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Best Mac File Sync Programs For Sale, Not Rent
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I’ve not been able to get this to trigger, any ideas? I realize this is a lot to ask, but you can see my related post here:
Post in thread 'Monterey - Carbon Copy Cloner - Users Thread'
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/monterey-carbon-copy-cloner-users-thread.2302964/post-30729736
.01 GB Is the lowest. Not sure why but that is what the developer set.
Which version of CCC ? and which version of macOS? Can you post a screen shot of the Schedule Task settings?
Also - are you creating a "Folder to Folder task" ? - or Cloning the Entire Drive?
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Trying to maintain 3 mirrored copies of 3 folders.
See this post for how I set it up:
Monterey - Carbon Copy Cloner - Users Thread
I am evaluating CCC for use on my MBP. I have downloaded the trial version and have setup up several tasks. Although there is a message that they are monitoring change, I have removed some files from the source folder and a synch task has not been triggered. My setup: MBP > Folder A Ext Hard...
forums.macrumors.com
I was told that for a data change, the smallest increment CCC recognizes as a threshold is .01GB. Today I’ll check and see how that works with a small single file change. This standard of maintaining mirrored copies is important to me because I frequently scan a document (depending on what it is like a bill) and then shred the original. So I want mirrored.
If you want to "Synchronize" two folders, in the sense that you can make changes to either and your changes will go to the other, you may want to look at "Sync Folders" (by Vadim Zybin) in the App Store. I used it for years to sync the "Documents" folder when one of 3 Macs was running an older MacOS that did not have the option to "Syncronize the Desktop and Documents Folder" but did have the iCloud mount. If you just want to back up a folder to two backup destinations, then, yes, I agree CCC is an excellent choice and I have been using it for may years. CCC is also very well supported by the developer.
Trying to maintain 3 mirrored copies of 3 folders.
See this post for how I set it up:
Monterey - Carbon Copy Cloner - Users Thread
I am evaluating CCC for use on my MBP. I have downloaded the trial version and have setup up several tasks. Although there is a message that they are monitoring change, I have removed some files from the source folder and a synch task has not been triggered. My setup: MBP > Folder A Ext Hard...
I was told that for a data change, the smallest increment CCC recognizes as a threshold is .01GB. Today I’ll check and see how that works with a small single file change. This standard of maintaining mirrored copies is important to me because I frequently scan a document (depending on what it is like a bill) and then shred the original. So I want mirrored.
It almost seems like you are trying to create a RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) - not my cup of tea - but it might be what you are trying to achieve?
I prefer a daily (or weekly) back up - with a master and 2 or 3 slaves (destination disks) and in my case (my music Library) is synced / backed up 4 times a week to separate different - 1) master SSD, 1 Time Capsule Drive, 1 Monterey SSD drive and 1 Mojave HDD Drive - I have them set up with an email that confirms they complete - or - "incomplete email notice" if the drive is not connected - a great reminder to connect the drive if not connected -
As soon as it detects the drive it begins the back up
Sounds like you are setting up 2 folder to folder - tasks - 1 master and 2 external drives to have the identical files as the master - not sure why they have to be done at the same time - in fact I prefere to have different drives Sync on different days in case I make a mistake and over write some files ( can be located on the drive that was not updated)
Am assuming you are Using CCC6 / Monterey OS - and the Task Schedule Settings? - I have never had CCC refuse to complete the scheduled task because there were not enough changes - I probably don't understand your settings and configuration
FWIW here is a screen shot of my Monterey Clone settings
FWIW - here is a link to my Mojave CCC 5 configuration
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He wants to backup every time a file is changed, something CCC can do but will only do once a minimum of .01GB of data has been changed in the watched folders. QRecall will do I that every time a file is changed.
It’s interesting to read this forum, as I use CCC for backups but had not considered it for syncing between computers. But I think that I would still use a sync application such as Chronosync (or iCloud documents) to manage live file syncs, and separately use CCC as backup for one or both computers depending on how much is sync/cloned.
For CCC I tried the threshold of .01GB, and yes that is 10MB which does not serve my purpose.
Having a mirrored backup is something I have been doing over a decade. Because I have a small internal hard drive on my 2016MBP, important data is stored on an external TB drive, and I back it up to a 2nd TB drive using a Sync Program. It seems that what I have been using Pro Sync stoped working, but until last week it did the job, but I just got an idea to try with it (more on that later).
Until I sort this out, I have been shopping for a new Sync Program that offers something along the lines of Real Time Sync, instantaneous backup.
On the App Store there is Sync Folders Pro which was cheap, says it offers real time sync, yet it has not yet worked in that capacity. It manually syncs just fine. I sent off an email to the developer and if it can’t be sorted,out, I’ll request a refund through the App Store (it was $9).
Sounds like CCC does not work for you - how about the RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) - mentioned above?
It might be what you are looking for and a free / native macOS solution?
I use Time Machine to back up the hard drive on my 2016MBP. I have lots of other data that does not fit on my internal HD.
Funny you should mention this, I purchased Sync Folders Pro from the App Store, it was only $9, it says it has mirroring, but that does not seem to work during initial setup. I emailed the developer and if I get no support, I'll request a refund from Apple.
I'd need to educate myself more on this. I think there are some possible pitfalls with the setup? With 2 mirrored drives (not arrayed), when one poops out you replace it and hope that the other one lasts until the new hd arrives. Not sure how an Array works.
Of interest, a program I want to say I purchased in 2020, Pro Sync got overwhelmed when I combined two photo albums, and it started crashing, which got me looking for something new. ProSync is no longer available in the App Store for purcase. However, I managed to get rid of the sync tasks in a brief period of time during program start, before it crashed, and then it stopped crashing.
Then I set up new sync tasks and so far it's no longer crashing, some of those folders are large with over a 100k files in them. But it is back to hanging in there for now...
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Time Machine can back up more than just your internal drive. I use it to back up the internal SSD on my iMac plus an external drive.
If you want to keep two (or more) folders synchronized in real-time, then RAID is definitely NOT the way to go.Trying to maintain 3 mirrored copies of 3 folders.
See this post for how I set it up:
Monterey - Carbon Copy Cloner - Users Thread
I am evaluating CCC for use on my MBP. I have downloaded the trial version and have setup up several tasks. Although there is a message that they are monitoring change, I have removed some files from the source folder and a synch task has not been triggered. My setup: MBP > Folder A Ext Hard...
I was told that for a data change, the smallest increment CCC recognizes as a threshold is .01GB. Today I’ll check and see how that works with a small single file change. This standard of maintaining mirrored copies is important to me because I frequently scan a document (depending on what it is like a bill) and then shred the original. So I want mirrored.
CCC might also not the best tool for this particular task.
Look into Resilio Sync.
Its main purpose is to sync folders across different computers in real-time, but it is also able to sync folders on the same computer.
https://www.resilio.com/individuals/
The basic version is free.
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I massaged Pro Sync and got it working again, but will keep this in mind in case. I looked it over and might have missed if it has a mirrored mode. Thanks!
Of interest, what broke ProSync initially was when I migrated an old photo library into my current library. It was just too much for the sync program to handle on the fly. It would have been better to do that with it turned off and then turned it back on.
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Unless TM has changed, it creates a backup of the whole HD (including p.e. the Apps folder and other that I don't care about that much). I like to customise what I need to backup and what not.
Also, on all 3 occasions I desperately needed a backup (one was caused by a failed system clean install), the TM app failed to reset its backup. Obviously I lost faith.
You can add files and folders to an exclusion list (Settings > Time Machine > Options). I've used Time Machine since it came out and have never once had it fail. I've used it many times over the years.
I’ll second this. Resilio is incredibly robust. You can have poor Internet connections, and things will just sync.
My assistant and I are in different states, and we have used Resilio to keep our files in sync for over 5 years now. It just works.
My ProSync has started crashing again so it’s time to move on, I’m giving Resilio a chance because the basic license, the program does not sync folders on the same computer, and they offer a 30 day MBG, so I’ll try the Pro version.
I‘ve emailed the devs because I want to know if the program keeps tabs, a database on files and their changes which as a rule, this capability makes it quick to update a single file change, versus having to scan an entire folder. One of my sync folders is 80GB so I don’t want my sync program scanning the entire folder for every update it makes.
If for some reason this does not work out, plan B is Chronosync.
it does an initial scan when you first start it up (in the background, and generally is finished within 10-30 seconds for our usage case of about 40gb of synced files). After that, syncs happen instantaneously, as file changes occur, on a per file basis. Moreover, I believe it’s a delta-based sync (the underlying technology is the same as BitTorrent), so not the entire file is sent.
I‘ve remoted into one Mac while on another Mac, and have watched how quickly the syncs happen. Generally it’s within seconds. No more than tens of seconds. It’s quite good.
When you copy files from one location to another location, it removes files from the target that were removed from the source, updates modified files, and adds new files. After it is done, the target location matches the source location.
On MacOS / Linux, you can use rsync which is free and you can run it within Terminal on the Mac. Some people need a GUI slapped on it so they either do these subscription type applications or buy it like Carbon Copy Cloner.