ExtremeCopy Free (32-bit) for Windows

Copying large files can be a tedious and time-consuming task. Fortunately, there's ExtremeCopy Free (32-bit). This easy-to-use program can significantly reduce the amount of time it takes to copy files. Although when we tried it the program didn't reach "up to eight times the speed of the Windows copying function" as the publisher claims it can, it still offered a meaningful improvement over the native Windows feature.

The program has no real interface of its own, aside from a configuration menu. Here, users can choose to set ExtremeCopy as Explorer's default copier and keep it on top, as well as have it minimize to the task tray, write log files, verify data copy upon completion, close the window after verification, and play a sound when the copy is done. As long as it's set as the default copier, you don't even have to think about it to use it; just copy a file as you normally would, and the program springs into action. A dialog displays a progress meter with the percentage copied and both the time elapsed and time remaining. There are also buttons to pause and skip. We tested the program by copying a 1.73GB folder full of images, audio files, and other documents; first we used the Windows copy function, and then we tried it with ExtremeCopy. The built-in Windows function copied the folder in 2 minutes and 58 seconds, while ExtremeCopy managed the same task in 2 minutes and 20 seconds. Not a huge difference, but if you're copying even larger files or performing this task frequently, the time savings quickly add up. The program doesn't come with a Help file, but this isn't much of a problem as the program's quite intuitive to use. Anyone who works with large files on a regular basis should give ExtremeCopy a try.

ExtremeCopy Free (32-bit) comes as a ZIP file. It installs a desktop icon without asking but uninstalls cleanly.