Speed Up File Transfers in Windows 11 with Robocopy

Robocopy is a built-in Windows 11 command-line tool that moves large folders and big files much faster than dragging them in File Explorer 📁. Short for Robust File Copy, it handles massive data transfers without freezing or slowing down your PC.

You can speed up network file transfers even more by combining Robocopy with SMB compression, a feature that shrinks data while you send it between computers.

Copy files over the network using Robocopy

Robocopy (a built-in command-line tool for copying files) lets you quickly transfer large folders over your network in Windows 11 by using built-in file compression. To start, you need to turn on file sharing on both computers and make sure the source folder is shared over your local network before running the copy command.

Preparation starts with enabling file sharing on both machines.

First, enable file sharing on both computers. Share the folder containing the files you want to transfer next.

You will need the name or IP address of the other computer.

• How to enable file and printer sharing in Windows 11
• How to share files and folders in Windows 11
• How to find your computer name in Windows 11

With required details in hand, copy files using Robocopy next.

Before launching Robocopy, add account details to Windows 11's Credential Manager (a tool that stores your login information for other devices and websites) to prevent authentication headaches. Windows remembers login information for the other computer this way.

cmdkey /add:COMPUTER or IP /user:COMPUTERNAMEUSERNAME /pass:PASSWORD

Replace COMPUTERNAME with the name of the target computer and USERNAME and PASSWORD with credentials belonging to that machine.

Domains allow substituting COMPUTERNAME with the domain name.

Computer names also substitute cleanly for IP addresses.

Here’s an example:

cmdkey /add:192.168.1.2 /user:WORKGROUPgeekrewind /pass:password

After running those commands, use the format below to copy files with Robocopy and SMB compression.

robocopy \source-ip-addresspathtoremotesharedfolder C:local-devicepathtodestinationfolder /E /Z /ZB /R:5 /W:5 /TBD /NP /V /MT:16 /compress

Here's an example:

robocopy \192.168.1.2DocumentsRemoteSharedFolder C:UsersgeekrewindDocuments /E /Z /ZB /R:5 /W:5 /TBD /NP /V /MT:16 /compress

Press Enter to trigger file transfers to the target device.

Here's a breakdown of the Robocopy options:

• /E — Copy Subdirectories, including empty ones.
• /Z — Copy files in restartable mode.
• /ZB — Uses restartable mode. If access is denied, use backup mode.
• /R:5 — Retry 5 times (you can specify a different number, the default is 1 million).
• /W:5 — Wait 5 seconds before retrying (default is 30 seconds).
• /TBD — Wait for share names To Be Defined (retry error 67).
• /NP — No Progredon'tdon’t display percentage copied.
• /V — Produce verbose output, showing skipped files.
• /MT:16 — Do multithreaded copies with n threads (default is 8).
• /compress — Enables SMB compression to speed up transfers over the network.

• Robocopy offers a powerful and efficient solution for copying large files over a network or locally using SMS compression.
• Users can significantly reduce the time and resources required for file transfers by enabling SMS compression, improving productivity.
• The provided step-by-step guide simplifies the process, making it accessible to users of varying technical expertise.
• We welcome your input through the comments section below for any feedback, corrections, or additional insights.