How can I create a PowerShell script to copy a file to a USB flash drive?

Question

I have a virtual hard disk .vhd file that I would like to backup on a daily basis by clicking on a shortcut on my Windows Vista laptop. I wrote a half-hazard batch script fi

Answer 1

This code gets the last ready to use removable drive (e.g. an USB drive just plugged-in):

$drives = [System.IO.DriveInfo]::GetDrives()
$r = $drives | Where-Object { $_.DriveType -eq 'Removable' -and $_.IsReady }
if ($r) {
    return @($r)[-1]
}
throw "No removable drives found."

This way does not require the fixed volume name to be pre-set. We can use different USB drives without knowing/setting their names.

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UPDATE To complete drag-and-drop part of the task you can do this.

Create the PowerShell script (use Notepad, for example) C:\TEMP_110628_041140\Copy-ToRemovableDrive.ps1 (the path is up to you):

param($Source)

$drives = [System.IO.DriveInfo]::GetDrives()
$r = $drives | Where-Object { $_.DriveType -eq 'Removable' -and $_.IsReady }
if (!$r) {
    throw "No removable drives found."
}

$drive = @($r)[-1]
Copy-Item -LiteralPath $Source -Destination $drive.Name -Force -Recurse

Create the file Copy-ToRemovableDrive.bat (for example on your desktop), it uses the PowerShell script:

powershell -file C:\TEMP\_110628_041140\Copy-ToRemovableDrive.ps1 %1

Now you can plug your USB drive and drag a file to the Copy-ToRemovableDrive.bat icon at your desktop. This should copy the dragged file to the just plugged USB drive.