Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Microsoft, Freeware
Folder synchronization tool SyncToy hits version 2.1
by Brad Linder Nov 16th 2009 at 5:30PM
Like earlier versions, SyncToy 2.1 lets you create folder pairs and decide how data will be synchronized between those two folders. In Synchronize mode, when changes are made in one folder they'll be reflected in the other. If you add a file to folder A, it will be added to folder B. Delete one from B and it'll disappear from A.
Echo mode makes sure that folder B is always up to date with folder A. But if you make changes to folder B, they won't be reflected in the first folder.
In Contribute mode, files will copied from A to B and any files that are renamed in A will be renamed in B. But no files will be deleted. So if you delete a file from folder A it will still live on in B.
All three modes are pretty handy for making sure you have a backup of your important data. You can backup your files to a local drive or a shared network drive for safe keeping.
Probably the closest thing to a new feature in SyncToy 2.1 is the ability to backup your folder pair configurations. Microsoft also says that version 2.1 features better performance, faster copy speeds, and more resilience against network and file system errors. A few bugs have also been fixed, including one that could lead to data corruption when using NAS drives.
SyncToy 2.1 is available as a free download for Windows computers.
[via Lifehacker]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
MarkyB86 said 6:44PM on 11-16-2009
I've been looking for something like this, as an alternative to a full on backup!
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xplocvo said 4:02PM on 11-17-2009
Sweet, I was recently looking at this for keeping my My Pictures folder in sync between my laptop and server, but saw the warning about using it with NAS. Now I'm going to try it out.
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Steven said 4:06PM on 11-17-2009
http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~bcpierce/unison/ is awesome if you can tackle the learning curve.
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cynon said 6:28PM on 11-17-2009
The new Synctoy is not so great. In fact, it's really bad. The old version worked like a charm. This one is missing options, there's only one way sync for the contribute option (so it won't keep deleted files if you need it to) and even 2.1 is slooooow.
I'm looking for something else.
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jfjb said 6:41PM on 11-19-2009
check Syncback @ http://www.2brightsparks.com/
I've been using their product for a looong looong while. Choose between their PRO, SE and freeware versions, whatever rocks you.
Surf's up, udes and dudettes!
cynon said 9:51PM on 11-21-2009
Odd. The site doesn't come up. Thanks anyway.
seriousam7 said 1:58PM on 11-18-2009
I wish Microsoft would just integrate the features of SyncToy into Windows Live Sync and then combine the two programs. I dislike how a lot of their different programs do the same thing.
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nk019 said 10:34PM on 11-19-2009
I just tried out SyncToy and it works well. Pretty fast. I really wish they would add an auto-sync feature...like everyday at 2:00AM my folders will sync without my doing anything. Hopefully that will come in a future release. I'll keep using it for now.
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