How to speed up file copying in Windows with tricks and tools

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If you have ever had to move or copy a huge folder in WindowsYou surely know how frustrating it can be to see the progress bar crawling by at a snail's pace. Whether it's transferring photos, work documents, or creating a backup, the time it takes for transfers can throw you off your rhythm.

The good news is that, although Windows does many things well, File copying can be sped up considerably If you know what to do: from using the right shortcuts and choosing the right hardware, to relying on advanced tools like FastCopy, TeraCopy, or the legendary Robocopy. Here's a complete guide, designed for users of all levels, so you can get the most out of every file copy.

Keyboard shortcuts for copying and moving files at lightning speed

One of the simplest and most effective tricks is to master the keyboard shortcuts for copy, cut, and pasteBecause you avoid constantly right-clicking and navigating through menus. They're the same ones as always, but using them systematically makes a huge difference in convenience.

In File Explorer, on the desktop, or even in applications like Word or your browser, all you need to do is select the file, folder or text and use these key combinations:

• Ctrl + C: copies the selected item and places it on the clipboard. The original remains in place, and when you paste, you get an additional copy in the destination folder.
• Ctrl + X: cuts the file. It also saves it to the clipboard, but when you paste it, the file moves to the new location and disappears from the original folder.
• Ctrl + V: pastes the contents of the clipboard to your current location. This is the key combination that completes the copy or move operation.

These shortcuts aren't just for files: They also work with text, images, and links. in almost any program. If you get used to using them regularly and review a keyboard shortcut guideYou'll notice that organizing files, copying text, or moving documents between folders is much faster.

Another detail that comes in very handy in daily life is combining these shortcuts with the Explorer search function or the Start menu to quickly find a file, select it and copy it with minimal use of the mouseIt sounds silly, but when you internalize it, your way of working changes completely.

Quick file selection using the mouse and modifier keys

When you have to copy or move many files at once, knowing how to copy and paste isn't enough: mastering [the process] is key. multiple selection tricks with the mouseespecially when in the same folder there are things you want and things you don't.

In Windows you can combine the mouse with certain keys to choose precisely which files to include in the copy without going crazy:

• Control (Ctrl) + left clickThis feature allows you to select multiple files in a non-linear fashion. Press Ctrl, click on each file or folder you want, and they will all be selected without losing the previous selection.
• Shift + clickThis is used to select a range. You click on the first file, hold down Shift, and click on the last one; Windows also selects everything in between..

Once you have selected the item you want, you can Use it with the shortcuts Ctrl + C, Ctrl + X, and Ctrl + Vor drag and drop to another folder or drive. This type of mixed selection is a very simple way to save time when managing many photos, music, or documents.

In addition, it's worth remembering that File Explorer lets you change the view type (large icons, list, details, etc.), which can make it much easier to distinguish what you want to copy and avoid errors when selecting large amounts of filesIf you need more ideas for keeping things organized, check out... How to organize files on your PC.

Improve speed with USB 3.0 on external hard drives and memory

If you frequently move files between your PC and USB drives or external hard drives, the most noticeable factor will be the type of port: Using USB 2.0 is not the same as using USB 3.0.Although Windows does what it can, the physical limit is determined by the hardware.

USB flash drives and external hard drives with USB 3.0 (or higher) They are easily recognizable because the inner part of the connector is usually blue or because they bear the "SS" symbol for SuperSpeed. These devices allow transfer speeds far superior to the older USB 2.0, something that is especially noticeable when... copy several gigabytes of data.

To truly benefit from it, both the device and the computer port need to be 3.0 or higher. Simply plugging a 3.0 USB drive into a USB port won't do much good. an old port 2.0, because everything will go at the speed of the slowest.Similarly, if you have an external hard drive with older internal electronics, simply changing the cable to a 3.0 cable won't work miracles.

These days, USB 3.0 and many fast external hard drives are quite affordable, so update those prehistoric pendrives that you've been using for years can give you a huge speed boost without spending too much; another option is to choose a good external hard drive that makes better use of modern connections.

It's also advisable to ensure the device is connected directly to the PC and not through cheap hubs or questionable extension cables, as this can cause problems. Introduce bottlenecks and cuts in the transfer.

Switch to SSD drives for backups within your PC.

When copies are made between folders on the same computer, the type of disk is the most important factor. good old mechanical HDDs They have moving parts and their read/write speed usually ranges between 50 and 150 MB/s, while the modern SSDs They usually reach speeds of 200-550 MB/s, and even more in the case of NVMe drives.

This means that if you're still using a traditional hard drive as your main drive, switching to an SSD is probably the best option. The best investment you can make to speed up WindowsThis affects not only file copying, but everything: system startup, program launches, game loading, etc. If you notice your computer is slow before migrating, run a diagnostic. Diagnosing a slow PC to confirm bottlenecks.

Ideally, you should install the operating system on an SSD and use it as your primary drive for the files and folders you use most often. This way, when you copy or move data within that drive, Transfers will be significantly faster than on an HDD.

If you have both an SSD and an HDD, a good strategy is to store active projects, important documents, or frequently moved libraries on the SSD, and reserve the HDD for other tasks. massive storage of things you barely touch (old copies, films, etc.), assuming that whatever is on the mechanical disk will always move more slowly.

In addition to speed, SSDs are more resistant to shocks because they have no moving parts, which increases the security of your data. And if you combine a fast internal SSD with a good external USB 3.0 drive, The copies between the two can be quite smooth..

Change the file system to NTFS to avoid limits and bottlenecks.

Another less visible, but very important, factor is the file system of your drivesMany USB drives and external hard drives come formatted in FAT32, an old format with one major drawback: it does not support individual files larger than 4 GB.

If you frequently handle large videos, backups, or very heavy files, it's advisable to use NTFS instead of FAT32NTFS is the modern file system for Windows and allows for much larger files, better permission management, greater reliability, and recovery options.

By converting a drive to NTFS, you avoid the classic error that appears when you try to copy a large file and Windows tells you that It won't fit even if you have plenty of free spaceIn addition, NTFS handles large amounts of files and folders better, which is very useful for external drives that you use daily.

Before changing the file system, it is important make backup This applies to everything, whether you're reformatting or if something goes wrong during the conversion. If you're interested in the command-line process, see [link to relevant documentation]. commands for CMDOnce everything is on NTFS, data transfers are usually smoother and less problematic.

If you work across multiple operating systems (for example, Windows and macOS or Linux), you need to consider compatibility. Even so, if your environment is primarily Windows, Opting for NTFS is almost a must. to work with large files without headaches.

Use file compression to move large volumes faster

When you need to transfer thousands of small files or a bunch of messy folders, a very useful technique is compress everything into one or more files and copy only those. It doesn't always drastically reduce copying time, but it can make the operation much more manageable.

Windows includes the option to create compressed folders in ZIP format From the menu “Send to > Compressed (zip) folder”. This allows you to group many files into one and, in many cases, reduce the total size, which can speed up the transfer, especially if you need to upload them to the cloud or send them over the network.

If you want something more advanced, programs like WinRAR or 7-Zip They add options to choose the compression level, split a large file into several parts, protect with a password, or use formats like RAR or 7z, which can compress more than ZIP in certain cases.

The idea is simple: instead of copying thousands of files one by one (which generates many read and write operations), First you compress, then you copy the compressed file, and then you decompress it at the destination.That can save time and certainly reduces chaos.

It's important to keep in mind that compression also consumes CPU and time, so It's not always the quickest option For highly compressed files (like videos or music). Even so, for documents, uncompressed images, or huge folder structures, it usually works very well.

Organize your files and avoid overloading the system during backups

Beyond hardware and tools, good internal organization makes everything run faster. If you have your data classified into logical folders by type or projectLocating what you want to copy is much easier and you avoid moving unnecessary things.

A recommended practice is to divide your content into different units according to its use: for example, SSD for daily work and HDD for archivingor even have multiple partitions to separate personal data from professional data. This also allows for better control over backups between drives.

Another simple tip is to avoid overloading the system while copying large amounts of data. If you run multiple copies simultaneously or perform other demanding tasks at the same time, Windows has to distribute resources, and speeds can drop significantly, especially on mechanical hard drives.

When you have an important transfer, try Close programs that are making intensive use of the disk. (downloads, video editors, virtual machines, etc.) and avoid starting other copies in parallel. If you are unsure which processes are consuming resources, open the Task Manager to identify and close them.

Finally, keeping disks with sufficient free space and performing basic maintenance tasks (such as checking hardware health and file system errors) helps improve read and write operations. do not become excessively slow over timeIf you lack space, learn to free up space in windows before major transfers.

Robocopy: the powerful command for large and complex copies

For users who aren't afraid of the console, Windows includes a very powerful native tool called Robocopy (Robust File Copy)It is designed to copy large amounts of data, either locally or over the network, with very fine control over how the operation is performed.

Robocopy is executed from the Command Prompt or PowerShellIf you simply write robocopyYou will see a list of available parameters. To see all the detailed help and options, you can use the command:

robocopy /?

A typical example of copying all the contents of one path to another, skipping empty folders, allowing resumption in case of interruption, and using multiple threads in parallel could be:

Robocopy "RUTA_ORIGEN" "RUTA_DESTINO" /s /b /v /R:1 /W:1 /MT:4

In this command, /s It copies subfolders but omits empty ones. /b Use backup mode (useful for resuming if the connection is interrupted), /v shows details of the transfer, /R:1 It indicates that it will only retry once in case of error. /W:1 The mark will wait a second between retries and /MT:4 Activates 4 threads in parallel to send multiple files at once.

If you want to delve deeper into console commands and tricks to automate these processes, check out this guide.

This type of command is especially useful for scheduled backups, synchronization of large folders or data transfers between servers or network devices. Additionally, you can save the command in a batch file (.bat) and run it with a double-click when needed.

Robocopy isn't the most user-friendly option for complete beginners, but if you have some experience with the console, It allows you to do things that Windows Explorer doesn't offer.all without installing any additional programs.

FastCopy: speeding up copies to the max within Windows

Among third-party tools, one of the most highly rated for Windows is Fastcopy, a free program (with a paid Pro version) that has been a benchmark for years for speeding up copying and moving files.

FastCopy has been designed to Take advantage of every millisecond of performance from your SSD, HDD, or external driveWhile Windows Explorer uses a fairly basic copying system, FastCopy applies advanced techniques such as multithreaded I/O, Overlapped I/O, and Direct I/O, avoiding unnecessary use of the system cache.

In practice, this means that while Windows is writing a block of data to the destination, FastCopy is already reading the next block from the source, which brings the copy speed closer to the device's actual limit.In real-world tests, it can achieve speed increases of between 20 and 30% compared to the Explorer, something that makes a huge difference when we're talking about gigabytes and gigabytes of data.

Another advantage is that it is programmed directly on the Win32 API without heavyweight Microsoft components, so It is very lightweight and consumes very few resources.Its 64-bit executable takes up only about a megabyte, ideal even for modest computers.

FastCopy is not limited to classic copy/paste: it offers several operating modes such as Diff, Overwrite, Move, Delete, Sync, and Backup, in addition to integrity verification after copyingThis verification compares the original file byte by byte with the copied file to ensure that there have been no errors, which is crucial in important backups.

The program also includes a task manager that prevents multiple simultaneous copies from overlapping. Instead of slowing everything down when copying from multiple sources, FastCopy It queues the jobs and executes them sequentially., maintaining more stable speeds and more predictable completion times.

FastCopy Free vs FastCopy Pro: What each version offers

The basic version of FastCopy is free for personal use And it's usually more than enough for most home users. It allows you to copy and move files faster, verify integrity, manage queues, and integrates with the Windows context menu (right-click) so you can launch it without even opening the interface.

For more demanding environments, especially at a professional or business level, there is FastCopy ProA paid edition with additional features. Among them is “Perfect Verify,” a more thorough verification mode that looks not only for data matches but also for potential cases of “Silent Data Corruption,” that is, silent errors that the operating system might not detect.

FastCopy Pro also includes additional operating modes such as “Exist (Size/date)” and “Exist (Newer)”, which are very useful for advanced synchronizations or incremental backupswhere you only want to copy what has changed. This type of function is especially useful when every bit counts and you can't afford data loss.

Both versions can be downloaded from the project's official website. If you're a home user who just wants to speed up your large backups, The free edition will be more than enough for you.The Pro makes more sense in companies or scenarios where absolute integrity is critical.

In any case, if you're used to the performance of Windows Explorer, trying FastCopy is almost mandatory: It's one of those utilities that, once you try it, stays installed forever. in your system.

TeraCopy, Ultracopier, and other alternatives for faster copying

Although FastCopy is a very popular option, it's not the only one. There are other tools such as TeraCopy and Ultracopier which are also designed to improve the copying experience compared to the standard Windows function.

TeraCopy It integrates almost seamlessly with the system. Once installed, when you select files in Explorer, choose to copy, and go to paste them, a window may appear asking if you want to Use TeraCopy or Windows ExplorerIf you choose TeraCopy, you select the destination folder, confirm, and the tool takes care of managing the operation.

Its main appeal lies in its user-friendly interface and the ability to resume interrupted backups, manage errors, and verify files It's quite user-friendly for the average user. Furthermore, it can be configured to completely replace the Windows backup system.

Ultracopy It works similarly, appearing in the taskbar near the system clock. From its icon, you can open a menu to add new copy or move operations, choosing the source directory and destination folder. When the copy starts, You control the entire process from a dedicated window., with options to pause, resume and manage file collisions.

Both tools include features geared towards users who frequently copy and move large volumes of data and want finer control over the transfer than the Explorer offers. However, ideally... not having them all installed at the same timebecause they may conflict; it is advisable to try one, and if you are not convinced, uninstall it and try another.

How to integrate and configure FastCopy for use with the context menu

Although FastCopy can be run directly from its .exe file, to make it really convenient it is advisable integrate it with the Windows context menuso you can launch it by right-clicking on any file or folder.

After downloading and opening FastCopy (preferably with “Run as administrator”), you can go to the “Extensions > Shell Extension” menu and check the boxes corresponding to the actions you want to see when you right-click: Copy, Move, Deleteetc. In this way, when you select one or more files in the Explorer and right-click, new options such as "Copy (FastCopy)" will appear.

When you choose one of these options, the main FastCopy window opens with the source already configured with full path of the selected items. You just need to specify the destination directory, choose the desired mode (copy, synchronize, etc.) and press to start the operation.

This workflow is very streamlined because you don't need to drag or manually search for routes: Everything integrates with Windows ExplorerFurthermore, since FastCopy allows you to pause, resume, and limit the copy speed, you can adapt it to what you are doing at any given time, reducing the impact on overall system performance.

Once you get used to having these extra options in the context menu, you'll probably use the standard Windows copy function less and less, especially in high-volume or important tasks.

Combined with good keyboard shortcuts, proper file selection, modern hardware (SSD and USB 3.0), a suitable file system, and tools like Robocopy, FastCopy, TeraCopy, or Ultracopier, copying and moving files in Windows ceases to be an endless wait and becomes a much more manageable and efficient process.