Best Free File Copy Utility
Recently I had to transfer several hundred megabytes of media files from one large external drive to another. With Windows Copy the job just kept crashing at one particular point. There are often large copy jobs we ask our modern computers to do and it is frustrating when they fail. Typically there no information is given to tell us what went wrong other than the standard system error.
I then remembered a utility called Unstoppable Copier that had been recommended by subscriber George Rakocsi. According to the website, Unstoppable Copier "allows you to copy files from disks with problems such as bad sectors, scratches or that just give errors when reading data. The program will attempt to recover every readable piece of a file and put the pieces together. Using this method most types of files can be made usable even if some parts were not recoverable in the end."
I'm pleased to say Unstoppable Copier worked perfectly. As it turns out just one file was corrupted out of the 2700 files on the disk and that's what was causing Windows Copy to fail. After that incident do you think I'm going to recommend Unstoppable Copier? You bet and not only for problem copying but for recovering partly corrupted files as well. It's just the thing for getting your information off scratched CDs and DVDs, aging floppies and failing hard drives. Don't expect it to perform miracles though; some disks are just too physically damaged to allow data recovery.
Another general purpose file copy utility is XXCopy. It is a great command line program that will take you back to the old glory days of MS-DOS. In fact it works just like the old DOS "Copy" command and its beefed up cousin, "XCopy". Just place it in your "C:\WINDOWS\system32" folder and it will be available from any command prompt. XXCopy is not just another file copy program but also a file removal, search and list utility. If you are a command line sort of person, XXCopy is just the program for you.
I was pleasantly surprised by a product I had not heard of before called TeraCopy, suggested by subscriber Vikas Mishra. He was very impressed with it and said, "It is very fast. I have copied 25GB of data from my portable hard drive to my laptop hard drive in under 30 mins." When I took a look at it, what impressed me most was its ease of use. This program is truely a "set it and forget it" type of program because it can be set up to be the default copy handler, replacing the Windows copy handler. This means that a simple drag and drop in Explorer now gives you the feature set and stability that TeraCopy provides without having to learn the separate interface of a different program. An added bonus is the ability to seemlessly integrate with Total Commander and Directory Opus.
This software category is maintained by volunteer editor Joe Bennett. Registered site visitors can contact Joe by clicking here.
Product Specifications:
Unstoppable Copier
Website: http://www.roadkil.net/unstopcp.html
Download Llnk: http://www.roadkil.net/program.php?ProgramID=29
Author: Roadkil.net
Current version: 3.51
Version date: 6/17/2008
Download file size: 71KB
License: Freeware
Operating systems supported: Windows 95-Vista, Linux
Additional related software: None
64 Bit version available: No
Portable version available: Program is portable
Non-English languages supported: Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Turkish
Other relevent information: None
XXCopy
Website: http://www.xxcopy.com/index.htm
Download link: http://www.xxcopy.com/index.htm#download
Author: Pixelab, Inc
Current version: 2.96.6
Version date: 5/21/2008
Download file size: 244KB
License: Free for personal use
Operating systems supported: Windows 95-Vista
Additional related software: None
64 Bit version available: No
Portable version available: Program is portable
Non-English languages supported: None
Other relevent information: Can only be used in command line (DOS Box), also comes with a 16-bit version (XXCOPY16).
TeraCopy
Website: http://www.codesector.com/
Download link: http://www.codesector.com/download.php
Author: Code Sector
Current version: 1.22/2.0 beta 4
Version date: 3/5/2008
License: Free for personal use
Download File size: 1.15 MB
Operating systems supported: Windows 98-Vista
Additional software required: None
64 Bit capable: Yes - Available here
Portable version available: Yes - Available here
Non-English languages supported: None
Other relevant information: None
Related Topics:
- Best Free File Manager
- Best Free File Archiver/Zip Utility
- Best Free Rename Utility
- Best Free Search and Replace Utility
- Best Free Drive Imaging Program
- Best Free Data Recovery/File Un-delete Utility
- Best Free File Cataloging Program
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Wow, TeraCopy is fantastic. Exactly the kind of copying program I have been looking for. This is what Windows' copy should be. Thanks for the tip Vikas.
Some alternatives to consider:
CopyHandler
FastCopy
FF Copy
SuperCopier (seems not maintened)
Very nice copier, with pause, speed management, overwriting rules ......
CopyCat Data Recovery 2008
i have found another program called CopyCat Data Recovery 2008
http://copycatdatarecovery.blogspot.com/
CopyCat Data Recovery 2008 is a free software that helps you recover corrupted files and folders form scratched or defective cds and dvds. Normally windows refuse to copy any defective files. Copycat 2008 allows you to bypass defective areas and regain every healthy bit of your files.
i am looking for something that bypasses the standard windows routines and copies directly to device, i.e., it bypasses Pointsec Media Encryption - any suggestions?
I tested Teracopy trying to copy from my internal HD to my external HD and 20 gig took 2 hours. I found another utility called KillCopy that did the job in 40 minutes. It works just like Teracopy.