How to use Robocopy multi-threaded feature to speed up file copy on Windows 10

• Robocopy for Windows 10 includes a multi-threaded feature enabled with the /MT switch. By default, it uses 8 threads, but you can increase it up to 128 to copy multiple files simultaneously, reducing transfer time.
• For example, robocopy C:\source D:\destination /E /MT:32 copies files with 32 threads, speeding up the process compared to File Explorer.

UPDATED 8/19/2025: On Windows 10, when you have to copy files to another drive, you typically use the standard select, copy, and paste process. Although this works perfectly fine, speed becomes a bottleneck as transferring many files can take a very long time.

As an alternative, many savvy users use Robocopy (Robust File Copy), a command-line tool built into Windows 10, which offers more features to quickly move data to a different location (to another drive or computer over the network). One feature that makes Robocopy special (and often overlooked) is its multi-threaded feature that allows multiple files to be copied simultaneously. Instead of one file at a time, use the copy feature from File Explorer.

In this guide, I’ll explain the steps to use the multi-threaded copies feature on Robocopy to speed up the transfer process of files and folders to another drive on Windows 10.

How to use Robocopy’s multi-threaded feature on Windows 10

To use the Robocopy multi-threaded feature to copy files and folders to another drive on Windows 10, follow these steps:

1. Open Start on Windows 10.

2. Search for Command Prompt, right-click the result, and select the Run as administrator option.

3. Type the following command to copy the files and folders to another drive and press Enter:

   robocopy C:\source\folder\path\ D:\destination\folder\path\ /S /E /Z /ZB /R:5 /W:5 /TBD /NP /V /MT:32

   In the command, change the source and destination paths and the options. For example, this command copies data from the drive “C” to “D” and uses the “32” threads for copying:

   robocopy C:\Users\admin\Documents D:\Users\admin\Documents /S /E /Z /ZB /R:5 /W:5 /TBD /NP /V /MT:32

   

Explanation of Robocopy switches

Robocopy has many features, and in the command shown above, we use the following switches to make the copy reliable and fast.

• /S — Copy subdirectories but skip empty ones.
• /E — Copy subdirectories, including empty ones.
• /Z — Copy files in restartable mode.
• /ZB — Switch to backup mode if access is denied.
• /R:5 — Retry 5 times before failing.
• /W:5 — Wait 5 seconds before retrying.
• /TBD — Wait if a share name is not yet available.
• /NP — Suppress progress percentage.
• /V — Show skipped files in verbose mode.
• /MT:32 — Enable multi-threaded copy with 32 threads (default is 8, max is 128).

The most important switch to focus on in the above command is /MT, which is the switch that enables Robocopy to copy files in multi-threaded mode. If you do not set a number next to the /MT switch, the default number will be 8, which means that the tool will try to copy eight files simultaneously. However, Robocopy supports 1 to 128 threads.

In this command, I’m using 32, but you can set it to a higher number. The only caveat is that a higher number will cause higher resource usage and bandwidth. Using a high number will affect performance if you have an older processor. As a result, test before executing the command with more threads.

Once you complete the steps, file transfers will be much faster than File Explorer, whether you are copying to another drive or migrating files over the network.

You are not limited to copying files and folders to an external or internal drive. You can also use this to migrate files over the network.

Update August 19, 2025: This guide has been updated to ensure accuracy and reflect changes to the process.