Luminous Landscape Forum
Equipment & Techniques => Digital Asset Management => Topic started by: jimh on November 14, 2018, 11:28:14 am
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I want to periodically connect a portable drive and back up my entire tree of photos (pushing 100gb at this point). Obviously I don't want to recopy everything, every time - just the new or modified files.
Years ago, I used a program called SyncBack for this purpose. It worked well but as is often the case, is somewhat over-featured and tedious to set up.
AFAIK there's nothing currently built in to Windows 10 that does this satisfactorily, so 3rd party solutions are still needed.
I'd like to know what people are using today, for incremental backup and sync.
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I want to periodically connect a portable drive and back up my entire tree of photos (pushing 100gb at this point). Obviously I don't want to recopy everything, every time - just the new or modified files.
Years ago, I used a program called SyncBack for this purpose. It worked well but as is often the case, is somewhat over-featured and tedious to set up.
AFAIK there's nothing currently built in to Windows 10 that does this satisfactorily, so 3rd party solutions are still needed.
I'd like to know what people are using today, for incremental backup and sync.
Suggest you try “GoodSync”
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RoboCopy can do what you're looking for, but it's not for the faint of heart (command line, etc).
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Goodsync is certainly a good package, but also look at FreeFilesync https://freefilesync.org/ seems much the same, but freeware
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AFAIK there's nothing currently built in to Windows 10 that does this satisfactorily, so 3rd party solutions are still needed.
Get a Mac. Problem solved.
Seriously 100GB is trivial. If you have a problem now then how are you going to manage when you have 10TB? You need a system level backup not just for your photos but documents, applications, settings and users as well.
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Get a Mac. Problem solved.
Seriously 100GB is trivial. If you have a problem now then how are you going to manage when you have 10TB? You need a system level backup not just for your photos but documents, applications, settings and users as well.
What has Mac got that Win 10 does not that solves this problem?
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Goodsync is certainly a good package, but also look at FreeFilesync https://freefilesync.org/ seems much the same, but freeware
Indeed, FreeFileSync does a good job. I have been using it for years, with good results,and it's easy to setup adhoc comparisons. It makes it very easy to create Copies or Mirrors of entire file-structures to an external device, or completely Synchronize between two storage systems. The user interface gives a good visual impression of file (mis-)matches.
Cheers,
Bart
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What has Mac got that Win 10 does not that solves this problem?
I think he's referring to Time Machine. I'd still (and do) use a dedicated backup application on my Mac's above and beyond TM but why could be considered OT. Disk Utility on Mac can also backup a drive but again, I would recommend another solution.
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What has Mac got that Win 10 does not that solves this problem?
Yes, Time Machine. It is all that i have used for maybe 10 years and never lost any data despite several drive failures.
Most of that time I have had my data on a 2010 Mac Mini server with overnight backups but lately it has become too big and so I have moved to direct attached drives and the standard hourly backups to rotating drives. Periodically a drive is moved off site. If a computer dies I just restore onto a new computer same day.
Google "Chase Jarvis Workflow"
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Yes, Time Machine.
How does Time machine handle the OP's query of dealing with a drive that is only periodically connected ?
Why would it be better than any of the alternative options suggested ?
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How does Time machine handle the OP's query of dealing with a drive that is only periodically connected ?
How? It would backup that drive when connected if configured to do so.
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I think he's referring to Time Machine. I'd still (and do) use a dedicated backup application on my Mac's above and beyond TM but why could be considered OT. Disk Utility on Mac can also backup a drive but again, I would recommend another solution.
Windows 10 has an identical backup application called File History.
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Windows 10 has an identical backup application called File History.
About time. ;)
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File History isn't Time Machine - File History is 'Shadow Copies' to a separate drive. Time Machine is a full Mac recovery platform - as in you can fully restore the Mac to that point in time including system files. File History will let you recover a previous version, ala Ransomeware or bad save overwriting a file. File History only backs up copies of files that are in the Documents, Music, Pictures, Videos, and Desktop folders and the OneDrive files available offline on your PC.
With Time Machine you can boot off a install usb/recovery partition on a Mac and recover apps, settings, everything you had before the incident. Same with software like Acronis TrueImage and StorageCraft ShadowProtect for Windows. The builtin File History can't do it. You can create a backup 'System Image' and use File History, but there are limitations.
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1.How does Time machine handle the OP's query of dealing with a drive that is only periodically connected ?
2. Why would it be better than any of the alternative options suggested ?
1. Easy.
I am not sure if the drive being connected is a data drive or a backup drive but a similar procedure.
You turn off automatic backups. Connect the drive when required and click "Backup Now". A system of both permanently connected and temporarily connected is better. At least 1 live, 1 on the shelf and one off site.
2. I don't know about alternative systems as I have never used one. Did I mention that it is free and backs up everything incrementally - operating system, users, settings, applications, data.
Updated - Just remembered that I used Veritas years ago that worked very similar, except that it cost $1500.
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I use a 4tb WD Passport to back up my entire machine. YOu can get a 1tb from them for about $50. Unit comes with great backup software and it's plug and play. Works in the background. Plugs into the USB jack. About the size of two packs of cigarettes. They have units pre-setup for Mac and Windows systems.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1277257-REG/wd_wdbynn0010bbk_wesn_1tb_my_passport_portable.html
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File History isn't Time Machine - File History is 'Shadow Copies' to a separate drive. Time Machine is a full Mac recovery platform - as in you can fully restore the Mac to that point in time including system files. File History will let you recover a previous version, ala Ransomeware or bad save overwriting a file. File History only backs up copies of files that are in the Documents, Music, Pictures, Videos, and Desktop folders and the OneDrive files available offline on your PC.
With Time Machine you can boot off a install usb/recovery partition on a Mac and recover apps, settings, everything you had before the incident. Same with software like Acronis TrueImage and StorageCraft ShadowProtect for Windows. The builtin File History can't do it. You can create a backup 'System Image' and use File History, but there are limitations.
Thanks for the clarification, I am certainly not happy with the file se!ection methodology in File History especially getting round the usual microsoft assumption that everything is on the C:\ drive. Like many I have al! my data (including One Drive) on a large D:\ drive and only keep system and appications on C:\ drive.
Dave
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I don't know about alternative systems as I have never used one.
So not really much of an informed opinion then.
I thought we'd got beyond such silly comments as 'get a Mac' when people ask for advice on Windows issues.
Did I mention that it is free
The solution for the OP above is open source and free too.
and backs up everything incrementally - operating system, users, settings, applications, data.
Which isn't what the OP wants. Backing up everything would take longer and take up more space.
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So not really much of an informed opinion then.
I thought we'd got beyond such silly comments as 'get a Mac' when people ask for advice on Windows issues.
The solution for the OP above is open source and free too.Which isn't what the OP wants. Backing up everything would take longer and take up more space.
And yet you yourself asked how the Mac with TM does this and you and the OP got an answer. Backup everything on a specific drive is easily accomplished and explained to both parties. He clearly asked how to backup only new files after backing up existing files, which is exactly what TM and any half decent backup app will do.
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Backup everything on a specific drive is easily accomplished
Not actually what was asked for. The OP asked to be able to "back up my entire tree of photos", that is specifically not 'everything'.
But suggesting a Mac OS feature might be a solution on a request for software on Windows 10 is just unhelpful.
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Not actually what was asked for. The OP asked to be able to "back up my entire tree of photos", that is specifically not 'everything'.
But suggesting a Mac OS feature might be a solution on a request for software on Windows 10 is just unhelpful.
He was quite clear:
I want to periodically connect a portable drive and back up my entire tree of photos (pushing 100gb at this point). Obviously I don't want to recopy everything, every time - just the new or modified files.
Do you struggle with the term entire tree of photo's? He doesn't nor should he recopy everything, only new or modified files which again, ANY backup utility worth it's salt will do. And some will easily allow the selection of a 'tree' (folder or otherwise).
I didn't suggest a Mac solution, I answered factually YOUR question (https://forum.luminous-landscape.com/index.php?topic=127544.msg1087563#msg1087563)about Time Machine.
Jules: If my answers frighten you then you should cease asking scary questions.
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Not actually what was asked for. The OP asked to be able to "back up my entire tree of photos", that is specifically not 'everything'.
But suggesting a Mac OS feature might be a solution on a request for software on Windows 10 is just unhelpful.
In addition to what Andrew said,
Just because you CAN back up everything (and why wouldn't you), it does not mean that you HAVE TO back up everything. You click the button called Options and exclude what you don't want.
For a few hundred dollars you can get a headless Mac Mini (or any Mac really) and configure it as a file server and put your data and backup drives on it. That is what I did with a 2010 Mac Mini until just recently when I upgraded to Thunderbolt drives. I was accessing using an iMac but the OP's Windows 10 machine can happily work to it using SMB also.
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I use Acronis True Image with a scheduler. I perform a full backup once per week and incremental backups the other six days. Acronis is extremely reliable and simple to use for backups, recovery, and cloning.