I need help from a computer guru copying files.

[Samckitt]

I want to copy from one hard drive to another. But on the source drive the files are all over the place, in multiple directories & could have the same name, but be different files. I want to search that drive for all *.jpg files & copy that to a new hard drive all in the same location. Obviously can't just drag n drop because the same named files will get overwritten. Is there anyway to copy all at once & have a suffix added to the duplicate files once copied?



Thanks

[Vicinity]

Yes, are you on XP or Vista?

On XP, find the "Search" under the start menu options, on Vista, click start, and the search bar is right above the start button.

Search for ".jpg" and it will bring all the JPG files on your computer up.

Highlight, then drag and drop to where you would like them.

[Samckitt]

Yes I know that part. Problem is I am searching multiple directories, and I may have IMG001.jpg in 2 different directories, and both will show in the search results. Then I want to copy both of them to a new single directory. Can't do that because one will overwrite the other. So is there a way to do it so the name is changed so no duplicate names?

[BA.]

Thats the rub though, I don't think he can drag and drop them because the duplicate Directory Tree is not on the other hard-drive.

You're talking about a lot of directories too.
Scot, I don't know how to help you get the other directories created, assuming you do want the Directory Tree exactly like your Source Drive.
You can obviously mirror the entire drive.....or create your own dozen folders in one area. (Folder 1, Folder 2, Folder 3...) and then if you do the search like he said above........Sort them by location,....you can drag and drop a bundle at a time. (all from same source directory to a specific new Folder X on the Target Drive.
Seems like maybe you could dump them all in one folder if you can find the Folders Option to ASK for every potential File Overwrite. Depending upon options given, you either rename, or write down the file name and location for reference and then say "No" to the overwrite. Follow-up on the list manually.
Dunno man. Gotta say it sounds like an odd request.

[derekf]

Robocopy.

Something along the lines of "robocopy d:\ c:\ *.jpg /s", where D: would be the source path and C:\ would be the destination, adjust as needed. This will copy all the JPGs while keeping the directory structure intact. If you put them in "C:\JPGs" or similar you can then dig through and combine directories as appropriate.

Unfortunately, I believe that Robocopy comes with the Windows Resource Kit and not with Windows itself. A google for "robocopy.exe" should be able to find you a copy.

[Rhino]

My first thought was robocopy as well. Derek is right on the money.

If you're not comfortable with using robocopy, another option may be an image library application like Google's Picasa. I believe it has the ability to crawl a drive and copy/move the pictures into it's own folder.

[6'9"Witha69]

Robocopy.

Something along the lines of "robocopy d:\ c:\ *.jpg /s", where D: would be the source path and C:\ would be the destination, adjust as needed. This will copy all the JPGs while keeping the directory structure intact. If you put them in "C:\JPGs" or similar you can then dig through and combine directories as appropriate.

Unfortunately, I believe that Robocopy comes with the Windows Resource Kit and not with Windows itself. A google for "robocopy.exe" should be able to find you a copy.

+1. Nail. Head. Hit.

[Ron L]

Is it just pictures you want copied? Use Google Picasa to index every pic on your HD and export them through it. I believe it has the option to rename duplicates or at least it should ask you before overwriting it.

If you do a simple drag/drop, deny the "overwrite" prompts and rename them yourself once it's done copying since they're all that'll show up on your next search result. I can't imagine you having too many duplicates to manually rename.

[68Formula]

I can't imagine you having too many duplicates to manually rename.

Not necessarily. I know I have bunches because initially I could not rename them as a group when I transferred them from the camera, so I put them in sub directories under "My Pictures" and also have two drives (one transferred from my old computer). So I have a similar issue. Glad there's a way to get around it, as it's going to take some time for me to eventually clean them up with renaming (although I will probably never get around to it).

[Ron L]

Not necessarily. I know I have bunches because initially I could not rename them as a group when I transferred them from the camera, so I put them in sub directories under "My Pictures" and also have two drives (one transferred from my old computer). So I have a similar issue. Glad there's a way to get around it, as it's going to take some time for me to eventually clean them up with renaming (although I will probably never get around to it).

Ah yeah, I didn't think of the cameras resetting the numbering system due to loss of battery power or whatever. That would cause a lot of duplicates. But if you already put them in their own sub-folders can't you just copy the folder as a whole and leave the duplicate names?

Another way to do batch rename/copy is with Irfanview. You can tell it to copy/rename to a different folder and specify the file name and numbering system. It's got a lot of options so pay attention or you'll end up with more duplicates of duplicates.