I have a Windows 7 laptop, which I want to back up to a network folder. There is a drive (partition) on my laptop machine that I want to backup to a network drive. If I delete a file in the folder on my laptop, it should also be deleted from the backup...
I used to use SyncToy, however I understand this does not work correctly with Windows 7 - at least not with a large number of files.
Are there any alternatives?
And this is why there will always be robocopy. In fact, robocopy is so commonly used that it has been included by default in all versions of Windows since Vista.
I've used robocopy since it first appeared in the first Windows NT Resource Kit, and it has never failed me, even with a huge number of files.
There is MS SyncToy 2.1 compatible with Windows 7 now:
synctoy 2.0 seems to work fine with Windows 7 for me
Live Mesh is the only thing I've found so far.
You can try Unison file-synchronizer or rsync, they are usual tools to perform this. You can put synchronization task in windows Scheduled Tasks (or cygwin cron) if you wish.
Well, folks, a bit of advice.... If you use SyncToy v2.0 or v2.1 be sure to also run some type of CRC-check program to compare source and target regularly. I, and others, have confirmed that SyncToy v2.x does NOT always synchronize files. It seems to be most likely to fail when synchronizinf large batches of new photos (JPG or RAW), but it is NOT limited to that. And it is not as simple as a missing file; the target is created and, occasionally, even has the correct size -- but the CRC counts do not match. Open the photo from the target and the error is quickly noted!
I, and, I believe others, reported this to MS initially during the @.0 beta and again after testing each update. I now use RoboCopy and, in a different use, SecondCopy and for both run automated CRC checks weekly. NEITHER of these has ever failed me. (FWIW, SyncToy v 1.4 is also fine -- and I use that occasionally as well.)
Use 'Sync Center' under Accessories menu. This is a built-in feature of Windows 7, that syncs files and folders!
I would take a look at dropbox, syncs across all your machines, keeps a version history of your docs, and the basic service is free!
I've moved to Allway Sync since i've been on Vista/7 machines - it works great.
Synctoy works perfectly for me...I did check out those other apps goodsync and allway sync and they are nice too..a little more robust than synctoy if you need those features. Sync Center is offline files....that option stinks for endusers because the number one complaint is that they lose their folder structure and working with more than few files is cumbersome.
