Remember TeraCopy? This utility was quite popular during the Windows 7 era and offered a better way to move files between locations than Windows Explorer. You may be surprised to know that the tool still exists; In fact, I still prefer the ones on Windows 11.
Faster than File Explorer
(But only in certain cases)
Most people would just switch to the default file transfer mechanism in Windows 11 TeraCopy if it offers better transfer speeds. Fortunately, TeraCopy lives up to these expectations. However, you won’t notice the speed difference when transferring a small number of files. In fact, in my testing, I found that both the Windows 11 file transfer system and TeraCopy offered an average speed of 35 MB/s when transferring a 3 GB file from one location to another.
But I started to notice the difference when trying to transfer large files. When I moved the 100GB folder containing Borderlands 3’s installation folder, I noticed that TeraCopy maintained a constant speed of about 45MB/s, while the Windows file transfer system reached 43MB/s. In addition, the transfer speed sometimes dropped to around 5 MB/s. Although the same slowdown sometimes occurred with TeraCopy, it occurred more frequently with the Windows file transfer mechanism than with TeraCopy.
Although the difference between TeraCopy and Windows file system copy speeds is only 2 MB/s, that small difference can make a big difference when you zoom out and look at the total time each takes to complete the copy process.
Let’s say I get a constant transfer rate of 45 MB/s with TeraCopy. In this case, it will take about 38 minutes to transfer a 100 GB folder. In contrast, the Windows file copy system will take about 40 minutes to copy the same folder at a constant speed of 43 MB/s. If you’re doing a larger transfer, such as copying an entire disk, these differences can add up—sometimes by hours.
TeraCopy protects you from user error
You are usually your own worst enemy
If you’ve been using Windows for a long time, you’ve probably come across situations where Windows automatically cancels the copy process when it encounters an error, for example. external drive you copy files to disconnect. Unlike the Windows copy system, TeraCopy recognizes that the target disk may have been accidentally partitioned and stops the process instead of completely deleting it.
As soon as you reconnect the target device, you can click continue to resume the file copying process from where it left off.
Another situation you may be dealing with is accidentally dragging folders from one place to another. But as TeraCopy is a standard file transfer tool, you don’t have to worry about this mess. When you copy and paste or drag and drop a file or folder from one location to another, TeraCopy requires confirmation before performing the process.
While this may seem like an extra step to some, to me it’s a small extra security mechanism to prevent accidental transfers. However, if you don’t want to encounter this additional confirmation prompt, next time you copy files using TeraCopy, click the gear and uncheck the “Show next time” option.
You can queue transfers
No need to wait around
Windows allows you to move files to multiple locations at the same time. While this may seem like the best approach, unfortunately it is not. While you won’t notice much of a difference when you’re moving a few small files to multiple locations at once, things will get complicated when you’re doing it with dozens of large files.
When Windows tries to move huge files to multiple locations at the same time, it puts a lot of strain on your system processor and memory disk. As a result, you may experience a slowdown in overall system performance. If you have a device, the situation will be even worse a small amount of RAMfor example 8GB.
However, with TeraCopy, you don’t have to worry about system slowdowns because instead of copying files to multiple locations at once, it creates a queue based on the order in which you copy files. For example, if you transfer four files to different locations using TeraCopy, the tool will start by transferring the first file and will not touch the second file until the transfer of the first file is complete.
The only downside to this approach is when you need to move several small files to different locations. In such cases, copying all the files at once would be faster than copying them one by one. However, when multiple large files need to be transferred, TeraCopy’s queue approach can be highly effective.
Saves file transfer history
Don’t remember where you put this file? There is no greatness
A unique feature of TeraCopy is that it keeps a log of all the transfers you make through it. You can check this by opening TeraCopy and clicking “Login”.
You can find every detail about file transfers, including the source and destination folders, the date the transfer was performed, and whether any errors were encountered during the transfer process. In addition, TeraCopy has an Auto-Moving feature that ensures that it automatically transfers any damaged files it encounters during the transfer process and resumes the transfer.
At the end of the transfer, you will be asked what you want to do with the files that were not copied during the process. I rely on this feature a lot when I need to transfer large files overnight. I just start the copying process and go to sleep. Even if Teracopy has trouble copying a particular file, it just skips it and moves on to the next file instead of waiting for my confirmation before continuing.
Is TeraCopy perfect?
It’s just one tool in my arsenal
It’s almost impossible to find an app that doesn’t have any downsides, and TeraCopy is no exception. In terms of features, I have to say it’s better than the default Windows copy mechanism. However, I interace can be confusing. Having been using TeraCopy for nearly a decade now, I’m completely used to it, but newcomers may find its interface a bit overwhelming.
If you want to copy a file or folder using TeraCopy, you must first select the source folder and then the destination folder. All of this can seem like a lot of work for someone just starting to use the program.
In addition, there are many advanced options such as Test and Validate that read target and source files, generate checksums and compare them. The program also allows you to manually select the error detection standard. While all these features may sound like a power user’s dream come true, the average user who downloaded the app just to copy files might find them a bit intimidating.
I would stick with the free version
TeraCopy also offers a premium plan that costs $29.95. Should you consider buying it? Maybe not. First, the Pro plan doesn’t have any non-standard features that would justify the purchase for most people. Second, there’s no point in spending money on a program whose only function is to copy and paste files from one place to another, if you’re not going to use any of the professional features like advanced filtering options.
