Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 4, 2026

RichCopy

RichCopy is a file copying utility program for Windows developed by Ken Tamaru of Microsoft Corporation that was discontinued in 2010. It is multi-threaded uses a graphical user interface (GUI), in contrast to many competing tools that are single-threaded and/or use a command-line interface (CLI).

Last revised
Jun 4, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
334 w
Citations
7
Source
Wikipedia ↗
RichCopy
DeveloperMicrosoft
Stable release
4.0.217
Operating systemWindows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2003
LicenseProprietary

RichCopy is a file copying utility program for Windows developed by Ken Tamaru of Microsoft Corporation that was discontinued in 2010.1 It is multi-threaded uses a graphical user interface (GUI), in contrast to many competing tools that are single-threaded and/or use a command-line interface (CLI).2

Features

  • Supports multiple, simultaneous file transfers (via multi-threaded implementation), which may reduce the time required for to transfer a set of files
  • Provides both CLI and GUI
  • Via GUI, can generate CLI commands to repeat the actions performed in the GUI.3

Criticisms

  • Bugs not fixed before support was discontinued remain; the utility is best utilized by experienced users who know how to verify that copy operations have completed successfully without errors4
  • The utility is not supported by Microsoft.2 The program has not been updated since 2009, despite numerous users requesting bug fixes
  • Duplicates Robocopy functionality

Limitations

The utility will not copy open files.5 A competing tool, GS RichCopy 360, can copy open files.6

See also

See also

References

References

  1. "A Comprehensive List of All 11 Discontinued Microsoft Utilities - Version Museum". Version Museum. 17 December 2019.
  2. Hoffman, Joshua (April 2009). "Free Utility: RichCopy, an Advanced Alternative to RoboCopy". TechNet Magazine. Microsoft.
  3. Tamaru, Ken (20 May 2009). "Command option update". Ken (Kenzaburo) Tamaru's Blog. Microsoft – via Archived MSDN and TechNet Blogs.
  4. Ilascu, Ionut (March 25, 2009). "Microsoft's Multithread Copy Solution". softpedia.com. SoftNews NET SRL. Retrieved 2010-12-04.
  5. "CreateFileA function (Fileapi.h) - Win32 apps". 9 February 2023.
  6. "Gurusquad - GS RichCopy 360 – file copy tool | copy files over network".
External links