I need to sync my documents folders across computers & keep them synced
July 16, 2018 12:11 PM Subscribe
I have the MyDocuments folder at work and MyDocuments\work on my home desktop and my laptop. I need to A) Sync these up so anything not on every computer is copied to the corresponding folder and B) Keep everything synced in real time.
I used to do this with cubby but cubby died. I think dropbox only does a dedicated dropbox folder (And it's subfolders). Figure about 100 gigs. What's the latest method for doing this? I am aware that sycning would only really happen when two computers that are synching are both on and connected to the internet at the same time. That's fine.
I used to do this with cubby but cubby died. I think dropbox only does a dedicated dropbox folder (And it's subfolders). Figure about 100 gigs. What's the latest method for doing this? I am aware that sycning would only really happen when two computers that are synching are both on and connected to the internet at the same time. That's fine.
I think dropbox only does a dedicated dropbox folder (And it's subfolders)
What if you want to synchronize/backup files or folders that reside not in the “My Dropbox” folder, but somewhere else on your harddrive? There are a number of different ways that this can be achieved.
posted by ManInSuit at 12:23 PM on July 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
What if you want to synchronize/backup files or folders that reside not in the “My Dropbox” folder, but somewhere else on your harddrive? There are a number of different ways that this can be achieved.
posted by ManInSuit at 12:23 PM on July 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: They are PCs. They all run windows, but not necessarily Windows 10. I do not use office365. Thanks, Mainsuit, but that seems to be for syncing to dropbox not for syncing to other computers. Am I missing something?
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 12:26 PM on July 16, 2018
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 12:26 PM on July 16, 2018
I use Syncthing for this and it works well. I also have it running on a Raspberry Pi that is on 24/7 so don't have to worry about my main computers being on at the same time.
posted by nixxon at 12:47 PM on July 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by nixxon at 12:47 PM on July 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
Would you be willing to put your Dropbox folder in your My Documents folder and do it that way? You can put it wherever you want.
posted by Lyn Never at 12:52 PM on July 16, 2018
posted by Lyn Never at 12:52 PM on July 16, 2018
Google Backup and Sync I think now has a documents folder level backup in addition to the dedicated google drive folder.
posted by TheNegativeInfluence at 12:57 PM on July 16, 2018
posted by TheNegativeInfluence at 12:57 PM on July 16, 2018
i've been using sync.com for a few years for this sort of thing ... free account for the first 5 GB. i don't currently have a need for more space, but it appears their Business Solo account provides 2 TB of worth for $8 per month. you can try it free for 30 days.
posted by DannyNoonan at 1:14 PM on July 16, 2018
posted by DannyNoonan at 1:14 PM on July 16, 2018
Seconding Syncthing. In my experience, setting it up can be a bit of a pain, but once you're done, it Just Works, and it keeps on Just Working. On Windows, SyncTrazor makes things a little nicer.
posted by /\/\/\/ at 1:43 PM on July 16, 2018
posted by /\/\/\/ at 1:43 PM on July 16, 2018
about 100 gigs
That rules out any of the free cloud-storage options from commercial providers, I should think; Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive and iCloud are all off the table unless you want to pay for them.
I'd give SyncThing a whirl.
posted by flabdablet at 1:55 PM on July 16, 2018
That rules out any of the free cloud-storage options from commercial providers, I should think; Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive and iCloud are all off the table unless you want to pay for them.
I'd give SyncThing a whirl.
posted by flabdablet at 1:55 PM on July 16, 2018
Response by poster: Not really looking for cloud storage. Installed Synchthing on my office computer and will try to get them syncing tonight when I get home.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 1:58 PM on July 16, 2018
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 1:58 PM on July 16, 2018
Don't forget to copy and paste the office instance's ID and take it home with you.
posted by flabdablet at 2:00 PM on July 16, 2018
posted by flabdablet at 2:00 PM on July 16, 2018
Resilio is what you want. It tends to be faster than Google Drive/Dropbox/Box etc because you sync directly between your computers. There's no cloud component. It's pretty close to realtime.
I currently have about 4.5TB of data mirrored on three computers; has worked great for a couple of years.
posted by gregr at 4:23 PM on July 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
I currently have about 4.5TB of data mirrored on three computers; has worked great for a couple of years.
posted by gregr at 4:23 PM on July 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
Search for Synctoy, a freeware from Microsoft. Supposedly only wor Windows up through 7, but I have used it on 10. Very easy to set up, flexible as far as folders. It knows how to do syncs, copies, backups, etc. simple in that it goes right to left, or left to right, where one side can be an external drive, network drive, etc, the other side is a computer.
Also, for something with more utility but costing more money, Beyond Compare from Scooter Software will not only compare files, but will also synch folders intelligently. One license works on multiple machines for the same user, over multiple operating systems.
posted by lhauser at 9:31 PM on July 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
Also, for something with more utility but costing more money, Beyond Compare from Scooter Software will not only compare files, but will also synch folders intelligently. One license works on multiple machines for the same user, over multiple operating systems.
posted by lhauser at 9:31 PM on July 16, 2018 [1 favorite]
Synctoy is good, but it doesn't work over the Internet unless you expose the Windows file sharing port on one of your machines publicly, which is a Very Bad Idea.
Resilio looks very good, but unless you're willing to keep paying whatever they decide to charge for it once you've come to rely on it, you will probably be inviting issues later. Then again, SyncThing has its own issues.
It's been my experience that open-source stuff that works pretty much OK already will tend to get more and more rough spots knocked off it over time, while proprietary stuff that works pretty much OK already will tend to mutate in unpredictable and largely fashion-driven ways that occasionally render it suddenly unusable.
I'd pick SyncThing.
posted by flabdablet at 5:10 AM on July 17, 2018
Resilio looks very good, but unless you're willing to keep paying whatever they decide to charge for it once you've come to rely on it, you will probably be inviting issues later. Then again, SyncThing has its own issues.
It's been my experience that open-source stuff that works pretty much OK already will tend to get more and more rough spots knocked off it over time, while proprietary stuff that works pretty much OK already will tend to mutate in unpredictable and largely fashion-driven ways that occasionally render it suddenly unusable.
I'd pick SyncThing.
posted by flabdablet at 5:10 AM on July 17, 2018
Response by poster: So how do I get Syncthing to sync. I have it set up on both computers. I selected the folders on each computer that I want to sync and gave them both the same folderId. I brought home the DeviceId from my office computer and added the device to home. Then I shared the folder with that device. There's no indication that any syncing is happening. It just instantly says up-to-date and I rescan and it still says up-to-date.
Also, I get noisy notifications in the corner of my monitor telling me that my office computer is/isn't online. Presumably the internet is cutting in and out at the office right now or something?
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 7:21 PM on July 17, 2018
Also, I get noisy notifications in the corner of my monitor telling me that my office computer is/isn't online. Presumably the internet is cutting in and out at the office right now or something?
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 7:21 PM on July 17, 2018
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by The Bellman at 12:23 PM on July 16, 2018