SyncBack SE
Review
Attorney H. Edwin Detlie
May 1st, 2006
I wanted an inexpensive, easy-to-use application that would allow me to save
files from one drive to another, and several power users recommended
SyncBack SE. For $25.00, this program does everything I needed, and does it
with no bother.
I have my word processor files saved in a central server drive, but I wanted
to take them along on my notebook, which is my desktop replacement. I knew
that I wouldn’t remember if I had to copy the folder each time I was leaving
for a hearing; it had to be automatic.
I also had lots of files scanned in Adobe Acrobat format, with the .pdf
files saved on my notebook, and I worried about losing them if something
happened to my notebook. Since our computer system was set up with the
invaluable assistance of MicroLaw, we have a robust backup system, with
daily backups and offsite storage, but I didn’t want to have to go there to
restore the scanned files, if we could have the Scans folder mirrored on the
central disc drive.
SyncBack SE is available online for a 30-day trial at
www.2brightsparks.com
so I installed it on a trial basis. I set the two folders in two different
modes: I wanted the Scans file copied direct to a Scans folder on the
central disc drive, so I set it up to backup to the F: drive every evening.
(It can also be set to run at a set interval, such as every 30 minutes, but
I don’t want to slow down two hard drives during the day, so it’s set to run
every evening.) On the other hand, I might be on the road and prepare a
document, save it to my C: drive and want it saved later to the F: drive on
the server. So I set that up to Smart Sync every evening, to check and see
if there were any changes to the MyFiles folder on my C: drive or on the F:
drive.
Setup was about as easy and intuitive as it could be. When the application
opens, it shows a set of icons across the bottom, one of which is “New.”
Obviously, to set up a new profile, as they are called, click on the icon
marked “New.” The user can then choose between 1) Backup to another
directory, drive, FTP server, or to “etc.”; 2) Backup from an FTP server or
Zip file; 3) Smart Synchronization, “for keeping the contents of two
directories identical”; 4) Basic Synchronization, also “for keeping the
contents of two directories identical; and 5) Group which “contains links to
other profiles.” I confess that I don’t know what that means, but I didn’t
need that, so I didn’t try it.
The user is prompted to name the new profile, identify the source folder,
the destination folder, and which of the five options listed above the user
wants. By clicking on the Expert icon at the bottom, the user can choose
whether the source drive overwrites the destination, destination overwrites
the source (restore), or newer files overwrite older files, which seemed to
make the most sense.
The program can also choose the larger file to overwrite the smaller file or
prompt the user to decide. If the files are being backed up and a file is in
the destination folder but not in the source, the user can choose whether to
delete that file in the destination folder. I opted to leave that file
alone, in case I ever need a file I accidentally deleted. The user can also
use NTFS compression when copying to the destination. The reader may know
what that is, but it sounds great. I chose not to use it.
[ED: NTFS compression is the built-in ability of
the Windows file system to compress certain files to save disk space, with a
slight read/write speed penalty.] The user can also
choose encryption and a password, but doesn’t have to. If the user wants
confirmation, the program can be set to email confirmation. That sounds like
fun, but I get enough emails, without getting one every day from – my
computer.
When the user goes through the setup, choosing the destination may mean
setting up a new folder in the destination drive, and there is even a handy
icon, “New Folder,” allowing the user to set up and name a new folder on the
destination drive, without leaving the application. They made it about as
simple to set up as possible. To schedule when the back up or
synchronization is to occur, click the “Schedule” icon on the main screen,
and choose “Edit Schedule.” The user can choose daily, weekly, at log-in,
when idle (the user can choose how long the computer has been idle before
the application starts up) and other options. For daily backups, the start
time can be chosen. The user can also choose not to have it run if the
computer is on batteries, which is what I chose. Again, it couldn’t be much
easier.
The first couple of days, I checked the next morning, made sure that the
files I saved on the F: drive the day before were on my C: drive, and there
they were.
After about a week, I felt so much better with SyncBack SE working behind
the scenes, that I chose to purchase it online, which consists of getting an
activation code for $25.00. Even that process ran smoothly; when I clicked
on the activation code online, it automatically copied itself to the
activation window on my computer, and I was ready to go. A couple of days
later, I was informed that an update was available, and asked if I wanted to
download it. When I said I did, the update downloaded and installed
automatically.
There certainly must be other applications that do the same thing, and some
may do it better or more easily. There may even be free applications that do
the same thing. However, for the time involved, and for $25.00, I wouldn’t
want to be without SyncBack SE.
H. Edwin Detlie is an attorney in private practice in Ottumwa, Iowa. He has
no financial stake in 2brightsparks or in SyncBack SE.
