<p>I found an answer: use TeraCopy and select <em>Older Only</em> when asked about replacing the destination files. And just to be certain that everything gets updated like it should, I tested the resulting backup folder by running the Bitcoin node on it, and everything was normal.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-03-18T01:25:05.743Z
2016-03-18T01:25:05.743Z
DoaJC_Blogger
<p>I'd like to be able to backup the Bitcoin Core data directory. I know I can just copy everything except wallet.dat to an external hard drive.</p>

<p>I want to be able to restore it in case of drive crash, catch up, and be able to update the backup with just new blocks, because it would take too long to copy 50+ GB back. Can I do a full folder copy, telling Windows not to replace anything? I think that should work, but there's a block index, and wouldn't keeping the old index with new block data keep Bitcoin Core from knowing about the new blocks I had caught up on?</p>

<bitcoind><bitcoin-core>
How do I backup the Bitcoin Core data directory?
DoaJC_Blogger
# How do I backup the Bitcoin Core data directory?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-11-29)

I'd like to be able to backup the Bitcoin Core data directory. I know I can just copy everything except wallet.dat to an external hard drive.

I want to be able to restore it in case of drive crash, catch up, and be able to update the backup with just new blocks, because it would take too long to copy 50+ GB back. Can I do a full folder copy, telling Windows not to replace anything? I think that should work, but there's a block index, and wouldn't keeping the old index with new block data keep Bitcoin Core from knowing about the new blocks I had caught up on?

**Tags:** bitcoind, bitcoin-core


---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_0 on 2016-03-18. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

I found an answer: use TeraCopy and select *Older Only* when asked about replacing the destination files. And just to be certain that everything gets updated like it should, I tested the resulting backup folder by running the Bitcoin node on it, and everything was normal.


---

