copying for backup

[hill0093]

I have plugged-in a backup disk which is big enough.
I click a folder on the computer drive and press copy.
Then I press paste on the usb disk.
Shouldn't it copy all to full depth the folders contained
in the folder I am copying? It doesn't.
Did I do something wrong or is it a virus or something?

 

[Computer tech]

Please try this:

This type issue could be caused by a USB virus. It will spread to all of your USB memory devices and hard disk.

Here is a tool to remove the virus and vaccinate your USB against further viruses.


Download UsbFix on your desktop.


If your antivirus gives an alert, ignore it and temporarily deactivate the antivirus.
Plug in your usb devices (Flash drive, pen drive. External HD etc...) don't open them.
Double click sur UsbFix.exe.

Click on deletion
.
Let the tool work.

 

[TrainableMan]

Do I believe a virus caused a copy & paste of all of your system drive to fail? Very unlikely

First off on the system drive there are many hidden and protected folders. Second, W7 uses pointers so that a folder can appear to be under another folder even when it is not (this is what makes your W7 libraries work) but a simple copy would just follow down the path creating copies of the files/folders where W7 pretends they are as well, as where they really are, giving you duplicates. Third, W7 actually has some of these pointers pointing back to the parent directory which causes an infinite loop. And fourth, there used to be and, I believe still is, a limit of 254/255? characters in the total path length which means if you are starting at the root directory with a copy you may not be able to reach the deepest buried files/folders.

Basically if you want an exact copy of your system drive you "clone" it, not copy it. There is lots of cloning software available. Our Freeware DB includes links to Macrium Reflect Free or if you have a WD or Seagate drive there is software listed that works only with those drives. Paid versions are also available with more features but the free version is usually adequate for most individuals to get a nice cloned back-up.