How to Use Robocopy to copy security information without copying any file data (323275)

SUMMARY

Documentation for the Robocopy utility is located in the Robocopy.doc file that is included in the Windows NT 4.0 Resource Kit and the Windows 2000 Resource Kit. The "Copying NTFS Security Information" section in the Robocopy.doc file describes how to use the /secfix command-line parameter to copy NTFS file system access control lists (ACLs) for existing files that have not been modified. However, this section does not fully describe how to copy security information without copying the file data (for files that have been modified) at the same time. (The steps to complete this procedure are available in other parts of the Robocopy.doc file.) This article describes how to use Robocopy to copy security information for a file without copying the data from this file.

MORE INFORMATION

By default, Robocopy copies file data for any file that appears to be older, newer, or changed. You can use the /secfix parameter when you run the Robocopy command line to copy only security information for existing files. Additionally, you must use the /xo parameter, the /xn parameter, and the /xc parameter when you run the Robocopy command with the /secfix parameter, for example:

robocopy source destination /secfix /xo /xn /xc

If you run this command line, Robocopy refreshes only the security information for existing files; it does not copy any file data.

If you want to maintain the destination folder as an exact mirror of the source folder, you must run Robocopy with the appropriate parameters to refresh only the file security information, and then run the Robocopy command without using the /xo, the /xn, or the /xc parameters. After you do so, the file data content is consistent between the source file and the destination file.

For definitions of Robocopy terms that are used in this article and for information about other Robocopy functions and features, see Robocopy.doc.