Here is my question about how to change NTFS file permissions on a computer system.
Here is my question about how to change NTFS file permissions on a computer system.
I've been looking at reviews and articles for Teracopy, Robocopy, Cho EazyCopy, and Fastcopy. If I decide to go with Fastcopy (which seems very popular and faster than other options), I want to make sure I pick the right settings if I need an exact copy of my original drive's contents. Specifically, I'm upgrading from one NTFS drive to another to store Plex media files on a bigger hard drive: should 'ACL' be turned on or off? (I think I should turn it on because ACL is for permissions, so that sounds right unless something else applies?) Also, should the 'Alternate Stream' option be on or off? I'm thinking I should also turn it on, but I'd love to know if anyone has seen this in practice. Thanks! By the way, GS Rich Copy 360 seems faster, but I don't really know much about it because there are so many free alternatives people choose that one of them must have a free version too.
I'd skip both choices here. Most files come from their parent folder automatically. Usually, regular permissions let everyone read and write, except for certain system folders like your user folder. If you need an exact copy, cloning the drive is best. But if you're really brave (and want to risk losing all your data), you could try using Linux's dd command.
Robocopy is your best option because it can copy files while keeping all settings exactly the same. It comes built into systems that run Windows 10. You can find a full guide on how to use Robocopy with many examples in this article from lazyadmin.nl. This page covers everything you need to know about the command, including available switches and options. It also explains what each option does with real-world examples. The site includes information about where robocopy is found, its exact commands, and plenty of step-by-step examples. You can find more details at www.computerhope.com
I read a lot about Robocopy, it's free but super powerful for commands on your line of text. But when I searched about this for my specific issue, some people said they have trouble copying permissions with it and found tools like TeraCopy, Gs Richcopy 360, FastCopy as an alternative to Robocopy from what I mentioned. Really I am confused and I think the problem might be in my OS rather than the tool itself.
What exactly do you worry about when copying permissions? Do you have folders or files with specific rules that need to stay the same for some reason? If not, then by default outside of the OS partition, the "Users" group gets read-write-execute access even if someone else did it originally.
You won't often read about their great successes. The people who had problems probably hit those hurdles because they used the wrong tools, didn't understand how things work or interact with each other, or dealt with old file system issues. I have never had a single problem using Robocopy in thousands of ways over time.
You need pick the ACL and Alternate Stream choices when moving files from one NTFS drive to another. The ACL feature copies the permission list for every single file. That is a list telling you who can see it, what they can change, or delete. If you want to keep the same permissions on your new copy, make sure this box stays checked. The Alternate Stream choice grabs any extra data streams linked to the files. Extra streams are like hidden helpers that often store metadata, such as thumbnails or encryption keys. If you need all the file details copied over, turn this option on. For me, I still use GS Richcopy 360 because it is super quick and fast at handling these tricks. But FastCopy is a trusted tool known for speed and reliability when dealing with big data. Both are good options if you want to move lots of stuff around. Here is how to turn on the ACL and Alternate Stream settings in FastCopy: Open the FastCopy program. Click the Options button. Go to the Main Settings tab. In the Copy Choices area, tick the boxes next to both the ACL and Alternate Stream choices. Press OK. Now when you use FastCopy to move files, those options are active. This makes sure your new files have exactly the same permissions and data as the originals.