fvasek Loc: Abingdon, Maryland

I’ve been using a freeware or shareware program to backup my photos and I can’t recall the name of it. I just bought a new computer because my previous PC died. As a result I have no way of finding out the name of the program. The reason I am inquiring here is because a while back someone was asking for advice on a free backup program that was easy to use. At least one of those responses was the name of the program I was using. Basically, the way the program works is, you do a search for the drive, folder or file you want as your source and then you search for the drive, folder or file to use as your target. You then choose whether you want it to add new or modified files to the target drive or delete files on the target drive that have been deleted on the source drive. There are other modifications you can make, but I think I’ve probably confused you enough trying to explain the operation of the program. If anyone can name some of the freeware or shareware backup programs they are using, maybe it will refresh my memory. Thanks in advance for any assistance you can offer.

runyanp

Synchback free?

chrissybabe Loc: New Zealand

This is a classic computer users error. Not keeping a copy of any program you have downloaded and used. I have had to deal with many folks who haven't done this. The classic (and I have made a lot of money from this) are those who install Office and then promptly lose the CD along with the key. Then their hard drive falls over.
I cannot rebuild and reinstall Office without having to sell them a new copy. When I get complaints about this I pull out a couple of $100 notes and ask them if they owned those two notes would they look after them ? The answer, of course, is yes. So I then ask why they didn't do the same for the CD and key also worth $200 ?
Other than ongoing work like scads of photos etc (which you have got multiple backup copies haven't you ?) the next two most important data sets are your OTHER data like Word documents (and Excel ?) and including your Outlook PST file and what I call my Sources folder. The sources folder has every program I have downloaded and /or bought including their license keys (written in a txt document showing every transaction including upgrades and the date). I use bvckup2 but anything will do as long as you update it daily - takes usually a minute or so. So I do have a way of finding the name of any program I have ever used.
Another thing I do, usually before replacing a system disk, is do a screen dump of my desktop as a reminder of what I had installed.

Bogin Bob Loc: Tampa Bay, Florida

Bogin Bob Loc: Tampa Bay, Florida

Try FreeFileSync https://freefilesync.org/

bobmcculloch Loc: NYC, NY

You can do that with Windows Explorer!

fvasek Loc: Abingdon, Maryland

Thanks. That’s not the exact program, but it sounds very similar and promising.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

All programs probably operate similarly
and there are dozens out there.
Good luck.

fvasek Loc: Abingdon, Maryland

Thanks for the reply.
The big difference between using Windows Explorer and the program is, when using the program you can name and save the parameters of the backup. Then in the future with minimal clicks, you can reproduce the backup with the exact same parameters.

fazgeo Loc: Albany, NY

Windows 10 has SyncToy build in, I use it to backup to 3 different drives.

fvasek Loc: Abingdon, Maryland

JACKPOT!

Thank you so much. Synctoy is the exact program I was looking for. Thanks again for your help. I knew I could depend on the Hog members.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

👍👍 Good advice. I have used GoodSync, SyncToy and Backuper (and probably some others over the years). I’m now evaluating both Macrium Reflect and Acronis for both cloning and imaging. Both are fine, but at the moment, I’m concentrated on Macrium as I clean up my main computer, backups and DR copy in the cloud - I’ve gotten kind of sloppy over the last few years in terms of organization. Macrium is impressive and very comprehensive if you want to use all the features - the manual is 534 pages long (!). Their support is excellent - got a response to an open ticket within 30 minutes, but neither it nor Acronis is free.

You basically want your “User” folder in your root drive backed up. It typically includes your documents, download folder, desktop, Apdata and almost everything (except docs such as images you store on a separate drive) that personalizes a Windows installation. You may also need to separately backup your favorites, cookies and history from your browser. Regarding passwords and registration, I highly recommend BelArc. It’s free and not only will give you a complete in-depth survey/inventory of your machine, it records every installed ap, registration information and password in one complete report.

And finally, don’t forget you need 3 copies of your data - a working copy, an on-site backup, and an off-site disaster recovery copy. Can’t repeat this often enough.

frankraney Loc: Clovis, Ca.

You just learned a very common lesson, not backing up your computer and files. I've been there done that.

To answer your question sinkback free is free. It can be programmed and you can have several different profiles running at the same time, although I don't think it will do a cloud backup.

rck281 Loc: Overland Park, KS

File History and Windows 7 Backup and Restore are both built into Windows 10. All you need.

CTTonymm Loc: Connecticut

I use Chronosync - is $60 for lifetime with free updates. Have multiple external drives - backup the computer drive and my external drive containing files/images to two separate drive and then back up those drives to another drive. And I use Time Machine (mac) to auto backup my computer files to another drive. You can set Chronosync to run backups on a scheduled basis - I just put regular backups into my calendar.