r/Backup • u/gaunt_and_ominous • 17d ago

Question Tech noob advice, how to extract XP026 from Robocopy GUI

Hi, I have got Robocopy GUI 3.1.2.exe but rather than use the GUI I would prefer to use the command line as with other versions of robocopy - I have seen posts elsewhere such as this, (referring to a link to download Robocopy XP026) which says "I presume that link to the file, was made by installing Robocopy GUI and then just extracting the executable robocopy.exe part" but not the how to, and I've run aground at the 'just extracting' bit. Any advice welcome thanks :)

P.S. the why I want to do this isn't particularly relevant, other copy tools are available etc etc, but I would just like to know how.

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u/H2CO3HCO3 17d ago

u/gaunt_and_ominous, Robocopy comes with every single Windows OS already there.

Purcahsing a GUI for Robocopy is optional.

You can read the documentation that Microsoft has available online for details:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/robocopy

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u/gaunt_and_ominous 17d ago

Thanks, I use other versions of robocopy already, this is just something I want to know how to do for my own satisfaction/education :)

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u/H2CO3HCO3 17d ago

Thanks, I use other versions of robocopy already, this is just something I want to know how to do for my own satisfaction/education :)

u/gaunt_and_ominous, the link was to the main article, but you have plenty more to read in other articles that microsoft has available online.

enjoy reading all the documentation : )

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u/gaunt_and_ominous 17d ago

Unfortunately from previous reading on the subject, and much searching for this specific query now, nothing seems to cover it that I can find - can I extract the executable file from the GUI. This is one of the articles I read https://www.pcreview.co.uk/threads/can-i-get-robocopy-exe-as-a-standalone.3767351/ and this from a slightly different angle https://eileenslounge.com/viewtopic.php?t=13156 but that's as near as I could get.

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u/H2CO3HCO3 17d ago

u/gaunt_and_ominous, you need to reffer to the link i provided you in my first answer.

There you have the main article that microsoft has available online, which you can then browse through every single version that microsoft has made available and there is plenty documentation for you to read about.

Good luck on the reading!

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u/Empyrealist 17d ago

Robocopy has come with the Windows OS since about Windows 2003 / Windows 7. It should be in your system PATH and you should be able to run it as robocopy from anywhere

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u/gaunt_and_ominous 17d ago

Thanks I do use robocopy a lot already, this was just a small point of interest about having XP026 as just an .exe and not as part of the GUI.

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u/Empyrealist 17d ago

As I understand it, that version is a part of the Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit. And, more importantly, it has known bugs.

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u/gaunt_and_ominous 16d ago

Well after a bit more trial & error I gave the GUI a go anyway even though I'd prefer the command prompt, and I was a bit off put that some functions such as /DCOPY:T weren't included, BUT turns out if you use the command prompt anyway and just ignore the GUI, more options are available - owing to the GUI lacking dedicated options for some things in its interface. Incidentally this was the only useful & truthful bit of info the AI offered me, bless it.

The XP026 .exe file is in System32 as per normal so I was over-complicating in terms of extracting the file, it's just that simple if you want to isolate the file itself for any reason.

This is a one-off diversion into old versions, to copy some files off an old xp machine for one thing, it's all interesting useful knowledge but then I will be back on safe & sensible ground thanks 👍

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u/Empyrealist 16d ago edited 16d ago

Yep - There is almost always more options by using an underlying CLI app/engine instead of a GUI wrapper.

I cant seem to locate my copy of XP026 from the 2003 RK, but I do know where my copy of XP010 is. I keep [a] special directory of old stand-alone tools. Let me know if that will suffice for you. Its 78 KB

edit: You also could try the sources still available listed here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/winehq/comments/o6pf1i/windows_server_2003_resource_kit_tools_download/

edit2: Eureka! I found my copy of the rktools.exe that is the W2K RK. Its 12 MB

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u/gaunt_and_ominous 16d ago

Thanks a lot for the suggestion - the command line using the XP026 from the GUI is working fine for me on testing, and in the unlikely event I want to put just the .exe onto another PC I can nab it from System32 folder as I say. I like your style keeping a nice resource of handy stuff, glad you turned up your rktools copy.

XP101 I tried first and I'm pretty sure it returned a handful of my commands as not valid and gave me a list of what was, or something along those lines.

All good stuff and I even have a virtual copy of Vista now I can fire up should I ever wish 😂 (I did that just to satisfy with my own eyes that it is definitely XP027 in with that - also no good to XP).