XCopy Does Not Copy All Files in Windows 7/8/10(Solved)

The case: XCopy does not copy all files

 Some of you may copy files using command prompt. XCopy is one of the command-line utilities which offers more functionality. Sometimes, you may find that XCopy does not copy all files and folders like the case below.

“I am trying to copy files from an old hard drive to an external drive. And I use XCopy to do the copying, but I notice the source and destination directories don't match up after the copying is completed. Do you know how to solve that XCopy does not copy all files? Thanks in advance for any kind reply!”.

Don't worry about this too much and I'll introduce you to possible reasons and fixes to XCopy does not copy all files. In addition, this article still introduce you another easier way to backup files. Please keep reading below to learn more.

Possible reasons and fixes to XCopy does not copy all files

If you meet the situation that XCopy is not copying all files. You can refer to the most common reasons below and try to fix it in time.

1. Make sure your command line is correct

A letter or symbol error can cause command-line error, so you should make sure your command-line is correct at first. See here for the full use of the command:

xcopy "[source]" "[destination]" [options]

Make sure to put quotes (" ") around the source and destinations if they have spaces in the path. So it should be:

"c:\Program Files\whatever"

2. Lacking permissions to read the contents of the files

If you are not using Xcopy with administrator privileges, you may lack permission to read the contents of some files. Therefore, XCopy will fail to copy the files for lacking permission to read the data of a file. If you meet this problem, you can try the following two methods.

• Save XML file to TXT files and copy them by XCopy if you can open it via Notepad or in Internet Explorer directly from the shared network folder. 

• When you using XCopy, using administrator privileges to open files.

Free alternative to XCopy-AOMEI Backupper

If you want to copy a large number of files and can’t use the command-line smoothly. A reliable and professional third-party software like AOMEI Backupper Standard is a better alternative for you.

It is used for Windows Vista/XP/7/8/10 and is able to back up files to external hard drive, USB flash drive, SD card, CD/DVD disc, NAS, network share, cloud drive, and so on. You can also backup files to AOMEI Cloud if you have an AOMEI account.

And it allows you to set schedule backup like Daily/Weekly/Monthly and it backs up only changed files with incremental backup by default. This saves you both backup time and disk space. 

All the operations are based on clear interface and user-friendly design, so you can use it to copy files fastly and easily. For server users, try AOMEI Backupper Server.

How to copy files or folders with AOMEI Backupper

Step 1. Open AOMEI Backupper, click Backup and File Backup subsequently.

Step 2. Click Add File or Add Folder to choose the files or folders you want to backup. Then, click OK.

Step 3. Click drop-down list to select the destination path you want to copy files to. External hard drive, cloud drive, shared folder and NAS are available.

Step 4. (Optional) Click Schedule Backup to set automatic backup Daily/Weekly/Monthly and click OK. By default, it will enable Incremental Backup if you set a scheduled task. Afterward, click Start Backup to execute the operation.

It seems to be good since you don't need to backup system manually. And it is able to minimize the size of backup image using incremental backup, normal compression, intelligent sector backup, and automatic splitting. But in the long run, the disk space will be fulfilled due to accumulated backups. In this case, you can choose to delete old backups manually or automatically. 

If you do this manually, based on the nature of incremental backups, it is possible that all backups between two full backups will become invalid. Thus you need to enable Backup Scheme and delete backup file automatically. You have 3 options, By quantity,  By time, By daily/weekly/monthly. You need to upgrade now (5% off for one computer) before using it. 

At the same time, you can choose to use differential backup as backup method for the scheduled task, which completely compensates for this problem with incremental backups. For differences between them, please refer to: Incremental or Differential Backup.

Besides, you still can enable email notification to confirm if the backup task is completed successfully or not. Comment, split, compress the backup image, or select a backup mode, etc. 

Verdict

You can try above fixes to “XCopy does not copy all files”, and see if it works. If not, you can choose to copy files with third-party free backup software - AOMEI Backupper Standard. It is able to back up a large number of files easily without any problem.

If you want to backup changes made later, you need to set schedule backup to transfer data regularly so as to save your time and protect your important data in time. And it supports backing up only changed files with Incremental Backup by default. 

If your target disk is USB, try USB Plug in feature. After the first backup is completed, you could remove the USB. Then, every time you reinsert USB, the program will run the task automatically. Also, you can use Differential Backup and Backup Scheme in the advanced edition. For differences between them, check the edition comparison page.