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

I would set the volume name of the disc, and examine all connected drives and find the drive with that volume name. Here's how I do it in PowerShell:

param([parameter(mandatory=$true)]$VolumeName,
      [parameter(mandatory=$true)]$SrcDir)

# find connected backup drive:
$backupDrive = $null
get-wmiobject win32_logicaldisk | % {
    if ($_.VolumeName -eq $VolumeName) {
        $backupDrive = $_.DeviceID
    }
}
if ($backupDrive -eq $null) {
    throw "$VolumeName drive not found!"
}

# mirror 
$backupPath = $backupDrive + "\"
& robocopy.exe $SrcDir $backupPath /MIR /Z

Answer 2

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.