FreeFileSync Forum

Check SMART health data for the drive, might be failing.
You didn't say why it won't rename. Does it get an error?
Thanks for the reply. I do not get any error response when attempting to change the folder name. It just doesn't save my changes. Crystal disk info showed drive as good. I haven't yet ...

Thank you very, very much xCSxXenon,

I searched for an answer on this forum, but due to the high amount of posts, it's hard to find.

You pointed me to the right area, and the problem is solved in three cases.

I donated to FFS, and already received the bonus edition.

Again, thanks very much for your ...

'*' is a wildcard, which in this case yes, catches everything xCSxXenon, 20 Apr 2026, 14:36

Sorry to ask, but I need explicit confirmation:
If I add filters, the asterisk should be removed. Right?
Thanks

Thanks for that wise advice xCSxXenon, it worked immediately. It never occurred to me to try the IP address of the NAS drive as an alternative to the mapped drive letter. And there was me thinking that would make things easier. As soon as I set FFS up to reflect to "\\192.168.1.XXX\[Backup folder]" it ...

... sync can't run on the same root locations.
I use RTS on Windows perfectly fine, with a usb drive that goes over a week at times disconnected

Thanks for your feedback. I’d like to clarify a couple of points regarding the macOS architecture, as it differs significantly from Windows in this ...

Many thanks xCSxXenon for your reply, you make some valid points. I think what I will do is replace the data on these separate drives using FFS with a database. Refreshing the the data may also help prevent bit rot on these older drives!

I have also been looking at an alternative approach using ...

... my important data is lost probably means I'm dead anyway LOL

Sounds like plan bro haha , hopefully you're not dead lol, thing is i want to keep that air gapped disk relatively updated i might just do it daily which is tiring but better than losing all my stuff due to some shit 🫠 , thanks legend🥸🥸

Thanks a lot xCSxXenon!!

Constructive feedback:
I want to suggest adding this to the Tools -> Options panel.
Because this is not really an "expert" setting, but rather a setting absolutely relevant to almost all users!

Cheers on FFS, it's an awesome tool!

xCSxXenon,

Thanks for clearing that up. Would you be able tell me how to export the results manually?
I could not find the Export options.

Thanks xCSxXenon and Plerry!

Got it : ) I have some pretty large files, so if FFS is duplicating even a few of them, I'll run out of space.

IS there a setting for how deleted files are handled as well ("Delete files" method referred to in the referenced post)?

I don't see that option under Options in ...

@xCSxXenon

Thanks again for your help.
But you have to admit that this is not very user friendly !
I’m used to just having to click, in my list of pairs, on the files I want to sync at any given time.

I’ll stick to SyncToy on my laptop for now, with Windows 11 Pro 24H2 it works fine.
On my PC ...

Thanks xCSxXenon, I had tried this but could not find a way to exclude a folder pair.
Besides, I do not want to always exclude certain folder pairs, using '_' is not particularly fast and easy.
In SyncToy I just selected "all folder pairs" and unselected those I wanted to exclude...
I switched to ...

Thanks plerry & xcsxxenon for your pointers !
but a straight forward approach as in ViceVersa software will be really useful & helpful.

Developers, plz consider implementing a robust speed / bandwidth controlling options... from with in GUI.

Click the '+' to add multiple folder pairs to the same sync config xCSxXenon, 15 Nov 2025, 19:10

Thanks for your answer. Sometimes I'm stupid :)

Thanks. I've tried two different enclosures and three different cables. I guess I sould start enquireing on the Geekom site.
JOhn

There is no pay-to-upgrade for FFS, aside from business licenses to some extent. The free version is obviously free, and the donation edition also gets updated at no ...

Hi xCSxXenon!
I knew it ;-)...it was so simple. And I still couldn't find it. Of course it works. Thanks for the solution and thanks for the quick reply.
cu pflanziscuss

thanks for your answers

@therube : i am a big fan or Nirsoft, but in that case, it wont work : i can't find how to exclude "*.ffs_lock, *.ffs_tmp, *.ffs_db" files, so it goes into an endless loop.
@xCSxXenon : RealTimeSync could be the solution, i need to test it out a bit further but didnt notice that ...

Been around the block lol
Glad it's working xCSxXenon, 16 Sep 2025, 02:30

I hadn't thought about that actually. I put a filter in as I had a backup to do personal folders and stuff.
I'll be sure to check in future. thanks again.

Check your filters xCSxXenon, 16 Sep 2025, 01:46

100% on the button ... thanks so much !

This is indeed the best solution.
Initially, I had thought of modifying the C:\Users\XX\AppData\Roaming\FreeFileSync\GlobalSettings.xml, but the "FolderHistory" left and right are in the right/same order.
Thanks again xCSxXenon !

This is a perfect solution for those who synchronize everything with their eyes closed, as the result of comparisons in this case is rather confusing.
It becomes more complicated to find items to exclude or delete.
So it's not really what I'm looking for, but thanks for the suggestion xCSxXenon.

viewtopic.php?t=8885 xCSxXenon, 06 Sep 2025, 04:21

Thanks. Yeah. I realized that the machine was configured with spoofed MAC. I fixed the MAC address to the last usable address and was able to get it run again.

Is OneDrive set to save all files locally?

Your reply has helped me to sort out the problem, many thanks xx
The syncing of my One Drives had been paused as I had used a program to transfer all my apps and information to a new computer, so hence the error message, I have turned them back on and ...

Might be under warranty then, look into it xCSxXenon, 04 Sep 2025, 00:22

Thanks again. Will do.

... than what has been reported yet. It may or may not be directly related to this issue with FFS, but drives don't ever get better ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Hi. Thanks for the response and pointing to GSmartControl. Never used it before but I ran Short Self-Test on the drive and result said "Completed with read ...

Hi xCSxXenon
Many thanks.
With 'something' happening, there can be anything triggering the RTS, I understand.
So, well, that means take it or leave it :-)
Apart from 'countless' log-files not much downsides with this.
So I take it as it is and live with it.
Many thanks - kind regards, Quasi

Thanks for the support information xCSxXenon, I will be more patient :)

Regards
Acom1c

... the many years I've been on this forum. Unlikely this will be the first

when I'm mirroring large size files, it maintains good speed. it slows down while transferring small size files. i could not find any issue in task manager or disk performance.
what other factor can play a role in this?
thanks

@xCSxXenon
Thank you (again) for your suggestions. I think I solved it thanks to you.

The server log reported "Failed new_session_ticket() on the control socket. Reason: ECONNABORTED - Connection aborted. Closing the session now."

I asked ChatGPT about it and I'll paste the full answer below but it ...

_/\_ Thanks for the suggestions.

As suspected GSmartControl showed some damage indicators. So, I guess it is indeed a hardware issue :|.
WD_screenshot.JPG

I bet the old HDD is not 100% healthy and that file exists within a bad spot on the drive.
I would recommend downloading Gsmartcontrol and ...

Perfect! Thanks a lot xCSxXenon

The setting in RTS is idle time, not an interval setting
https://freefilesync.org/manual.php?topic=realtimesync xCSxXenon, 04 Nov 2024, 15:50

got it. It means that the synchronization will occur after I have modified the file and during my idle time.
thanks!

... requested accurate and useful information in an effort to assist them. Thanks for the advice pal
Since you only want to, incorrectly, pick and choose ... resolution/info. Considering I am the common denominator, seems like a 'you' issue.
https://freefilesync.org/forum/search.php?keywords=thanks+xCSxXenon

viewtopic.php?t=8981
viewtopic.php?t=9692 xCSxXenon, 28 Oct 2024, 18:07

Thanks! I'll find a workaround for now. Nevertheless another vote from my side for any option somewhere for deleting files that are not in the scope with the mirror method.

@xCSxXenon:

Understood. Thanks for the info!

Hello,
Sorry for not getting back to you, I was on vacation.

xCSxXenon, StefanM and SonicRings many thanks for your help.
I will test your advice over the next few days and write the result here.

Thanks Plerry, killed 2 birds with one stone: renamed all the RTS and FFS files, now working perfectly. The cmd window still opens (it always did in my ... this also start the cmd command? There's no cmd command in task scheduler. It also still comes up with C:\Windows\System 32 which xCSxXenon criticised.

Many thanks for your answer @xCSxXenon.

With your suggestion, now it works perfectly.

Thanks for your replies, Plerry & xCSxXenon. I've made a contribution & downloaded the donation edition. I'm going to start over, uninstall the previous edition, delete all FFS & RTS files, & install the donation edition. I'm not very tech savvy, but this is very useful software, & I really need an ...

... you only need one. The .ffs_batch type is what allows starting a sync without any visual interruption.

Only one ok!
Doing only manual syncs, not batches started in the background by Windows Task Scheduler for example, it is enough to use only ffs_gui.
I just wanted a confirmation thanks.
Cheers...

... solve the issue.

I also don't want to just kill FF because I might have things open that I need to close properly.

I'm old. And forgetful. If I wasn't, then I would just remember to shut down FF before I do the backup. But I am.

Maybe there isn't a perfect solution.

Thanks for the ideas, though.

Thanks xCSxXenon - so I did!

But that isn't what was causing the issue. Eventually I found a nugget in the manual:

"Daylight Saving Time (Windows)
A common problem synchronization software has to handle is +-1 hour file time shifts after a Daylight Saving Time (DST) switch has occurred. This can be ...

... probably more options also.
What you probably meant is "Is exFAT the only file system that is natively support on both Windows and macOS?"
The answer is yes

Thanks. I understand there are software available but I wanted a simple setup. What I really wanted to know if FFS can do it natively in app.

@ xCSxXenon: Thank you for your feedback. I have not been able to produce the crash files you mentioned; I am a basic user, I don’t dabble into this ... phone, but it manifests itself only when I try to use FFS a second time in the same session. So, is there something that can be done about that? Thanks!

Hi xCSxXenon,

Thank you for your feedback. I am using an S24 Ultra and, indeed, sometimes disconnecting and reconnecting the phone seems to fix the ... properly only once before hanging again. That makes me think the problem is on the FFS/Windows/computer side, not the phone. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Hi both,

Thanks for your quick responses!
@xCSxXenon: I understand what you are saying. But...we have the situation that many of us are using Windows. And even if Windows has some issues: should we not try to aim having a tool that works with it in a correct way? Even if there are some non-perfect ...

Thanks for your reply, xCSxXenon. I looked at the thread that you linked, but I don't understand how it applies to my situation.

If "multiple instances" means more than one FFS job running simultaneously, that's not the case for me. The batch jobs that I start from Task Scheduler are scheduled to run ...

... This also means inserting any other SD card with a different name won't be found by FFS. If FFS is showing it as the D: drive, that is because it is assigned the letter D. If you use Disk Management to change the drive letter, FFS should also recognize the new letter

Cool that works! Thanks much!

... a proper backup solution. 3-2-1 strategy isn't perfect if we nitpick, but it is incredibly better than the average person has or needs.

Thanks for the link, i will look in to it and do a lab test to only modify size but not timestamp on the file to see the versioning works. :-)

I have a ...

... use search (slap on my own wrist for that)

Maybe a dumb question but do you happen to know how I can help report a false positive like this? I've used FFS for years now so I didn't really doubt it just find it "annoying" to have a pop up like this if you understand me :)

Again thanks for answering.

Search found 196 matches: thanks xCSxXenon