FreeFileSync Forum

Is it OK to work using other files and programs while a sync is being done?

This happened again, ie during some syncs, the text of the percent synchronization count in the upper left of the synchronization window turns gray instead of the usual black. Does this mean there is a problem with the program?

After setting up a configuration with the proper source and backup folders, and successfully testing this with a small number of folders and files to be backed up, I copied a large number of files into the source folders (about 200 GB)and several days later attempted a mirror sync. I received a ...

Thank you. I like your program. Two other questions:
1. If I close Free File Sync with the results of a Compare still on the screen, as opposed to clearing the Compare, will this cause any problems?
2. I accidentally saved a configuration without changing the default filename which shows up in the ...

Deleting configurations from the Free FileSync window in the upper left does not delete the configuration from the computer. To actually delete the configuration, should one go into file explorer and delete the configuration file from the subdirectory containing the saved configuration? Will this ...

During some syncs, the text of the percent synchronization count in the upper left of the synchronization window turns gray instead of the usual black. Is there any significance to this?

Thank you for clarifying

Zenju, an interesting thing occurred. In backing up my Favorites folder using a Mirror sync, if I clear the Exclude Filter "prior" to doing a Compare, then all of the files are backed up including the two desktop.ini files. If I do a Compare first and the clear the Exclude Filter, then only one of ...

I assume that you are saying that you were able to backup desktop.ini by removing this file from the Exclude Filter. I only had one folder pair in my test. Where should I look for a second filter set at the folder level?

Zenju, I checked the mismatch for the Favorites folder which is one the folders that showed a mismatch. There were two more files in the source folder than in the target backup folder. Before doing the backup, I deleted all the conditions in the Exclude Filter, including desktop.ini. I found that ...

Thank you for your post Zenju. I thought that the difference in file count between the source and target backup folders in Windows File Explorer Properties was at least in part due to the Exclude Filter. In any case, if the Compare in Filesync showed that the source and target folders matched ...

The reason for excluding \.* in the filter is that Onedrive creates hidden files starting with “.” and these files cannot be backed up by Free Filesync. Having said that, I have stopped backing up files from Onedrive because I am not sure that Free FileSync can handle these safely.

I assume that ...

You are very helpful, Radish. Since I am obsessive, I did an extra step and checked the number of source and target files and folders in a test sync and found that 1 - 2 files were missing from the target in each of three folder pairs when looking at the folder properties but that no files were ...

In addition to my above post at 12:42 today, It occurred to me that I should confirm that I am testing my new configuration for a mirror sync properly. I do the following:
1. Check that I have selected the correct folder pairs for the sync
2. Compare the source and target folders before doing a ...

The reason that I thought it best to save before testing is that my test sync takes a long time and if the configuration is already saved I don't have to worry anything happening to it over the several hours during the night that the completed sync window will be on my screen. If there is a problem ...

To clarify, I am not "resaving" the configuration each time I run a sync. I an referring to the 'initial" saving of the configuration. The tutorial video shows this as being done after the first sync.

Can Filesync be used to safely sync local files on a computer that are in the Onedrive folder and which are synced with Onedrive?

Is it OK to the save the configuration before doing a compare or running a sync?

Two things:
After creating the configuration for the backup for the first time, I would like to use the same configuration again on a regular basis. Thus the configuration needs to be saved once so that it can be used again. The tutorial video shows the configuration being saved after the backup is ...

In addition to above question, some of the folders that I sync using Filesync are "local" OneDrive folders that are on my laptop. I wanted to make my test backups faster and so I reduced the size of the "local" folders within OneDrive by no longer syncing the larger ones with OneDrive in the cloud ...

One more question. For my large backup that takes about 2 hours, if I run it overnight then the completed backup will be waiting a long time for me to close the successfully completed window because this won't be until the morning. Will everything still be OK to save the configuration several hours ...

Thanks again

Thank you Radish. Very helpful.

Regarding the Daylight Saving Time issue, both my laptop hard drive and external backup drive are formatted with NTFS. Will this avoid the DST issue without my having to do anything?

Radish you have been extremely helpful. I am following your advice by continuing to set up test configurations and to run test comparisons and syncs. In the end, my real configuration will be created with several folder pairs and will mirror 285 GB. It will not be possible to check every file ...

Thanks Radish. I am slowly learning how best to use Free File Sync thanks to you. I am backing up using a 2 Tb external hard drive that is not partitioned into smaller drives. Am I correct that the same principles apply to this as to a flash drive?

Also, when setting up a configuration with ...

In addition to the follow-up question immediately above, is a two step process required to specify the path via a volume name, ie:
1. Select the target folder path with the drive letter by drag and drop or browse and click
2. Use the pull down menu to select the volume name
Thanks

This is extremely helpful, Radish. One follow-up question: To use the volume name instead of the path with the drive letter, can I use the name of the USB Flash Drive that is already there or should I change it? If I change the volume name, will this impact other uses of the Flash Drove for purposes ...

Thank you. This is very helpful

I made 2 errors. These are listed below. My questions is whether my saved configuration would have remained intact and whether it can be safely used for continued synchronizations without having been corrupted.

First error: I have a saved configuration containing four folder pairs and clicked ...

Is it best to close File Explorer when running a sync or does it make no difference if it is open or closed?