Solved backup to 2 external drives

trickyrick

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Hi Guys
I use 2 external drives for backup. From time to time I add files (pics and videos) to one of the drives then I have to add the same files to the other to keep them the same. Is there any software that I can use to keep the 2nd drive the same as the first.
Thanks
Rick
 

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x2 for FreeFileSync. I've used for quite some time now. If you have any problems trying to figure out how to use it, let us know and one of us will jump in.
 

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Windows has built in robocopy which can mirror it for you it's very fast and you can download a GUI. For it for frer
 

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Thanks for your suggestions Im trying free file sync. When I open the program it wants to know of a folder to keep track of. How do I keep track of a hole harddrive also Im not sure what to put in the command line. I know Im old and this goes back to the days of Dos but its being along time
 

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win 7 pro
Thanks for your suggestions Im trying free file sync. When I open the program it wants to know of a folder to keep track of. How do I keep track of a hole harddrive also Im not sure what to put in the command line. I know Im old and this goes back to the days of Dos but its being along time

1. Make sure the drive you want to copy from and the one you want to copy to are connected to the computer.

2. Under Program at the upper left corner of the window, click on New.

3. In the left large column, under where it says Drag & Drop, off the right is a box that says Browse (there are two boxes that say Browse; you want the one to the left of the two). Click on that.

4. In the left column of the window that pops up, click on the drive you want to copy from, then click on Select Folder (FFS treats drives as folders; do not click on any folders). The drive letter of the drive you selected will appear in the space to the left of the Browse box.

5. Click on the other Browse box (the right one of the two Browse boxes). Click on the drive you want to copy to, the click on Select Folder. The drive letter that you selected will appear in the space to the left of that Browse box.

6. Just to the left of the box that says Synchronize is a thing that looks like a gear; click on it.

7. In the window that pops up, click on Mirror.

8. Below that, under Delete Files, there are three boxes that say Permanent, Recycle Bin, and Versioning. Until you learn more about the program, leave Recycle Bin selected.

9. Below that, under Handle Errors, are two boxes that say Ignore and Pop-up. Leave Pop-up selected.

10. Under On Completion, leave it blank for now.

11. Click on OK.

12. So you don't have to go through all this rigmarole every time you update a backup, under Configuration (off to the left) click on the center symbol to save what you just did and follow the prompts.

What happens with this configuration is FFS will compare the source drive with the destination drive, then it will copy folders and files as needed from the source drive to the destination drive and delete any necessary files on the destination to make what is essentially an exact copy of the source drive on the destination drive.

To use, just boot up DFFS, click on the configuration you just made, then click on Synchronize, then follow any prompts.

I strongly suggest that, instead of manually copying files to the first backup drive, then using FFS to copy from the fist backup drive to the second backup drive, you use set up FFS to backup the drive in your computer directly to the first backup drive, then repeat the same thing for the second backup drive (both backup drives will need the same drive letter for now). It will be faster in the long run and will have fewer chances for errors.

Let us know how it works out for you (the first time through may take a long time but it will be much faster after that), then we can go into more details on how to fine tune this.

Edit: if it makes you feel any better, I'm also a flatulent geriatric. The feathers hide my age.
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom Build
OS
Win 7 Ultimate 64 bit
CPU
Intel i7-3930K
Motherboard
ASUS P9X79 WS
Memory
Kingston HyperX Genesis 32GB Kit (8x4GB Modules) 1600MHz DDR
Graphics Card(s)
MSI R7850 Twin Frozr 2GD5/OC Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit GDDR
Sound Card
Asus Xonar Essence STX
Monitor(s) Displays
3x Asus VG248QE 24", Vizio 32" TV
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080, ?
Hard Drives
Samsung 128GB 840 Pro SSD (1),
Samsung 4TB 850 EVO SSDs (4)
Samsung 4TB 850 EVO SSDs (16) external backup drives used in 2.5" hot swap bays in the computer.
PSU
Corsair HX750w
Case
Antec Two Hundred v2 (modified)
Cooling
Cooler Master GeminII S524 120mm (fan replaced with a 140mm)
Keyboard
Logitech G510s
Mouse
Logitech M525 (two in use)
Internet Speed
=< 32Mbps down, 8Mbps up
Antivirus
AVAST!, MBAM, SAS, Spybot S&D (all but MBAM free) Glary Util
Browser
IE11
Other Info
LSI 9211-8i HBA card (8 SATA III ports), 2.5" & 3.5" Hot Swap Bays, HooToo HT-CR001 PCI-E to USB 3.0 Internal Hub + 6 Slot Card Reader, and LG Model CH12LS28 BD-ROM Optical Drive. Also, ScanSnap S1500 ADF duplexing scanner, Canon 9000F flat bed scanner, Corsair SP2500 2.1 speakers, Samsung CLP 415nw laser color printer, Cyberpower PP2200SW UPS
samuria I gave your suggestion a try as well when I open the GUI and select my drive (J) and then in Target Path I select (G) then under copy options I check off all then select run. I immediately get a window pop up saying job finished. What have I done wrong
 

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its simple from a cmd prompt

ROBOCOPY <source> <target> /MIR

ie robocopy j:\ g:\ /mir that will mirror drive j to drive g so they are both the same

you can save it as a cmd file so you can just click on it to run or shedule it
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
OS
win 8 32 bit
Hey that works perfect. Dont know y anybody would use the GUI
Thanks alot Samuria
Thanks Guys for the tip on Freefilesync but for me Robocopy works a little better
Have a good weekend
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
OS
win 7 pro
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