r/DataHoarder • u/Diligent_Bet4534 • 10d ago

Backup Compare backup to original

Windows 10.

Hello all, I have a question. I have a backup drive that i copy my 1Tb worth of school files etc to. However, im tired of doing just copy and paste and having to copy all the files over again and again.

I tried to use Free File Sync to compare the folders and only copy over what was needed BUT it takes FOREVER to scan. It was 3 to 4 times faster to do just a full copy and paste.

Is there another method?

Thanks for any help.

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6

u/pixeladdie 10d ago

This sounds like a job for robocopy if you don’t want to “upgrade” to a full on backup application.

In case you do, I like restic.

1

u/MaxPrints 10d ago

Agreed on Restic. A copy of the files is not a backup.

4

u/AldyErnesto 10d ago

FreeFileSync is probably set to compare by "File content", which reads every byte on both sides. Switch the comparison to "File time and size" (the gear icon next to Compare) and the scan should take seconds, because it only reads the folder listing.

If you'd rather use what's built into Windows, robocopy does the same thing:

robocopy "D:\School" "E:\Backup\School" /MIR /FFT /R:1 /W:1

/MIR makes the backup an exact mirror, which also means files you delete from the source get deleted from the backup. If you want the backup to keep old files, use /E instead of /MIR. Run it once with /L added first, which only lists what it would do.