How can I schedule copying a folder at specified intervals?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jonathan Finney
  • Start date Start date
J

Jonathan Finney

I want to copy a folder and its contents for backup purposes.

Windows Backup requires that the account requires a password and this not an
option in my situation.

SyncToy has a similar restriction and also only copies files that have
changed. It's important that I copy all files in the folder.

Can I just do this from a batch file and run this as a scheduled event?

I've never written a batch file before, but I understand it's quite easy.
How do I get help on this?
 
You can use Scheduled Tasks to do this but Scheduled Tasks also requires a
passworded account. Just create a new user account to use with Scheduled
Tasks.

--

Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect

:
|I want to copy a folder and its contents for backup purposes.
|
| Windows Backup requires that the account requires a password and this not
an
| option in my situation.
|
| SyncToy has a similar restriction and also only copies files that have
| changed. It's important that I copy all files in the folder.
|
| Can I just do this from a batch file and run this as a scheduled event?
|
| I've never written a batch file before, but I understand it's quite easy.
| How do I get help on this?
|
| --
| Jonathan Finney
|
|
 
Thanks Dave.

Won't that mean I have to be logged on with that account for the scheduler
to run?
 
I specifically need to copy the entire folder and overwrite the contents
from the previous backup.

Sounds very basic but I've been surprised how many backup programs don't
allow this. Does Cobian?
 
The account specified in scheduler doesn't need to be logged on. Create an
account with a password and just use it for running scheduled tasks. Make
sure the account has appropriate permissions for the source and target
folders. Even if a different user or no one is logged on the task will run.

Kerry

Jonathan said:
Thanks Dave.

Won't that mean I have to be logged on with that account for the
scheduler to run?


Dave Patrick said:
You can use Scheduled Tasks to do this but Scheduled Tasks also
requires a passworded account. Just create a new user account to use
with Scheduled Tasks.

--

Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect

Jonathan Finney said:
I want to copy a folder and its contents for backup purposes.

Windows Backup requires that the account requires a password and
this not
an
option in my situation.

SyncToy has a similar restriction and also only copies files that
have changed. It's important that I copy all files in the folder.

Can I just do this from a batch file and run this as a scheduled
event? I've never written a batch file before, but I understand it's
quite
easy. How do I get help on this?
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Thanks Kerry.

I wish I'd known this before.

I'll try with Windows Backup again.

--
Jonathan Finney

Kerry Brown said:
The account specified in scheduler doesn't need to be logged on. Create an
account with a password and just use it for running scheduled tasks. Make
sure the account has appropriate permissions for the source and target
folders. Even if a different user or no one is logged on the task will
run.

Kerry

Jonathan said:
Thanks Dave.

Won't that mean I have to be logged on with that account for the
scheduler to run?


Dave Patrick said:
You can use Scheduled Tasks to do this but Scheduled Tasks also
requires a passworded account. Just create a new user account to use
with Scheduled Tasks.

--

Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect

:
I want to copy a folder and its contents for backup purposes.

Windows Backup requires that the account requires a password and
this
not
an
option in my situation.

SyncToy has a similar restriction and also only copies files that
have changed. It's important that I copy all files in the folder.

Can I just do this from a batch file and run this as a scheduled
event? I've never written a batch file before, but I understand it's
quite
easy. How do I get help on this?
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Cobian will write the entire folder over as well as only writing over
files that have changed since your last backup. =)
 
Your welcome. Let us know if it works

Kerry

Jonathan said:
Thanks Kerry.

I wish I'd known this before.

I'll try with Windows Backup again.


Kerry Brown said:
The account specified in scheduler doesn't need to be logged on.
Create an account with a password and just use it for running
scheduled tasks. Make sure the account has appropriate permissions
for the source and target folders. Even if a different user or no
one is logged on the task will run.

Kerry

Jonathan said:
Thanks Dave.

Won't that mean I have to be logged on with that account for the
scheduler to run?


You can use Scheduled Tasks to do this but Scheduled Tasks also
requires a passworded account. Just create a new user account to
use with Scheduled Tasks.

--

Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect

:
I want to copy a folder and its contents for backup purposes.

Windows Backup requires that the account requires a password and
this
not
an
option in my situation.

SyncToy has a similar restriction and also only copies files that
have changed. It's important that I copy all files in the folder.

Can I just do this from a batch file and run this as a scheduled
event? I've never written a batch file before, but I understand
it's quite
easy. How do I get help on this?
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
I missed some of the beginning of the thread but I use a batch file, xcopy
and scheduled tasks to copy folders from one machine to another. I am sure
it could be adpated for different requirements. I redirect the output to a
file so I can see what happens. You can change the parameters for xcopy to
include all files, etc. Anyhow, here is a sample in case it may help:

echo "Begin copying files from MACHINE1." >copyfiles.out 2>&1
date /T >>copyfiles.out 2>&1
time /T >>copyfiles.out 2>&1
net use \\MACHINE1\username /USER:domain\username password >>copyfiles.out
2>&1
xcopy \\MACHINE1\somesharename\folder1 "C:\somefolder\somesubfolder" /D /S
/R /Y /K /I >>copyfiles.out 2>&1
echo "Copy of files from MACHINE1 complete." >>copyfiles.out 2>&1


Jonathan Finney said:
Thanks Kerry.

I wish I'd known this before.

I'll try with Windows Backup again.

--
Jonathan Finney

Kerry Brown said:
The account specified in scheduler doesn't need to be logged on. Create an
account with a password and just use it for running scheduled tasks. Make
sure the account has appropriate permissions for the source and target
folders. Even if a different user or no one is logged on the task will
run.

Kerry

Jonathan said:
Thanks Dave.

Won't that mean I have to be logged on with that account for the
scheduler to run?


You can use Scheduled Tasks to do this but Scheduled Tasks also
requires a passworded account. Just create a new user account to use
with Scheduled Tasks.

--

Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect

:
I want to copy a folder and its contents for backup purposes.

Windows Backup requires that the account requires a password and
this
not
an
option in my situation.

SyncToy has a similar restriction and also only copies files that
have changed. It's important that I copy all files in the folder.

Can I just do this from a batch file and run this as a scheduled
event? I've never written a batch file before, but I understand it's
quite
easy. How do I get help on this?
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Thanks Mike, but this seems quite complicated as I'm not clear about what
the commands and switches do.

I'll try the backup options first. I know it's sledge hammer to crack a
nut, but it's much easier to try.

--
Jonathan Finney

Mike M. said:
I missed some of the beginning of the thread but I use a batch file, xcopy
and scheduled tasks to copy folders from one machine to another. I am sure
it could be adpated for different requirements. I redirect the output to a
file so I can see what happens. You can change the parameters for xcopy
to
include all files, etc. Anyhow, here is a sample in case it may help:

echo "Begin copying files from MACHINE1." >copyfiles.out 2>&1
date /T >>copyfiles.out 2>&1
time /T >>copyfiles.out 2>&1
net use \\MACHINE1\username /USER:domain\username password >>copyfiles.out
2>&1
xcopy \\MACHINE1\somesharename\folder1 "C:\somefolder\somesubfolder" /D /S
/R /Y /K /I >>copyfiles.out 2>&1
echo "Copy of files from MACHINE1 complete." >>copyfiles.out 2>&1


Jonathan Finney said:
Thanks Kerry.

I wish I'd known this before.

I'll try with Windows Backup again.

--
Jonathan Finney

Kerry Brown said:
The account specified in scheduler doesn't need to be logged on. Create an
account with a password and just use it for running scheduled tasks. Make
sure the account has appropriate permissions for the source and target
folders. Even if a different user or no one is logged on the task will
run.

Kerry

Jonathan Finney wrote:
Thanks Dave.

Won't that mean I have to be logged on with that account for the
scheduler to run?


You can use Scheduled Tasks to do this but Scheduled Tasks also
requires a passworded account. Just create a new user account to use
with Scheduled Tasks.

--

Regards,

Dave Patrick ....Please no email replies - reply in newsgroup.
Microsoft Certified Professional
Microsoft MVP [Windows]
http://www.microsoft.com/protect

:
I want to copy a folder and its contents for backup purposes.

Windows Backup requires that the account requires a password and
this
not
an
option in my situation.

SyncToy has a similar restriction and also only copies files that
have changed. It's important that I copy all files in the folder.

Can I just do this from a batch file and run this as a scheduled
event? I've never written a batch file before, but I understand it's
quite
easy. How do I get help on this?
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
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