RichCopy

RichCopy is a file copying utility program developed by Ken Tamaru of Microsoft, discontinued in 2010.[1] It is multi-threaded, which permits it under some circumstances to copy files faster than some other copiers available for the Windows operating system. It provides a complete graphical user interface (GUI), whereas Microsoft's multi-threaded Robocopy is a command-line utility,[2] although there are GUI interfaces for it.

RichCopy
Developer(s)Microsoft
Stable release
4.0.217
Operating systemWindows XP and later
LicenseFreeware

History

RichCopy started out as a power user tool that Microsoft employees used internally.[3] For nine years, it appeared in Microsoft presentations before its developer, Ken Tamaru released it in 2009.[4] Still, RichCopy was never an official Microsoft product; hence, Microsoft never offered customer support for it.[2] The program has not been updated since approximately June 2009, despite numerous users requesting bug fixes.[5] Microsoft developed a host of such unofficial apps, such as Microsoft PowerToys and SyncToy.

Operation

RichCopy can copy several files simultaneously through multithreading. Under certain network conditions, this may reduce the time required for file transfers. While it is a GUI app, it supports automation through command-line switches too. Its GUI can generate the command-line input necessary to carry out the action specified for the GUI.[6] The app enables user to customize many parameters, such as the disk buffer size, CPU affinity, and thread count (for multithreading). Power users can filter files based on their attributes, date, and time.[3] Most of these settings are not for illiterate users. In Softpedia test, setting a high thread count caused error message complaining lack of enough disk space.[3]

RichCopy continues the copying operation even if fails to transfer one or more files.[3] Windows 8, released in 2012, adopted this feature. Windows 7 and later also come with a command-line utility called Robocopy, which offers most of RichCopy's features, except the GUI.[7]

See also

References
  1. "A Comprehensive List of All 11 Discontinued Microsoft Utilities - Version Museum". Version Museum. 17 December 2019.
  2. Hoffman, Joshua (8 September 2016) [April 2009]. "Utility Spotlight: RichCopy". TechNet Magazine. Microsoft. 24 (4).
  3. Ilascu, Ionut (25 March 2009). "Microsoft's Multithread Copy Solution". Softpedia. SoftNews NET.
  4. Combs, Keith (22 March 2009). "RichCopy bulk file copy tool released – get it here". Keith Combs' Blahg. Microsoft – via Blog Archive.
  5. Tamaru, Ken (6 August 2016). Ken (Kenzaburo) Tamaru's Blog. Microsoft.
  6. Tamaru, Ken (20 May 2009). "Command option update". Ken (Kenzaburo) Tamaru's Blog. Microsoft. Archived from the original on 25 September 2013 – via Blog Archive.
  7. "robocopy". Windows Commands. Microsoft. 30 June 2021.
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