Sync Center

[jamepc]

I've noticed Sync Center rules have been setup by itself. I believe this is to have a local copy of my files from my network in case I don't have network access. Is this correct?
How does Win 7 decide which files to sync? Are they the folders I add to my "Libraries"?
Since it syncs files from a server that's always on (and not just a network drive that may not be on all the time), is there any reason why I cannot turn off this feature? If not, how?

Also, I use Sync Toy and Task Scheduler to copy local files to my server every night for backup reasons. How is Sync Center different than Sync Toy? Would Sync Center be a better option for this task? I clicked on "Set up new sync partnerships", but got the message that "There are no new sync partnerships that can be set up on this computer".
Is this because my server is a Windows Home Server box? Is this also why the syncs that were setup automatically "files from my Library" received error messages stating that it could not connect?
Sorry for all the questions! I appreciate any help!
Jamie

 

[Brink]

Hello Jamie,

Sync Center is used to manage your Offline Files from your network. The ability to use Offline Files is enabled by default in Windows 7, but can be disabled. If you wanted to have offline files, then you would have to manually make the network files or folders available offline first since there are none available by default. The tutorials below can help give you more details and information on this though.

• http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/48829-offline-files-enable-disable-use.html
• http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/50718-offline-files-encrypt-unencrypt.html
• http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/50967-offline-files-manage-disk-space-usage.html
• http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/48997-offline-files-status-view-change.html
• http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/48860-offline-files-view-all.html

I have not used Sync Toy, so I'm not sure how it compares with using Sync Center and Offline Files in Windows 7. It seems to do a great job for me with my WHS server though. You might give it a try to see how you like it.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[jamepc]

Hi Shawn,
So you use Sync Center with WHS? How does this benefit you? Does it just enable you to view your files stored on the WHS if the WHS is turned off?
Thanks,
Jamie

 

[Brink]

Correct. It keeps a copy of the network files or folders on your computer (offline files) so that they will still be available in case the network, WHS, of network files or folders are unavailble from the network. It will keep these two copies synced so that both locations will always have the same copy if there were any changes made to them from either location (WHS network files or folders AND offline files copy on your computer).

 

[jamepc]

When I access the files locally (the ones in the Library that have been synced with the server) am I looking at the local copy or are the local copies accessed only when the networked drives arn't available?
Are the files that Win 7 decides to sync the ones that are in my Library?
Thanks for the links too. I plan on checking them out and my answers are probably in them.
Thanks again!
Jamie

 

[Brink]

You're welcome Jamie,

If you are connected to the WHS server, then you should be looking at the original ones from the server. The offline files copy will only be seen if the WHS server was not available or connected. However, they are synced to be the same automatically each time you connect to the WHS server.

 

[Grumpy Old Tom]

This might be a good thread to pop back up. We just upgraded to Windows Small business Server 2008/Exchange Server 2007, and earlier I had upgraded my laptop to Windows 7 (x64, FWIW...). The folks that did the server upgrade did this thing with folder redirection and offline files that sent me straight through the roof.

When I got it all sorted out, it seemed like my primary file location (i.e "My Documents") was on the server, but I would also be able to view them "offline".

That is entirely backwards from the way we want to do it. That being, when I open a file to work on it , I expect it and any associated files opened by the process to be on my hard drive, unless I specifically direct otherwise. It'd be handy if the synch center could be used to mirror my files to the network for safety and backup, but it appears that it's not set up to work that way. Maybe really all I want is an old fashioned backup program.

Is there any way to set up file synchronization so that the user's hard drive is the primary working directory, and the network drive is synched as needed or as scheduled?

Thanks,

Grumpy Old Tom

 

[acurasd]

You can set up SyncToy to do just that.... Sync it up with a folder.

Whatever changes you make to computer 1.. it will see that and fix those changes to the destination everytime you press sync or you can program it to do it certain times.

Of course the first intitial sync will take the longest but once you have it programmed like you want it. It works like a charm.

 

[Grumpy Old Tom]

Thanks! I'd seen that one searching around for answers to this mess. I'm still not sure I want to add another piece of (unsupported) software to our mix; like I said, all the functions I seem to require could be met simply by backing up every so often.

The thing that really ticked me off was the way the redirected folders were handled; the "My Documents" folder under my account was empty, and nowhere on my computer could I actually find my documents without clicking on a "My Documents" shortcut on my desktop that listed it's target as the redirected folder on the server. And then, when I logged in as Admin on the server, I couldn't find them there either! With all that obfuscurating going on, it seemed like a recipe for disaster. Besides, we often do large numerical analysis problems and the last thing we want to to is bog down the network with 2 GB temporary files.

Thanks again,

Tom

 

[acurasd]

The thign that I like about Sync toy is that it doesn't compress the files... it makes an exact copy of the directory...

Synctoy is made by microsoft....I am not sure what you mean by "unsupported" microsoft will support anything with an active credit card. *lol*

 

[Grumpy Old Tom]

I take it by your reply that the reason I couldn't see my files going the "traditional route" is that the synch center/redirected folders resulted in compressed files? Makes sense, I just haven't seen that documented yet. And yes, I do have my hidden/system files shown.

As to SynchToy, it says on it's download page that it's offered "as is" and is unsupported. Though, as you say, I suppose the offer of money may turn their heads!

Also in my running around, I found some info at Wikipedia on robocopy; sorry I can't link right now but it's easy to find. Have you (or anyone) ever dealt with that one?

 

[Smartcile]

Internet Usage

So My Computer Yesterday Downloaded The Sync Centre. I Didn't Start It Up Till Today. And My Internet Usage Went Up Loads. The Upload Was Over A Gig. Does It Use Internet!