Syncing Two Hard Disk Data Drives
May 23, 2017 01:00:23 #
The importance of maintaining multiple backups of your data files cannot be over emphasized. I keep my data on an internal drive on my desktop computer and a backup on an external drive. I have a NAS that automatically backs up the external data drive. So, my challenge is to keep my internal and external data drive synchronized and the NAS will take care of itself. To keep the internal and external data drives synced, I use Microsoft's SyncToy 2.1 x64. It is free and has never failed me. You can use it to sync files, folders or entire drives. SyncToy can perform three actions on folder (drive) pairs.
Synchronize: New and updated files are copied both ways. Renames and deletes on either side are repeated on the other.
Echo: New and updated files are copied left to right. Renames and deletes on the left are repeated on the right.
Contribute: New and updated files are copied left to right. Renames on the left are repeated on the right. No deletions
There are many ways to sync drives but I find this to be these easiest and the most reliable.
This is not a new topic. It was discussed during the past week but due to an illness, I was not able to post a reply. I also didn't post this to start a debate but rather to let the forum know what has been working for me and to provide a method for a reliable backup with minimal effort. Thanks and I hope that this post will benefit some UHH member.
Synchronize: New and updated files are copied both ways. Renames and deletes on either side are repeated on the other.
Echo: New and updated files are copied left to right. Renames and deletes on the left are repeated on the right.
Contribute: New and updated files are copied left to right. Renames on the left are repeated on the right. No deletions
There are many ways to sync drives but I find this to be these easiest and the most reliable.
This is not a new topic. It was discussed during the past week but due to an illness, I was not able to post a reply. I also didn't post this to start a debate but rather to let the forum know what has been working for me and to provide a method for a reliable backup with minimal effort. Thanks and I hope that this post will benefit some UHH member.
May 23, 2017 07:19:26 #
Check SyncBack: https://www.2brightsparks.com/downloads.html
You can get a version free and try it out to see if it will do what you need.
You can get a version free and try it out to see if it will do what you need.
May 23, 2017 19:44:03 #
Are you suggesting that​ I abandon a system that has been working for me for years and try your's instead?
WayneT wrote:
Check SyncBack: https://www.2brightsparks.com/downloads.html
You can get a version free and try it out to see if it will do what you need.
You can get a version free and try it out to see if it will do what you need.
May 23, 2017 20:17:01 #
No, not at all, just giving up an alternative. I actually prefer an NAS solution to backup but a lot of people would have a harder time setting up a NAS system.
May 23, 2017 21:41:12 #
May 24, 2017 07:14:37 #
WayneT wrote:
Check SyncBack: https://www.2brightsparks.com/downloads.html
You can get a version free and try it out to see if it will do what you need.
You can get a version free and try it out to see if it will do what you need.
I use SyncBack - good program.
May 24, 2017 11:08:10 #
A computer guru who has saved my bacon several times uses a program called Beyond Compare. He has encouraged me to purchase it, but as yet I have not. He gave me a lesson on how it works. It seemed simple enough. It tracked not only files that were missing from one HD or the other, but also updates to a file that had not been copied.
May 24, 2017 12:18:23 #
My personally preferred method is to use multiple NAS devices, with all RAID 1 paired, mirrored drives. ALL my storage, except for the internal drive C: is RAID 1. Best of luck.
May 24, 2017 12:24:51 #
rsync, you need the right recipe but it backs up anything, to anywhere, anyhow, pretty much.
May 25, 2017 00:58:17 #
blackest wrote:
rsync, you need the right recipe but it backs up anything, to anywhere, anyhow, pretty much.
Wow, old-school skillz!!
Does rsync even exist on Windows? I use it all the time on Mac and Linux, but then, I'm a Professional
May 25, 2017 06:19:11 #
wesm wrote:
Wow, old-school skillz!!
Does rsync even exist on Windows? I use it all the time on Mac and Linux, but then, I'm a Professional
Does rsync even exist on Windows? I use it all the time on Mac and Linux, but then, I'm a Professional
Well there is synctoy (bad name it is not a toy) and there is supposed to be subsystem to run linux binaries so real rsync might be possible.
If you have a linux system it could always run the backup and just leave windows serving up the required files
Kind of an interesting way to work is for the linux machine to pull from the windows systems. Even if the windows system gets compromised by ransomware it has no access to write to the backups. As long as you don't authorise the windows machines write access to the linux drives you should be fairly secure (till you get a windows malware that also contains a remote linux exploit, it could happen eventually).
May 25, 2017 08:59:43 #
May 25, 2017 09:00:55 #
May 25, 2017 14:34:41 #
May 25, 2017 16:29:24 #
Dickwood33 wrote:
What is NAS, and RAID
NAS drives are used in Raid arrays. A Raid array is anywhere from 2 to 8 NAS drives that collectively mirror each other. If any one of the drives fails all that needs to be done is replace it with a new one in the array and it will automatically mirror to the other drives.
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