I usually sync my file (Two Way) between my work computer and a USB drive throughout the work day. Then I bring the USB home, and sync with my home computer, and then work I work in the evenings before resync-ing again (Two Way).
I was looking for a file I started at work yesterday (there are no other files with that name), and couldn't find it. I went on a search and finally found a version of it in "RecycleBin.ffs_tmp".
How could it have ended up there? I don't remember doing anything differently. And there were no conflicts that I could remember while sync-ing.
The file in that RecycleBin.ffs_tmp only contained the first half of the document and did not include what I wrote in the second half of the day.
Any help would be appreciated. I'm quite worried since I've relied on FFS for a year now and nothing like this has happened before.
Files in RecycleBin.ffs_tmp
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Two Way is a very tricky thing - quite a challenge for every sync software I have owned over the years. I usually try to avoid it, and stick with the more straightforward options.
Why would you use Two Way in your case? You're the only one working on your files, aren't you? It never happens that both sides gets changed. It's always one side only. You diligently go WORK to USB, USB to HOME, and the same route backwards again b-e-f-o-r-e you start continuing your work, both, at work and at home, right?
So why not MIRROR the state of your files from WORK to USB, from USB to HOME, and vice versa again? Or UPDATE, if you want to keep old stuff, just in case? Or set up your own CUSTOM rules? 3 ways to clearly anchor one side as the definite reference point. THIS side contains the current status, this is what I want, this side should get propagated to the other side. A human decision, I the owner have determined the reference point, the software only checks what files and folders it needs to update to match my decision.
By using Two Way you have passed on that very decision to the software itself. Not you're the one who decides which side contains the version you want, you leave that up to the software to decide. Opens the door to all kinds of issues, but I can't tell you what went wrong in your case. You'd have to provide much more info.
Why would you use Two Way in your case? You're the only one working on your files, aren't you? It never happens that both sides gets changed. It's always one side only. You diligently go WORK to USB, USB to HOME, and the same route backwards again b-e-f-o-r-e you start continuing your work, both, at work and at home, right?
So why not MIRROR the state of your files from WORK to USB, from USB to HOME, and vice versa again? Or UPDATE, if you want to keep old stuff, just in case? Or set up your own CUSTOM rules? 3 ways to clearly anchor one side as the definite reference point. THIS side contains the current status, this is what I want, this side should get propagated to the other side. A human decision, I the owner have determined the reference point, the software only checks what files and folders it needs to update to match my decision.
By using Two Way you have passed on that very decision to the software itself. Not you're the one who decides which side contains the version you want, you leave that up to the software to decide. Opens the door to all kinds of issues, but I can't tell you what went wrong in your case. You'd have to provide much more info.
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I can see what you are saying about the risk.
The reason is at work, I use a work laptop which is not beside my desk, and after syncing the files first thing in the morning from the USB, I alter the files directly on the laptop. I unplug the USB so the USB won't be stolen when I'm not beside the laptop. Sometimes, I would need to go upstairs to use a different desktop and in those situations, I change the files directly on my USB.
So since sometimes I change files on the USB and sometimes I change files on the work laptop, all at different times in the work day, a two-way sync is very convenient and useful.
I've been using this system for 2 yrs now, so it's been fine. But I think you're right, and I will need to find a way to backup better and more reliably.
Is there a running log of all the syncs that has occurred? That would be really helpful to figure out what happened.
The reason is at work, I use a work laptop which is not beside my desk, and after syncing the files first thing in the morning from the USB, I alter the files directly on the laptop. I unplug the USB so the USB won't be stolen when I'm not beside the laptop. Sometimes, I would need to go upstairs to use a different desktop and in those situations, I change the files directly on my USB.
So since sometimes I change files on the USB and sometimes I change files on the work laptop, all at different times in the work day, a two-way sync is very convenient and useful.
I've been using this system for 2 yrs now, so it's been fine. But I think you're right, and I will need to find a way to backup better and more reliably.
Is there a running log of all the syncs that has occurred? That would be really helpful to figure out what happened.
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Look for the file LastSyncs.log - should be in the same directory as FreeFileSync.exe if you run the portable version.
When relying on Two Way Sync, keep your file names and folder structure consistent. Makes it easier for the database (the "reference point" that keeps track of changes) to decide what side is newer. Avoid moving or renaming things.
When relying on Two Way Sync, keep your file names and folder structure consistent. Makes it easier for the database (the "reference point" that keeps track of changes) to decide what side is newer. Avoid moving or renaming things.
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I basically sync a folder I call "Work", and it has the exact folder structure between the USB, my home computer, my work laptop and my work desktop.
I couldn't find the Lastsyncs.log in C:\FreefileSync\, but I don't think I have the portable version.
I couldn't find the Lastsyncs.log in C:\FreefileSync\, but I don't think I have the portable version.
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I don't know where FFS stores the log of installed versions - your best choices are probably the usual places: MyDocuments or Users\Your_User_Name\AppData\Roaming or ..\AppData\Local
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> quite a challenge for every sync software
> Opens the door to all kinds of issues
Please don't draw conclusions for FFS based on the quality of implementation seen in other sync software. If you find any bug with two way mode, please send a bug report. For the record, since Two way mode was implemented (that was about 5 years ago) there has not been a single (confirmed) bug report. Two Way is as reliable as any other sync variant.
> Why would you use Two Way in your case
Two way makes quite sense even if one person is syncing only: With mirror, you have to switch direction all the times and manually keep track on which side has changed, is it the USB or the local data? With two way you can have FFS figure everything out. Mirror OTOH should be used if you always have the same folder as source and never as target.
> By using Two Way [..] you leave that up to the software to decide
And the software always makes the reasonable choice: If something was changed on one side, but not the other (be it file/folder creation, update or deletion) it will be propagated to the other side. If things are less clear because both sides have changed, there will be a conflict, for the user to *manually* resolve.
Two Way mode is not about convenience, it's conceptually a different model: While "mirror" models "master -> Slave" relationship, "Two Way" models shared ownership. This means both folders are seen as conceptually the same folder.
Now to the user's actual problem which has nothing to do with Two Way mode:
> found a version of it in "RecycleBin.ffs_tmp".
Two observations: "deletion handling" is set to "recycle bin". This means that all files that are deleted and the old version of those files that are *updated* are placed there.
So it doesn't suprise to find an oudated version of a document in RecycleBin.ffs_tmp, since it was overwritten by a newer one during sync.
But here's a problem: "RecycleBin.ffs_tmp" is a temporary folder that should only be visible during sync and be moved into the real Windows Recycle Bin after sync. For some reason this failed, probably because some file was in use by some other application. In this case likely the document editor. You can find out what the problem was by looking that the sync log.
Anyway, this issue is harmless: FFS will automatically clean up remnant RecycleBin.ffs_tmp directories during next sync.
> Opens the door to all kinds of issues
Please don't draw conclusions for FFS based on the quality of implementation seen in other sync software. If you find any bug with two way mode, please send a bug report. For the record, since Two way mode was implemented (that was about 5 years ago) there has not been a single (confirmed) bug report. Two Way is as reliable as any other sync variant.
> Why would you use Two Way in your case
Two way makes quite sense even if one person is syncing only: With mirror, you have to switch direction all the times and manually keep track on which side has changed, is it the USB or the local data? With two way you can have FFS figure everything out. Mirror OTOH should be used if you always have the same folder as source and never as target.
> By using Two Way [..] you leave that up to the software to decide
And the software always makes the reasonable choice: If something was changed on one side, but not the other (be it file/folder creation, update or deletion) it will be propagated to the other side. If things are less clear because both sides have changed, there will be a conflict, for the user to *manually* resolve.
Two Way mode is not about convenience, it's conceptually a different model: While "mirror" models "master -> Slave" relationship, "Two Way" models shared ownership. This means both folders are seen as conceptually the same folder.
Now to the user's actual problem which has nothing to do with Two Way mode:
> found a version of it in "RecycleBin.ffs_tmp".
Two observations: "deletion handling" is set to "recycle bin". This means that all files that are deleted and the old version of those files that are *updated* are placed there.
So it doesn't suprise to find an oudated version of a document in RecycleBin.ffs_tmp, since it was overwritten by a newer one during sync.
But here's a problem: "RecycleBin.ffs_tmp" is a temporary folder that should only be visible during sync and be moved into the real Windows Recycle Bin after sync. For some reason this failed, probably because some file was in use by some other application. In this case likely the document editor. You can find out what the problem was by looking that the sync log.
Anyway, this issue is harmless: FFS will automatically clean up remnant RecycleBin.ffs_tmp directories during next sync.
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- Joined: 28 Aug 2012
>Please don't draw conclusions for FFS based on the quality of implementation seen in other sync software. If you find any bug with two way mode, please send a bug report.
Sorry to hear you perceived it that way. I had absolutely no intention to question the technical aspect, or the robustness, nor did I want to say, not even hint at - that FFS might be buggy.
This was purely a matter of personal opinion, based on personal experience (not with FFS, I had explicitly pointed that out). It's just that - again personally speaking - I prefer to always have the security of one side remaining unchanged. Should anything go wrong, I will always have one side to fall back on. This cannot be guaranteed with Two Way, not to mention other things.
>Anyway, this issue is harmless: FFS will automatically clean up remnant RecycleBin.ffs_tmp directories during next sync.
My understanding was that Jared was missing a file, and could recover only half of it.
I did NOT say I consider FFS to be buggy, nor do I mean that. I don't. This is a total misconception on your part. In fact, I was and still am - 99% sure that whatever went wrong had nothing to do with FFS, but with the nature and pitfalls of the Two Way Sync - irrespective of software.
>Two Way mode is not about convenience, it's conceptually a different model: While "mirror" models "master -> Slave" relationship, "Two Way" models shared ownership.
That's the way I've come to know Two-Way, with all the ramifications such a shared ownership entails. It may well be that you re-invented the wheel, and FFS handles Two-Way much smarter than all the rest. You don't divulge much information about the workings behind the scenes of your Two-Way approach, which doesn't allow me to judge how FFS differs from others. Let me hereby revoke my advice and offer my apologies for any confusion I might have caused. No harm intended, quite the contrary.
Sorry to hear you perceived it that way. I had absolutely no intention to question the technical aspect, or the robustness, nor did I want to say, not even hint at - that FFS might be buggy.
This was purely a matter of personal opinion, based on personal experience (not with FFS, I had explicitly pointed that out). It's just that - again personally speaking - I prefer to always have the security of one side remaining unchanged. Should anything go wrong, I will always have one side to fall back on. This cannot be guaranteed with Two Way, not to mention other things.
>Anyway, this issue is harmless: FFS will automatically clean up remnant RecycleBin.ffs_tmp directories during next sync.
My understanding was that Jared was missing a file, and could recover only half of it.
I did NOT say I consider FFS to be buggy, nor do I mean that. I don't. This is a total misconception on your part. In fact, I was and still am - 99% sure that whatever went wrong had nothing to do with FFS, but with the nature and pitfalls of the Two Way Sync - irrespective of software.
>Two Way mode is not about convenience, it's conceptually a different model: While "mirror" models "master -> Slave" relationship, "Two Way" models shared ownership.
That's the way I've come to know Two-Way, with all the ramifications such a shared ownership entails. It may well be that you re-invented the wheel, and FFS handles Two-Way much smarter than all the rest. You don't divulge much information about the workings behind the scenes of your Two-Way approach, which doesn't allow me to judge how FFS differs from others. Let me hereby revoke my advice and offer my apologies for any confusion I might have caused. No harm intended, quite the contrary.
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- Joined: 15 Jan 2012
I have used the 2 way sync for several years to sync data between a shared network and my laptop for access of the network, and only issue has been incompatible DBs when upgrading some time ago.
From what you have said (file isn't in normal folder, file with half the contents is in FFS recycle bin), the version in the recycle bin is probably the earlier version overwritten when you saved the afternoon version.
As far as cause, do you always use "Safely remove" after syncing and before removing the USB drive? I had a couple of issues with corrupt files when I didn't, mainly FreeFileSync config files and/or sync settings files. Since I started always using safely remove I have not lost a file, and I sync a few GB up to a dozen times a day.
You could try running a flash drive restore program on the USB drive to see if it can find the file for you if you haven't been able recover it yet. I use the free version of MiniTool Power Data Recovery.
Cheers
From what you have said (file isn't in normal folder, file with half the contents is in FFS recycle bin), the version in the recycle bin is probably the earlier version overwritten when you saved the afternoon version.
As far as cause, do you always use "Safely remove" after syncing and before removing the USB drive? I had a couple of issues with corrupt files when I didn't, mainly FreeFileSync config files and/or sync settings files. Since I started always using safely remove I have not lost a file, and I sync a few GB up to a dozen times a day.
You could try running a flash drive restore program on the USB drive to see if it can find the file for you if you haven't been able recover it yet. I use the free version of MiniTool Power Data Recovery.
Cheers
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- Joined: 15 Apr 2024
I’ve been using two ways sync for a year and never had a problem. A couple of days ago something wrong happened and I lost main subdirectories of two important directories on both sides. For some reason FFS understood that all that info should be erased.
I need to recover it.
I tried several recover tools.
I find a and erased and recovered a directory named: RecycleBin-5b04.ffs_tmp that happens to have all the perfect structure and files of lost. All the names, extensions, size etc seems to be perfect.
The recover software says it health is perfect, meaning it was not overwritten.
I recovered it into another drive
The problem is that I can’t open any file. No file is recognizable for their apps (doc, pdf, mov, etc)
I tried to repair files but is imposible.
I only used free apps or free versions of the recover sotwares. No one worked.
I didn’t use yet the repair tool of some softwares, cause i have to pay and i am not sure it will work.
Any help! Any clue?! Please
I guess that perhaps understanding better how a I find a and erased and recovered a directory named: RecycleBin-5b04.ffs_tmp works it could help a lot.
Thanks!!
I need to recover it.
I tried several recover tools.
I find a and erased and recovered a directory named: RecycleBin-5b04.ffs_tmp that happens to have all the perfect structure and files of lost. All the names, extensions, size etc seems to be perfect.
The recover software says it health is perfect, meaning it was not overwritten.
I recovered it into another drive
The problem is that I can’t open any file. No file is recognizable for their apps (doc, pdf, mov, etc)
I tried to repair files but is imposible.
I only used free apps or free versions of the recover sotwares. No one worked.
I didn’t use yet the repair tool of some softwares, cause i have to pay and i am not sure it will work.
Any help! Any clue?! Please
I guess that perhaps understanding better how a I find a and erased and recovered a directory named: RecycleBin-5b04.ffs_tmp works it could help a lot.
Thanks!!
