Solved Not a backup if you dont know you can use it

[DonM123]

Anyone who has a way to backup added files to a USB external drive on a nightly basis
I need to find backup strategies that do not back files up to named archives that I cannot prove good without a lot of hassle.
Maybe a windows 7 copy method that copies recent files. I have been burned by backup programs that have high support fees and high rates of not being able to restore files from the backup file that the program created.
The manual copy of my external usb takes 3 days and I cant do that every eve !

I would hope to find a program that might mirror my USB drive onto another USB drive so I have them backed up.
I need a backup program that does not change the form of my files or folders.
I lost faith in windows backup a long time ago but maybe it now works ?
Anyone have a tried and true proven method that they know works that they can share with me..

THANK YOU !

 

[Golden]

Try this:

SyncToy - Backup User Data

or this if command line is your forte:

ROBOCOPY - Create Backup Script

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Backup software comparison - SyncBackPro, SyncBackSE and SyncBackFree

Here's another. I use the free version with no complaints.

I've used 4 or 5 different backup apps over the last 15 years. They all offer a "mirror" capability. The interfaces differ and some of them are confusing. Some are more difficult to configure than others. They all give you considerable control over what you want to include and exclude, but I've found that the include/exclude choices can be problematic for some programs.

But I haven't yet had any trouble with SyncBackFree after 6 months. I back up about 700 GB a couple of times a day to a second internal drive. Takes 2 minutes at most. The backed up files remain in their original format.

 

[redoak]

Try this:

SyncToy - Backup User Data

or this if command line is your forte:

ROBOCOPY - Create Backup Script

I have used both SyncToy and RoboCopy with great results. If you really want to be sure of what's going on, make yourself RoboCopy scripts. As you learn how to use either of these tools, do some experimentation - then you'll know exactly how they work...

 

[DonM123]

Thank you !

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Anyway if anyone does know of a backup program that really does work or knows of a method to manually do this... I will be so greatfull for your sharing.

Is there some reason you have not investigated the choices mentioned in this thread?

You don't need Acronis.

You don't want incrementals or anything to do with imaging.

You want an ordinary file by file backup program that will give you an exact replica of your data files, in their original format. Just as if you had copied with the mouse or keyboard.

There are a dozen or more choices. Some paid and some free. Some of them mentioned in this thread.

 

[samuria]

The simplest if you only backing up docs etc is to use google drive you just save files to it on your pc and it backs it upi
on its own to google so you can get it any where in the world MS one drive does the same safer than usb which can be lost corrupt etc

 

[DonM123]

OK so Robocopy it is. Do run it in powershell as an administrator ? any I have windows 7 64 bit prof.
I did open powershell and did find robocopy.exe
Should I use the Powershell ISA option to make a "batch file" or better to use notepad ? if so what do I name the extension ?
Should I bother updating powershell ? it says I have PS 2 ??

I am guessing now I can type in c:\windows\system\"Robocopy d: *.* e:\realbackofdriveD /mir /copyall /dcopy:T /e /mot:1440
?????
It seams that mir might not need the /e ?? what confuses me is when I copy something like this but it stops because it wants to know if i should overwrite or merge a folder

Also it seams that the /mot: option might not be in effect after reboot or after closing the powershell windows. - ?

Thank you !

 

[DonM123]

ignatzatsonic Aspiring Gnome: IT appears that your recommendation of SyncBackFree is a good one. Id did install it and its help works and it has a nice pdf manual. If I want to buy it has a modest price of 54$
I did schedule a backup of a folder. I was confused why it did not let me choose the whole drive when I setup a backup profile.
thanks for your recommendation.
I am new to this forum and I replied and posted when the page was not updated. Sorry for the confusion.
It is so awesome to get this kind of information Im grateful for the time this forum has saved me.. THank you!

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

The simplest if you only backing up docs etc is to use google drive you just save files to it on your pc and it backs it upi
on its own to google so you can get it any where in the world MS one drive does the same safer than usb which can be lost corrupt etc

I would NOT trust Google drive. Besides Google being too snoopy for my tastes, Google has a nasty habit of discontinuing services with inadequate to no warning. Even though it's not free (and it's not very expensive), Carbonite.com is much safer and more reliable. Crashplan and Backblaze are also supposed to be good although I've heard Crashplan's upload speeds tend to be slower.

Also, just using the one service for backups is a gamble. One should have at least two backups, preferably one onsite and one offsite. A cloud backup service can be used for offsite backups. I maintain two onsite and two offsite backups for each HDD in my computer and swap them out at least once a month. I also maintain a Carbonite backup to use to recover files that have been added or changed since the last time I updated my offsite backups in case I should lose my original data and my onsite backups.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

ignatzatsonic Aspiring Gnome: IT appears that your recommendation of SyncBackFree is a good one. Id did install it and its help works and it has a nice pdf manual. If I want to buy it has a modest price of 54$
I did schedule a backup of a folder. I was confused why it did not let me choose the whole drive when I setup a backup profile.
thanks for your recommendation.
I am new to this forum and I replied and posted when the page was not updated. Sorry for the confusion.
It is so awesome to get this kind of information Im grateful for the time this forum has saved me.. THank you!

One reason I like FreeFileSync is it allows me to specify an entire drive in a backup profile. It also allows me to specify the drive name instead of the drive letter in a backup profile which is handy since the drive letters of removable external drives can change without warning.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

see comments:

Id did install it and its help works and it has a nice pdf manual. If I want to buy it has a modest price of 54$

Sync Back Free is free. Not $54.

There are paid versions that have added features that you probably would not need. There is a "feature comparison" page at the developer's web site.

Here:

Backup software comparison - SyncBackPro, SyncBackSE and SyncBackFree

If you would just as soon pay for an application, then you should also look at "Second Copy", from Centered Systems. I think it is $30 with a 30 day free trial. Superb interface and been around a long time. I used it for close to 10 years.


I did schedule a backup of a folder. I was confused why it did not let me choose the whole drive when I setup a backup profile.


Not sure where you went wrong, but you can back up a whole drive. That's exactly what I do. I have 4 profiles: All data (700 GB, entire D drive), most important data (22 GB, certain folders and file types on D drive), Thunderbird Email (one folder on C drive), and browser bookmarks (one folder on C drive). All run manually and individually on demand with a single mouse click.

There is nothing wrong with Robocopy, but.................................it is a very powerful tool that can be confusing for the inexperienced. If you don't know exactly what you are doing, it can have a disastrous outcome.

 

[DonM123]

I am using the SyncBackFree Program I can not figure out how to tell it to remove the files I delete off of the source. LIke if I clean up junk files from the source - I also want them to be removed from the backup. I dont see an option for this in the "Decisions " part of the profile.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

I am using the SyncBackFree Program I can not figure out how to tell it to remove the files I delete off of the source.

Look at the 2 pictures below.

In the first picture, you'll see all 4 of my profiles on the far left, with "all data" highlighted.

In the middle column, you will see "decisions - files" highlighted.

In the far right column, notice the section entitled "what to do if a file exists on Destination, but not on Source"

In that section, notice that I have enabled the radio button for "Delete file from Destination if it has not been modified within the last 0 days".

That setting forces a "mirror" outcome, in which the destination drive matches the source drive. If a file is deleted from source, it is also deleted from destination.

This is confirmed in the second picture of the profile setup for the "all data" profile. Notice the red "deleted" in the far right column ("files only on Destination are deleted").

You should be able to make any necessary changes to a profile by using the "modify" button at the bottom of the interface.

 

[DonM123]

ignatzatsonic - Thanks! When I was looking the decisions files part I overlooked the bar on the side that lets you see more options. But now I see it and this makes sense to me. I brings comfort when it makes sense !
Also I realized that when I click on folder in the destination / source folder it wont let me choose a whole drive there but i can put in the drive with a ( E:\ )
I am glad to have a handle now on this backup situation for home and work it will save me grief.