SyncToy causes 100% CPU usage and uses up all RAM

[Frozenthunder]

I am having big problems with SyncToy and I have been googling about it but nobody else seems to experience this problem.

I am using Synctoy to make backups of my program folders and userfolder. It seems that Synctoy when it starts to overwrite or delete files needs a huge amount of RAM and CPU usage. The CPU usage goes up to 100% immidiatly and the free RAM becomes less and less (at the end I only have 20MB free RAM) and task manager tells me that Synctoy is causing all this. After a while I sometimes get the error: "The recycle bin on E:/ is damaged. Do you want to delete it?" I always choose No and when I compare the deleted files afterwards in the stats of synctoy: Deleted files + Overwrited files (successful ones)= same amount as new files which are in the recycle bin. So everything got deleted normally and is in the recycle bin like it's supposed to be. I can also copy the files out of the bin and open them without any errors. I can also delete files normally and they all get saved in the recycle bin and it doesn't need much CPU usage or RAM. When Synctoy just copies new files everything is fine, not much CPU usage or RAM needed. I really would like to keep the option that SyncToy saves files which will be deleted or overwritten in the bin. And I really would like to continue using Synctoy, I just don't like the Windows 7 backup feature. Does anyone know how I can solve this problem?

 

[dogbert2]

Try Allway Sync, I use it to synchronize my mp3 folders, and various other things...free, available in 32 and 64-bit versions. The thing I most use it for is keeping data between the laptop and desktop sync'd

 

[Frozenthunder]

Allway sync is not free I don't want it. I'd rather like to use Synctoy.

 

[gogreen]

Try Syncback free: http://http://www.2brightsparks.com/freeware/

 

[Commodore Pet]

Are you running SyncToy version 2.1 for 64 bit? If not get this latest version for 64 bit. I have had no issues with it.

 

[alan10]

I hated SyncToy.

I enjoy BestSync from
Download BestSync

I use the Portable 64 bit version.

This is much more effective than 8 others I have tried,
and the Preview is exceptionally fast.

 

[pcunite]

I could not get SyncToy to work either. Strange really that MS had trouble with this.

 

[sygnus21]

SyncToy works fine under 7 x64, but if you try to sync large files (gigabytes) it may slow down on you.

Anyway I use it for small file (megabytes) syncs and it works fine. Make sure you get the 64-bit version - Download details: SyncToy 2.1

 

[pcunite]

SyncToy works fine under 7 x64, but if you try to sync large files (gigabytes) it may slow down on you.

Okay, that might have been why. I had a directory with 8GB files and more in it.

 

[sygnus21]

SyncToy works fine under 7 x64, but if you try to sync large files (gigabytes) it may slow down on you.

Okay, that might have been why. I had a directory with 8GB files and more in it.

You tried to sync that 8GB directory??? :shock:

Yeah, that might have been the problem. Not sure SyncToy is designed to sync such large directories, never tried it myself.

 

[pcunite]

You tried to sync that 8GB directory??? :shock:

Yeah, that might have been the problem. Not sure SyncToy is designed to sync such large directories, never tried it myself.

yeah, I have a file that is 45GB too! Hey ... us power users gotta sync!

 

[sygnus21]

True..... only then will you find the limit to things

Good luck.

 

[alan10]

My System partition C:\ has 16.1 GB used space (plus 8.8 GB Free space)
I have just mounted a Macrium image file as P:\
and launched BestSync to compare C:\ w.r.t. P:\

I clicked Preview and it took 19 Seconds to complete and show the analysis.
The summary shows that 82529 files match and 167 files differ, with total size deviation of 7.06 GB.
When I deselect hiberfil.sys and pagefile.sys the size deviation drops to 70.8 MB.

If C:\ gets trashed I would NOT try to recover by synchronising C:\ to P:\.
Windows running in C:\ would not allow locked/in-use files to be over-written,
and I have a Macrium Boot CD.
But I have had no problem deselecting P:\Windows and other system related items and then synchronising my user files in C:\ with what is held in P:\.

Simples ! ! !

Incidentally, I have 4 GB RAM and only 1.38 GB was in use.
During the Analysis CPU shot from 6% to about 50%,
and Memory use climbed from 1.38 to 1.44 GB.
I reckon it would have no problem dealing with a 45 GB partition.

 

[sygnus21]

That's cool but this thread was/is about SyncToy

Thanks.

 

[alan10]

That's cool but this thread was/is about SyncToy

Thanks.

That was a clever observation,
but Allway Sync and SyncBack have already been suggested.

I would also point out that your advice seems to be useless to pcunite,
in that he was dealing with an 8 GB partition and all you knew was that Synctoy worked with a few MB.

I was not telling you to use BestSync,
but I was advising pcunite on a valid, functional, and altogether better alternative to meet his needs.

 

[Frozenthunder]

I am running 2.1 for 64bit.
Question to everyone who has no problems with Synctoy: Do you have activated the feature which allows that files which will get overwritten or deleted will get saved in the recycle bin? This is very important for me to know, since it seems that the recycle bin is somehow causing the problems, because always when files get overwritten or deleted it says The recycle bin on E: is damaged. Do you want to delete it?(I already did some tests and it's definitely not broken and also all files are geting saved in there like they are supposed to) So please answer my question.

I also have no problems when I deactivate that feature but I want to keep the old versions of the files. So just telling me Synctoy works fine without telling me how you use it won't help me.

 

[Commodore Pet]

Here are the settings I use for SyncToy 2.1 64 bit.

 

[Frozenthunder]

I thought hmm okay, I can just click no all the time the error shows up and live with the problem, but today Synctoy went too far. CPU usage went to 100% while it tried to delete a little file and it needed more RAM than available, so all my programs just closed and in the end my whole PC freezed. I'm very disappointed of this program, it's on place 2 of the worst, most confusing programs i've ever used (place 1 is nokia ovi suite), I will never use it again since it seems impossible to solve this problem and I guess microsoft will never release a new version again. I will use now the built in backup function.

Edit: Great, now the built in windows backup function can't find my stupid hard drive, even though it shows up in the browser.

Edit 2: I think this has something to do with truecrypt. I formatted my external hdd now and it finds it, but when I now want to create a backup and run it then it says Error, wrong parameters. This backup function is just a joke nothing works, can't even make a backup to a mounted truecrypt volume.

 

[sygnus21]

With the issues you're having I'd say something else is going on with Windows other than SyncToy.

You might want to do a system restore seeing you have a laptop.

Good luck.

 

[Frozenthunder]

I'm having some other problems with windows backup. I will create a new thread about this