Getting "Both Sides have changed" etc. for just one folder.

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Posts: 8
Joined: 18 Mar 2020

dgoadby

I have a QNAP RAID array. I back up a lot of folders very successfully but, for one product called "CompanionLink" I get the messages:

00:46:12 Warning The following items have unresolved conflicts and will not be synchronized:

dejaoffice.db: Both sides have changed since last synchronization.
log.txt: Both sides have changed since last synchronization.
CompanionLink\ClxDate-dpc-5034b9a3-8392-4f94-9d9a-bd58f55933ab-device-.Dat: Both sides have changed since last synchronization. and similar.

I am synchronizing using "Update" with "File time and size" comparison and am using the latest version under Windows 10.

As I only use the RAID for backups then I cannot see why the application thinks that both sides have changed and only one set of files and folders.

If it did this for all of my backups I would be looking into the settings but it is only one particular baxckup which is strange.
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Posts: 2450
Joined: 22 Aug 2012

Plerry

From the fair understanding of RAID that I have, the fact that you have your backup disks setup as a RIAD array should never cause the problem(s) you describe. RAID simply spreads your (unmodified) data across multiple disks, potentially, depending on the type of RAID (e.g. 0, 1 or 5) you use allowing one or more disks in your RAID set to fail without the loss of data.

I don't know CompanionLink/DejaOffice nor QNAP (although I know Synology).
But of these two, the cause of your problem almost certainly rests in CompanionLink/DejaOffice, not in your QNAP.
The simplest approach is likely to exclude said two files from your FFS sync using the Exclude Filter.

If you still want to make a backup of your CompanionLink/DejaOffice database and log files, you could
1)
try doing that separately (outside FFS) as described here and here.
Or 2)
In FFS, next to your present left-right pair you define an identical second left-right pair.
In your first left-right pair you now create a local Filter setting (via the icon mid between the left-right location) where add said two files to your Local Exclude Filter.
In your second left-right pair you create a local Include Filter in which you replace the default * (=everything) by said two files, and create local sync settings in which you select the Mirror sync variant (instead of Update). Make sure to select your left-side location to comprise the correct version of said two files, and you right-side location as your "backup" side.
Posts: 8
Joined: 18 Mar 2020

dgoadby

OK, I read your comprehensive reply and also looked at the underlying philosophy of FreeFileSync. I then took the following action.

I inspected both the source and destination folders to see if there were any significant problems with files, changes etc. Then I made a fresh copy on the target using copy. I then deleted the FFS database files and resynced. All is perfect now.

Something I do from time to time is trim the files on the NAS directly. As I tend to use update source->destination then older versions of files can accumulate. I delete them directly from the NAS and I think that this can upset the synchronization databases.

All sorted now so thanks for your help.

With a mix of Windows and Linux systems FFS is the only solution that really works for me which is why I continue to support this project.

Happy New Year!