Is there a way to automatically keep two folders in sync (or mirrored) in real-time on a Windows machine?
Does any one know of any free software / windows tool for doing this?
Cheers, Nick.
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What operating system?– BryanNov 10, 2009 at 12:03
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Bi-directional or Uni-directional?– BryanNov 10, 2009 at 12:03
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I assume from your question, this is on a single PC. In which case, I have to ask why would you want to do this?– BryanNov 10, 2009 at 12:07
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Yes - you're right, just on one machine. Uni-directional. One of the folders is an external Network attached HDD. The files are critical, so when I copy them there - I'd like for a backup to be made immediately with some tool that watches the folder. Sorry if the question wasn't particularly clear!– AnonymousNov 10, 2009 at 12:27
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If it was a server I'd recommend DFS. For just a single PC you're probably better off going to SuperUser.– mhNov 10, 2009 at 12:35
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3 Answers
robocopy.exe is part of the Windows 2003 Server Resource Kit. One of the switches (/MON:n) puts it into monitor mode, in which re-runs after it sees n files change. If you set n to 1, you should be able to accomplish what you are looking for.
You may want to look at using a tool such as Synctoy, Live Sync or Live Mesh, or even Dropbox. It doesn't copy the data in real-time but it's near real time and should be plenty fast since your doing it across local storage. Here's is a quick rundown review of Live Sync and Live Mesh: http://www.labnol.org/internet/compare-windows-live-sync-mesh-and-skydrive/6166/. Dropbox has a similar ability using the SyncUSBDrive add-on feature; some info on it can be found in their wiki here
They are all free and here is the official downloads:
SyncBack Pro has such a feature: each time a file is changed in the source directory, it will be copied to the destination, if you select the right options in the settings of the profile:
