Do you have a good silent backup software?
Do you have a good silent backup software?
I've finally restored everything after more than a week without access to my PC due to a failed PSU. Luckily, my data looks intact, and I'm saving files as I write this. The challenge is that backing up 20gb takes hours—already an hour with just the desktop files, and there are many more. This process is becoming unsustainable, which is why I hadn't backed up in six months. Do you know any reliable software that lets me connect an external drive, press a button, and it backs up all specified files? Ideally, it should avoid duplicates for unchanged files. I'd also like the backup to skip modified files automatically, notify me if something fails, and let me resume without interrupting my work. Right now, this method is extremely frustrating, but losing data is even worse, so I need a better solution. I can't afford to spend all day on backups.
The very first backup of 20 GB will inevitably take a long time.
Subsequent backups using suitable software will be quicker since they only handle files that have been newly created or changed.
Storing backups on an external drive is always slower than keeping them internally.
I'm not sure what you meant by "silent" software.
With the right tools, you would create a backup profile and then trigger it with a single mouse click.
By silent I mean that it operates in the background, only pausing to inform me when it can't perform a file copy at the end of the backup, rather than stopping the whole process manually as with Windows. What are some suitable programs?
I rely on SyncBackFree. There are other options that function well... but they use different interfaces. Some are easier to use than others. Others feature Free File Sync, Karen's Replicator, and Second Copy (the paid version isn't free). They all operate in the background. If a file is open during the backup, it’s usually ignored and you’ll see a notice like "file X was not backed up". I perform backups of about 950 GB roughly three times daily. Each backup lasts around 2 minutes. The initial backup when the backup drive is empty requires 4 to 5 hours.
I transfer data from Drive D to Drive E... both internal. Drive D uses an SSD; Drive E is a standard spinning hard drive.
Your scenario could become tricky if:
1; you’re backing up from several drives.
or
2; you’re backing up to several drives.
But it’s manageable.
How many drives are you backing up from?
OK.
If you have 2 source drives, lets call them S1 and S2.
Backup drive: I assume you have just one. Let's call it B1.
You'd set up 2 "profiles" using the software.
Profile 1: backs up S1 to B1
Profile 2: backs up S2 to B1.
They would run separately and on demand.
You have total control over which files and folders to back up. Could be "everything" on S1 and S2 or only certain files/folders. You'd choose by checkmarks in boxes representing your source drive folder tree.
There might be a way to combine the profiles and run them as if everything was on just S1, but that's something I've never tried. It's a layer of complexity.
I'd say put all "originals" on a single SSD, unless you have some over-riding reason (capacity?) that won't work. Simpler. Single profile. One mouse click.
You have to decide on the following issue:
Suppose you have a file called kittykat.jpg on your source drive.
You run the backup. Kittykat.jpg is now on the source drive and on the backup drive.
You then delete kittykat from the source drive.
When you run the backup again, do you want kittykat to be deleted from the backup? Or kept?
Some people do. Some don't. I don't, but it's a choice you have to decide on when designing your backup profile.
Where are you saving your files? The part of my solution that takes a long time is backing up to my cloud backup provider, but as noted, it only slows down the first attempt. Each subsequent run just updates the changes made.
Otherwise, I rely on FreeFileSync to handle the updates to my local backup locations. You can configure it to work automatically.
Thanks for the help! Ideally, I'd want it to get rid of the file on the next backup, but it'd be nice if they point it out "kittykat.jpg has been deleted, do you want to remove it from backup" or something like that.
The system will not send notifications during each file backup. You can check the log after completion to identify which files were removed.
If you altered kittykat on the source drive, you’ll notice both the original and modified versions appear in the backup (kittykat.jpg and kittykat (2).jpg). One holds the unmodified file, the other the changed one.
For cloud backups, I apologize for the delay—it’s quite slow. It wouldn’t be my primary choice, though it could serve as a secondary backup.
I agree with the suggestion for Free File Sync. It offers a user-friendly interface and functions perfectly.
I rely on it to back up or mirror entire drives. Regarding "silent backup," it is achievable through this method:
You set up a backup job, for example to drive D, targeting drive G. Choose your desired backup type (mirror, update, 2-way, custom) and let the system compare options before executing the backup.
If certain files or folders—like the Recycle Bin—can't be backed up, you can exclude them using filters such as:
System Volume Information
$Recycle.Bin
Temp
*\desktop.ini
After applying these exclusions, it won’t interfere with you again!