Compare vs Synchronize

[vbull]

I've mirrored a hard drive A to another hard drive B.

After that, I added new files and changed some files in hard drive A. So, I
intend to mirror hard drive A with hard drive B again.

My question is:

1. Do I have to do a "Compare" before I can do a "Sychronize"? I realized that compare takes a very long time. I've a 160Gb hard drive A. I can't skip "Compare" step. The software does not allow.

2. So, in order to avoid taking such a long time to do compare, can I create a new configuration to just copy the new and changed files in hard drive A to hard drive B? What will be the consequences to the original "mirror" configuration?

What I really need is incremental backup of hard drive A to hard drive B. But
FFS always need to do a "Compare" first before I can do a Synchronize mirror,
and this is taking very long as FFS goes through every file in hard drive A
again when doing a Compare. Is there a simpler way to do incremental backup?

[Zenju]

1. Comparison cannot be skipped. The software needs to scan both folders in order to categorize the files. Then after the categorization is known, it can apply sync configuration accordingly.

2. I suggest creating a batch job and running it in the background. If you don't need to look at the result of comparison anyway, then the whole process can be automated.

[vbull]

Thanks. How do I create a batch job?

May I also know if I use the mirror configuration, after the first mirror
backup, if I again use a mirror configuration for subsequent backups, will FFS
write over all those files that had remained the same since the first backup,
or will simply skip those files and only copy those new files and updated
files only. If FFS skip those files that had not changed, then it will be
pretty fast, I should think since FFS is only copying new and updated files,
as well as deleting those files on the right side, since mirror copies from
left to right.

[Zenju]

>How do I create a batch job?
Go to menu -> advanced -> create batch job

>or will simply skip those files and only copy those new files and updated
files only
It will only copy new/updated files and delete files not exising anymore. This
is the whole point of using a sync tool.

[vbull]

Thanks. Understood.

[vbull]

Sorry, may I clarify further with you?

Say, I've created a mirror configuration for hard drive A to be backup to hard
drive B.
Hard Drive A has file 1, file 2, file 3.
Using the mirror configuration, the 3 files are copied to Hard Drive B.

Then, I added file 4 to Hard Drive A and amended file 1.

Now, instead of backing up Hard Drive A to Hard Drive B, I decide to use FFS
to mirror backup the amended file 1 and file 4 to Hard Drive B.

After that, I again amended file 1 and added new file 5, file 6, file 7 to
Hard Drive A (for example).

Now I decide to mirror backup Hard Drive to Hard Drive B using FFS.

Will FFS be able to do the Comparison of Hard Drive A with Hard Drive B and
then after that, mirror copy file 1, file 5, file 6 and file 7 from Hard Drive
A to Hard Drive B?

PS: The reason I'm asking this is because I wanted to avoid the lengthy time
it will take for the Comparison of Hard Drive A and Hard Drive B before it
sync. So, instead of having FFS compare the whole of Hard Drive A with Hard
Drive B, I thought it would obviously be much faster if I just create a new
configuration that compares only what I had added and/or amended on Hard Drive
A, with Hard Drive B. Not sure if this is possible or not.

[Zenju]

I didn't fully understand the example, but FFS's behavior when scanning a
directory is simple: Everything is scanned, all files, all folders, including
subfolders and files beyond... EXCEPT directories that are excluded via
filter. So in order to speed things up one can exclude certain directories,
that needn't be sync'ed anyway.