Synchronizing and backing up drives

Has anybody heard of a Windows program called "Foldermatch"? I use it to backup and synchronize my various Windows computers, like my desktop and tablet. I've discovered it's crucial to have one up-to-date copy of my personal files and not multiple different copies. That's a recipe for disaster. I use a USB Western Digital Passport as my master copy. Unfortunately, it doesn't work with OS4. Foldermatch can analyze and synchronize any two folders. I can use it to synchronize my AmigaNG computers if they're networked with a Windows computer, but it's pretty cumbersome.

I'm wondering it there is a similar program for OS4.

I use BackUp on my Amigas to sync between drives including network drives mounted with SMBFS. It works well, only copying files that have a newer timestamp than the destination. It can also optionally delete files at the destination that no longer exist at the source. It's 68k only, but works fine for me on OS 4.1. Well worth a look! http://www.onyxsoft.se/backup.html

@GarbageOut

http://aminet.net/search.php?query=foldersync

@GarbageOut
My FolderSync2 program works well on AmigaOS4 (as well as OS3, MorphOS, AROS & Windows). It's a shell utility, but comes with some little utilities (actually scripts with icons) to allow you to use it without touching the Shell.

I've successfully used it with the old version of NetFS (between two Amigas), FTP Mount (connecting to FileZilla on my PC), and I have had reports of success using SMBFS (connecting to a PC).

FTP Mount is the least good network solution, so better to use SMBFS or NetFS if you can. (Or sync your machines via a USB memory stick, but that's kinda laborious, as it requires 3 syncs for full synchronisation.)

I also use FolderSync2 for some backup & sync purposes on my Windows PCs, although you need to temporarily disable your anti-virus's real-time file protection, otherwise it runs very slowly.

@Daedalus

Second, awesome little tool and backs up perfectly to an external usb hdd here.
I especially like the "update" backup where it checks beforehand and only updates the files needed, amazingly fast too

@Raziel

What is "here". I suppose you meant that to be a link. On a related note. I wonder when OS4x will support my Western Digital 1/2-TB Passport external USB drive. That's where I keep my backups. I can easily move it from one computer to another and it's big enough to meet my backup needs for years to come. It's also very fast. It has a drive inside with moving parts, not SD. It's sealed so if it quits working you throw it away.

I think he means "here" as in "in this situation" rather than providing a link, since he's talking about BackUp, which I linked to further up.

It's a shame that drive doesn't work with OS4. I find so many drives don't work with niche systems - I've got drives that don't work on OS4 but work on MOS, drives that work on OS4 but not on MOS, and some that work on both but not on my Blu-Ray player, and more still that don't work with another media player box. Basically it seems that only the main systems (windows, Mac and Linux) are likely to support most drives, once you move away from them to anything else it's less certain.

Are you using USB 2.0 or 1.1? Some drives might not support 1.1, even though they probably should.

I don't know if they're interested in updating the USB stack, but it would do no harm to submit a bug report with a USB debug dump or similar.

@GarbageOut

There's also BackItAllUp

@Daedalus Quote:
It's probably more a case that most drives only support the main systems, because they only test their (buggy) implementation of USB againsts the main systems. And since those main systems often include work-arounds for many common errors in USB implementations, the manufacturers don't need to fix (or even notice) all their bugs.

@Elwood
BackItAllUp does not do what (I think) the OP wanted, which was to perform BI-DIRECTIONAL synchronisation two folders.

I'm not sure that BackUp does that either.

I use SW-SyncTool and I am pretty happy with it !
it is OS3 and windows but the OS3 version works on AOS4.1FE and older.
http://www.silicon-wizards.com/index_e.html

@ChrisH

Yep, that's kinda what I was saying (though not as clearly). Support for drives that don't 100% follow the mass storage rules is the key here - bigger systems have better tolerance, smaller systems don't.

@Lio
I don't think that "SW-SyncTool" does what the OP wants either, since that 'sync' tool only goes in one direction. It would more accurately be called a 'backup' tool.

As far as I am aware, only FolderSync does bi-directional syncs on the Amiga. (With the possible exception of one or two very crude utilities that copy any 'missing' files in both directions, and never delete anything, which seem like more trouble than they are worth, IMHO.)

@GarbageOut

Like Daedalus said it was meant as a "It's working great here" kind of comment, sorry