Robocopy/MOVE and Directory Tree Not Recreated in Win-11 Home

Robocopy: Moving Directory Tree in Windows 11 Home

Robocopy is a powerful command-line tool in Windows that allows you to copy and move files and directories from one location to another. In this article, we will focus on using Robocopy to move a directory tree in Windows 11 Home, assuming that the directory tree remained intact in the previous Windows 10 Home installation.

Understanding the Robocopy Command

Robocopy, short for "Robust File Copy," is a versatile command-line tool that can handle complex file and directory copying tasks. The basic syntax of the Robocopy command is:

Where:

• <source>: the location of the files or directories you want to copy
• <destination>: the location where you want to copy the files or directories
• [options]: various options that control the behavior of Robocopy

Moving a Directory Tree with Robocopy

To move a directory tree from one location to another using Robocopy, you can use the following command:

Where:

• <source>: the location of the directory tree you want to move
• <destination>: the location where you want to move the directory tree
• /MOV: tells Robocopy to move the files instead of copying them

For example, to move the directory tree "C:\MyFolder" to "D:\MyFolder" using Robocopy, you can use the following command:

Preserving Directory Tree Structure with Robocopy

When moving a directory tree with Robocopy, you may want to preserve the structure of the directory tree. You can do this by using the following command:

Where:

• /E: copies all subdirectories, including empty ones
• /DCOPY:DA: copies directory timestamps and access control lists (ACLs)

For example, to move the directory tree "C:\MyFolder" to "D:\MyFolder" and preserve the structure of the directory tree, you can use the following command:

Logging Robocopy Operations

When moving a directory tree with Robocopy, it's a good idea to log the operation for future reference. You can do this by using the following command:

Where:

• /LOG+:: appends the log to an existing file
• <logfile>: the name of the log file

For example, to move the directory tree "C:\MyFolder" to "D:\MyFolder" and log the operation to "C:\Robocopy.log", you can use the following command:

References

• Robocopy
• Robocopy - SS64.com
• How to Use Robocopy to Sync Files and Folders in Windows

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In this article, we have covered the use of Robocopy to move a directory tree in Windows 11 Home, assuming that the directory tree remained intact in the previous Windows 10 Home installation. We have discussed the basic syntax of the Robocopy command, how to move a directory tree with Robocopy, how to preserve the structure of the directory tree, and how to log Robocopy operations. With this knowledge, you should be able to confidently use Robocopy to move directory trees in Windows 11 Home.