How can I get synctoy to work or find a good alternative?
October 29, 2013 9:38 AM Subscribe
I'm having problems with microsoft synctoy and would like advice on how to troubleshoot it or find an alternative.
I've been using microsoft synctoy for years to synchronize my windows 7 laptop and desktop computers with each other using an external hard drive. (Each computer is set up to sync with the external hard drive, I switch the drive between the two computers to make sure everything is synced.) In the last couple weeks the process has stopped working, with various weird glitches happening every time I try to use synctoy. Sometimes synctoy makes mistakes (trying to delete instead of updating files that have recently been changed), sometimes the program hangs when copying files and can't be shut down. It used to work very consistently and reliably, so I'm not sure what's changed that I'm having problems now.
I have tried deleting all my folder pairs and starting over, but the problems have continued.
I would like suggestions for how to coax synctoy into working again, or recommendations for reliable alternatives. Note that I'd prefer to continue with my hard drive system and not use online backups.
I've been using microsoft synctoy for years to synchronize my windows 7 laptop and desktop computers with each other using an external hard drive. (Each computer is set up to sync with the external hard drive, I switch the drive between the two computers to make sure everything is synced.) In the last couple weeks the process has stopped working, with various weird glitches happening every time I try to use synctoy. Sometimes synctoy makes mistakes (trying to delete instead of updating files that have recently been changed), sometimes the program hangs when copying files and can't be shut down. It used to work very consistently and reliably, so I'm not sure what's changed that I'm having problems now.
I have tried deleting all my folder pairs and starting over, but the problems have continued.
I would like suggestions for how to coax synctoy into working again, or recommendations for reliable alternatives. Note that I'd prefer to continue with my hard drive system and not use online backups.
Don't use synctoy for real things.
Use robocopy (it's already installed on your computer) or cwrsync.
If you aren't used to the command line, it's a good idea to try it first on some test data to prevent accidentally deleting anything.
posted by tracert at 12:33 PM on October 29, 2013
Use robocopy (it's already installed on your computer) or cwrsync.
If you aren't used to the command line, it's a good idea to try it first on some test data to prevent accidentally deleting anything.
posted by tracert at 12:33 PM on October 29, 2013
Response by poster: I tried out Sync Back Free and it seems to be working well. Thanks for the answers.
posted by medusa at 12:16 PM on November 10, 2013
posted by medusa at 12:16 PM on November 10, 2013
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SyncBack Free works well for me
posted by canoehead at 10:18 AM on October 29, 2013 [1 favorite]