Copying files in Windows- A Better Way

My first entry concerns a functionality that we all know and deal with on a near-daily basis in Windows- copying.

Let's say you are reorganizing your music files because between iTunes, MediaMonkey, Rhapsody, Windows Media Player, and others, you've burned a bunch of different CDs and downloaded different tunes.

So you decide to copy everything to your My Music folder (I can hear the more tech-savvy among you scoffing already: "why not create a dedicated folder like C:\Music or something? We can talk about that some other time). You begin copying your ten thousand music files, and it asks if you want to overwrite a small file of Head East's "Never Been Any Reason" you ripped in '03 with a larger version you ripped last year. You say "Yes." Then it asks you the same question for Boston's "More Than a Feeling." You say "Yes" to that too. Then it asks you about Judas Priest's "Breaking the Law." See where I'm going with this?

Sometimes, when copying a user's Documents and Settings folder off a local hard drive, it will run just fine for a while then run into a read-only file I either did not know or forgot. Instead of telling you where you left off or letting you skip the file, you end up having to start all over and either recopy everything that successfully moved or copied before, or clicking "No" on a few thousand "Replace the file?" inquiries.

Enter TeraCopy. This little gem replaces the normal Windows copy function (you can change back to normal Windows copy at any time). It keeps track of which files failed and succeeded, so you have the option to go back and see why the failed files didn't work. It also has an "overwrite if older" function- this will tell TeraCopy to replace any file with the same name but only if the file to be replaced is older than the file being copied. Add an automatic retry of failed copies, adjustable copy buffers (if you are just going to set it and forget it, increasing the buffer will mean faster copy times), and the ability to pause a copy job (in case you need to get to something in the middle of a large copy job) and you have a winner.

I've used this program for months now, and it's a huge help. So, Microsoft, will your vaunted Windows 7 give us the same or better copy functionality of this little program?