Lightweight backup/synch software for windows XP?

[Messiah Khan]

I could do with some suggestions for some nice lightweight software for automating backup & syncing folders etc in windows XP. Ideally what I want to do is have scheduled backups (say once a day) of my laptop onto my unRAID server. I used to use Robocopy which was pretty nice, but did involve writing the batch commands myself which too a bit of time. I have now also tried RobocopuGUI which doesn't seem to have nowhere near the amount of functionality of the non GUI version. Also tried Acronis True Image home 2011 but it seemed a bit resource heavy and not as slimline as I would like it.

Features I would like/need are; Backup of only changed or new files to minimise bandwidth usage. Ideally some sort of timemachine type feature where I can restore files back to a certain date (This isn't necessary though). Ideally be able to produce logs so I can see what has been copied.

Any suggestions?

 

[KIA]

SyncToy.

 

[OCdude]

SyncToy.

+1 fo' sho'

 

[bledd]

I'd stick to robocopy..

What do you want to achieve from it?

I just use..

robocopy /e "C:\folder" "D:\backupfolder"

the /e tells it to copy all files/subdirs

 

[SiriusB]

I'd stick to robocopy..

What do you want to achieve from it?

I just use..

robocopy /e "C:\folder" "D:\backupfolder"

the /e tells it to copy all files/subdirs

This.

Robocopy has a mass of other options too, so worth taking a look to see what you can do with it.

For syncing you can use

robocopy /s /mir "source" "destination"

Anything added, changed or deleted will be mirrored at the destination. The /s tells it to do subfolders.

Robocopy, by design, only copies stuff that is changed so you need not worry about using up network bandwidth. There are also options to have it ignore certain file types or files older/newer than a certain date.

There is also a switch for creating a log

 

[rctneil]

FreeFileSync is excellent. Highly reccomended

 

[Fillado]

Thanks for bringing up Robocopy! I've been needing a solution like this for ages

Is it at all possible to streamline the process of mirroring:

Directory A > Directory B
Directory C > Directory D

instead of just running one and then running the other?

 

[OCdude]

Thanks for bringing up Robocopy! I've been needing a solution like this for ages

Is it at all possible to streamline the process of mirroring:

Directory A > Directory B
Directory C > Directory D

instead of just running one and then running the other?

Yes, do something like:

start robocopy <source1> [switches] <destination1> [log etc]
start robocopy <source2> [switches] <destination2> [log etc]

I personally use robocopy for shifting vasts amount of data between service (the /MON and /MOT switches come in mega handy) but I think SyncToy would be better suited for "home use" - has an easy to use GUI, most of the 'main' features of Robocopy (at least the ones the OP is interested in). Plus it's easy to schedule.

Robocopy is more powerful yes, but possibly overkill for what the OP needs IMO!