FreeFileSync Forum

I am trying to set up a batch job with the Windows task scheduler as described here: https://freefilesync.org/manual.php?topic=schedule-batch-jobs#windows

After entering the details as described, Windows pops up a properties dialog showing my entries. At the end it asks for my user password ...

I rebooted the NAS several time trying to find out what's going on (or, rather, not going on). And I don't think it is a general NAS issue as it's only a few directories that are so slow, from several in the same folder.

I rather believe it's a Windows issue, but I have no idea how to prove or ...

When I compare a single directory (and its subdirectories) between one of my local drives and its counterpart on the NAS, the comparisons runs through without any error message.

Screenshot 2026-01-18 18.32.43.png

However, if the same directory pairs are just 1 of several on the same drives, I ...

Looks like I made a mistake here.

Anyway the problem seems to be that Windows Explorer doesn't immediately show all the directories on the NAS-share mounted as a drive. After some time - considerable time - the directly shown as missing in the error popup was shown in the Explorer, too.

14.5 and 14.6 pop-up this error message for a directory - Z:\Bilder\Urlaube\Afrika\Madagaskar2022 - that does not exist on any of the 2 drives that it compares. See attached screenshot.

That does not make sense to me.

What's wrong there????

Thank you!

I guess I accidentally clicked sth that I shouldn't, now sync paths are no longer shown.

I also tried File > New but it doesn't make a difference. I can't add folders.

Who can help me?

Thanks in advance!

I will try what you recommend. Thank you!

However, IMHO,

at the time you're clicking, the temporary network issue is probably already gone

is clearly a bug: It does not retry then. Obviously, when there are several fails in the queue and I click Retry, it should retry all of them.

Intermittent network connection certainly isn't my problem. I have checked it over and over again, over the past few weeks - last time yesterday, before I posted here.

What do you mean with "disconnect and remap the location"?

My NAS is set up to shut down every night and restart in the morning ...

I am using FreeFileSync to keep files on my main PC in sync with those on a directory on my NAS, which is mounted as a network drive under Windows. Basically, this works, but recently I get more and more error messages like the one in the following screenshot. It doesn't happen every day, but if it ...

After I completed my basic FFS and RTS setup on my stationary computer and synced all relevant folders there with my NAS, I went on to set up specific folders on my laptop to sync with their respective folders on the same NAS.

I then was very surprized to see that a big number of files were ...

The 2 jobs are:

The one that I set up now syncs with the NAS, the 2nd one that I also want should sync to an external USB HDD when I connect it. wus, 16 Feb 2021, 15:34

The conflict between the 2 jobs:

the monitored local folders are exactly the same for the 2 sync jobs to the NAS and the USB HDD.wus, 16 Feb 2021, 16:56

Of course I did not change protocols.

And the monitored local folders are exactly the same for the 2 sync jobs to the NAS and the USB HDD.

What can I do to solve this conflict and get both jobs done?

And then I want to ask if I can add a 2nd command-line instruction in my (current user) startup folder. The one that I set up now syncs with the NAS, the 2nd one that I also want should sync to an external USB HDD when I connect it. I am afraid to cause the same lock-up situation that I had when I ...

I also have some more questions. After I confirmed that FFS had synced the file that I had added to a folder on the local HDD to the NAS, I removed it from there, using the Windows Explorer. After the explanation that you had given yesterday,

Look at the listed RTS limitations , specifically the ...

I checked this before I tried, there were sync.ffs_lock files in all the synced folders. Since I didn't want to remove these files from all the many folders that I sync, I tried anyway, and it did not prevent FFS to to copy a new file to the NAS!

Now I'm curious how you will explain this.

Thank you for this comprehensive answer! You were right, there were 2 instances of FreeFileSync shown in the Task Manager. I killed these now, and tried to also kill the 3 instances of RealTimeSync that the Task Manager showed (visible in my screenshot above).

But I could not instantly kill the ...

Yesterday after I wrote the above, I verified that it works by adding files then checking that they were synced to the NAS. It took a while (I have over a million files in the folders scanned by RTS), but in the end I saw that it worked.

I then tried to set up RTS as a service on system startup ...

I tried with and without square brackets, but none worked. And of course the drive was already named WD_14TB before I started to try.

Since you didn't suggest any other possible causes I had another look into the batch file with brackets and was surprized to see that there were double square ...

Importing that first batch file worked, and I also successfuly synchronised with an external USB HDD. However only when I used its drive letter. I tried to follow what is described here https://freefilesync.org/manual.php?topic=variable-drive-letters, but did not find the drop down menu that is ...

Thanks for your patience with me, Plerry.

I had seen these limitations, but thought as long as I stay in, and do everything, in Windows using the explorer, Windows should also generate the notification signal.

Did I expect too much?

I set RTS up now, but it doesn't quite work as expected.

After I saved the job that I previously created in FFS as batch job, I could open and, thus, import it in RTS. This also created the command line. When I clicked Start, RTS miminized to the notification area. I could hear the harddisks in my ...

I think I found it now, in one of the tutorials. This also seems to include the "bulk import" that I asked for above.

Sorry, to drag and drop a file I first need to have this file. But - as written above - I don't know how to create this fffs_batch file. How do I do this? I googled for examples but didn't find any.

Okay, I set up FFS to sync most of my folders on the local hard drives with their corresponding folders on the NAS which is mounted as an additional drive in Windows. This seems to work, I tried a few things to verify it. Very good!

But it requires manual activation.

Now I don't quite understand ...

This all sounds very promising!

Sorry I don't often watch video tutorials, I can't usually take a lot from videos. My English isn't quite good enough to listen to the voice and at the same time watch what's going on on the screen. I did watch a few of them now, and they were interesting ...

Hello,

I was using Resilio Sync for about 3 years to sync files between my PC, 2 laptops and a QNAP NAS. Until last year it was working well but then the problems started, and now I got to the same point that triggered Zenju to create FreeFileSync: One "unknown error" message too many.

Looking ...