank you for your comment. I did look at the website. As mentioned in a prior post, I am planning on using Acronis for now. If that solution does not work for me, then I will migrate to Macrium Reflect. Macrium seems to have a large user base and well liked by many users. That is not to say it is the best or others are undeserving. It is simply a software package that I have heard a lot of complimentary comments over the years.

Try3 · Jan 10, 2023

Stecyk said:
Regarding thinkorswim, I will contact their support

Good luck. Advice from them will save you an awful lot of work.
- Just don't be surprised if the solution refers to C:\Users\%UserName%\AppData or the Registry instead of where you are thinking of.
- In fact, unless you have to give thinkorswim Admin approval to run every time you start it, its configuration files cannot possibly be in C:\Program files.

Stecyk said:

Workspace missing from ThinkorSwim when moving computer - useThinkScript Community

Click to expand...

For that thread to make sense, you'd have to be running the application with Admin permissions.

Other than that, it's all down to investigation & experimentation I'm afraid. The fact that nobody has replied to your #1-#3 quotes does make me think that's what you'll be forced to do. But hopefully their support dept will at least be able to give you a steer to start off with.

I've also been an Acronis user for over a decade. And I'm sticking with it.

Denis

Stecyk · Jan 10, 2023

Try3 said:
- Just don't be surprised if the solution refers to C:\Users\%UserName%\AppData or the Registry instead of where you are thinking of.
- In fact, unless you have to give thinkorswim Admin approval to run every time you start it, its configuration files cannot possibly be in C:\Program files.

I just finished speaking with Technical Support at TD thinkorswim. I just need to replace the workspace files with my own. There are a few workspace files in the thinkorswim directory. And if that doesn't work for any reason, then I can replace the entire thinkorswim directory with my own.

The workspace files provide the look and feel of my current configuration. How many detached windows I have open and so on. Other things, such as studies, are saved on the server side.

So this exercise should be fairly straightforward.

Try3 · Jan 10, 2023

Understood.
I assume you do, therefore, have to give it Admin permission to run every time.

That thread that you posted a link to said that your "workspace" did not contain all the preferences that the poster wanted so do have a nose around C:\Users\%UserName%\AppData and the Registry aswell.
- I'd expect any preferences there would be within C:\Users\%UserName%\AppData\Local in a subfolder called something like thinkorswim [or its publisher's name].

You can paste C:\Users\%UserName%\AppData straight into your File explorer address bar to avoid the complication that AppData itself is a hidden folder. The symbols in %UserName% just tell Windows to substitute your UserName in the path.

- If you are not used to searching the Registry then you might start by searching for something like thinkorswim or its publisher's name. There are tools to help you - I find the single most useful one is NirSoft RegScanner

- - It is always difficult to know what is a useful Registry entry for any particular purpose such as yours so I was rather hoping that their user forum would contain a report by somebody who had identified them before.

- - There will be losts of Registry entries that are not going to help you at all. It is difficult to get to grips with the topic.

Best of luck,
Denis

Stecyk · Jan 10, 2023

Try3 said:
Understood.
I assume you do, therefore, have to give it Admin permission to run every time.

That thread that you posted a link to said that your "workspace" did not contain all the preferences that the poster wanted so do have a nose around C:\Users\%UserName%\AppData and the Registry aswell.
- I'd expect any preferences there would be within C:\Users\%UserName%\AppData\Local in a subfolder called something like thinkorswim [or its publisher's name].

You can paste C:\Users\%UserName%\AppData straight into your File explorer address bar to avoid the complication that AppData itself is a hidden folder. The symbols in %UserName% just tell Windows to substitute your UserName in the path.
- If you are not used to searching the Registry then you might start by searching for something like thinkorswim or its publisher's name. There are tools to help you - I find the single most useful one is NirSoft RegScanner

- - It is always difficult to know what is a useful Registry entry for any particular purpose such as yours so I was rather hoping that their user forum would contain a report by somebody who had identified them before.
- - There will be losts of Registry entries that are not going to help you at all. It is difficult to get to grips with the topic.

Best of luck,
Denis

No, I am just firing up a Java program. The whole program, as I understand it, is self-contained to the thinkorswim folder. I doubted that anything was listed in the appdata folder. I just checked. I can't find anything in there related to thinkorswim, which confirmed my expectations.

I could zip the contents of my thinkorswim folder, sent it to you, and if your were a TD thinkorswim client, you could have the same configuration as my configuration. Much of the computing is done at the server level. In other words, much of the computing is not done on my computer. It is done remotely. The same applies to tastytrade. I believe it uses AWS or Azure servers to power much of their clients' software.

Porting over thinkorswim really is a cut-and-paste exercise. Just for laughs, I will show you an Excel list of the files currently in my folder. Please see the Excel spreadsheet. In talking with the Tech Support person, I just need to copy over the yellow highlighted files to my new installation. I could, in theory, copy everything over. Over time, however, there is some buildup of nonessential files. So I will just go with the yellow highlighted files. I will, of course, keep a complete backup.

I see that I cannot upload Excel files. So I will make a PDF instead. Please see the PDF.

Stecyk · Jan 10, 2023

Try3 said:
You can paste C:\Users\%UserName%\AppData straight into your File explorer address bar to avoid the complication that AppData itself is a hidden folder. The symbols in %UserName% just tell Windows to substitute your UserName in the path.

@Try3

I forgot to mention that I usually just type

Code:

%appdata%

into the File Explorer, and that immediately takes me to the following location:

Code:

C:\Users\Me\AppData\Roaming

where Me is my name.

On a completely unrelated topic, I use the following code in my File Browser to find Outlook's OLK Temp Directory:

Code:

%localappdata%\Temporary Internet Files\Content.Outlook

I see others looking in their registry to find their temporary directory for Outlook. My method above is far quicker and, more importantly, far easier. Go ahead, select the text above and try it. You'll find an odd-named directory sitting there with leftover stuff from your Outlook emails.

The reason for mentioning this path is because we were discussing paths to use in our File Explorer to get to specific locations quickly and easily.

And returning back to our normal conversation, you mentioned that you are an Acronis user with over a decade of experience. I guess that makes us birds of a feather. For the past while, I threw caution to the wind and did not back up as much as I should have. Now, I am using Acronis Cyber Protect. I need to read the documentation to find out how to find the "plans" location. At present, I just adjust the url in my browser:

Code:

http://localhost:8888/#/plans

where 8888 is a placeholder for a four-digit number. Perhaps all systems use the same four-digit code?

Because I have not used Acronis in a while, I am unfamiliar with all its settings. Do you know how I can stop it from starting with Windows?
I might have to find where the settings are for all programs that start with Windows and stop it there. But I am hoping that there is a software switch somewhere. We might be using different versions of Acronis; I am using the business version.

Thank you for your comments.