XCOPY Across A Network?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Bill Martin
  • Start date Start date
B

Bill Martin

Can someone advise me on how to backup something from the "Program Files"
subdirectory? Down in a subtree is one subdirectory where a program is
storing its data and I'd like to back that data up -- actually synchronize
it to another machine on the network. (Please don't tell me the program
shouldn't store data there under XP. You know that, I know that, the vendor
apparently does not.) My problem is that XPHome thinks nobody should touch
the Program Files directory tree from the network, even though I've set the
particular sub subdirectory to be accessible from the network. SmartSynch
which I normally use for this kind of thing can't do it because XP won't
give it access to the top node of the tree.

Plan B: I decided to write a batch file to do an XCOPY between the
machines. After some putzing about I find that the following syntax will
copy from the laptop to my desktop:

COPY \\LaptopName\c\program files\PgmName\Data\*.*

The same sort of syntax works with the DIR command. Unfortunately however
when I try the same thing as an XCOPY it fails with the message "File not
found". AFAIK, I need to use XCOPY rather than copy so I can tell it to
only copy over the files which are newer than the ones already on the
desktop, also tell it to exclude some files, and also to do the whole sub
tree.

So how do I use XCOPY to reach across the network?

Thanks...

Bill
 
Can someone advise me on how to backup something from the "Program Files"
subdirectory? Down in a subtree is one subdirectory where a program is
storing its data and I'd like to back that data up -- actually synchronize
it to another machine on the network. (Please don't tell me the program
shouldn't store data there under XP. You know that, I know that, the vendor
apparently does not.) My problem is that XPHome thinks nobody should touch
the Program Files directory tree from the network, even though I've set the
particular sub subdirectory to be accessible from the network. SmartSynch
which I normally use for this kind of thing can't do it because XP won't
give it access to the top node of the tree.

Plan B: I decided to write a batch file to do an XCOPY between the
machines. After some putzing about I find that the following syntax will
copy from the laptop to my desktop:

COPY \\LaptopName\c\program files\PgmName\Data\*.*

The same sort of syntax works with the DIR command. Unfortunately however
when I try the same thing as an XCOPY it fails with the message "File not
found". AFAIK, I need to use XCOPY rather than copy so I can tell it to
only copy over the files which are newer than the ones already on the
desktop, also tell it to exclude some files, and also to do the whole sub
tree.

So how do I use XCOPY to reach across the network?
Click to expand...

Put the file locations between quotes "\\laptopname\c$\program files
\pgmname\data\*.*" ....

If you have shared the C drive as C you made a mistake, why not share
the data folder and then do \\laptopname\sharename\*.*
 
Leythos said:
Put the file locations between quotes "\\laptopname\c$\program files
\pgmname\data\*.*" ....

If you have shared the C drive as C you made a mistake, why not share
the data folder and then do \\laptopname\sharename\*.*
Click to expand...
---------------

Actually I did use quotes, I just neglected to put them in the note. The
quotes make it work with COPY and DIR, but not with XCOPY.

And I've shared C because I don't think it's a mistake. I'd rather not
share 300 subdirectories individually, each with their own share name. That
makes for quite messy communication between machines. I started down that
road when XP first came out and quickly decided it was a monstrous mistake
to do it that way. Of course different people have different needs.

Bill
 
Back
Top