Other External products

[kuhlou]

what is the difference between using "backup" versus "sync" when backing up my files?  backup takes a long time, is it recopying every file, every time it backs up?  sync takes much less time.  Could someone fill me in on the difference?  thanks.

[TRoss]

Hi,

File Synchronization (or 'synching') is the process of ensuring that two or more locations contain the same up-to-date files. If you add, change, or delete a file from one location, the synchronization process will add, change, or delete the same file at the other location.

Backup refers to copying of data from one location to another.

Sync is not a backup.

[icekyuu]

If I use backup feature and I update a document on my computer that has already been backed up, will the Maxtor HD recognize that a new version is available and copy it across?

[Melonade]

youd have to run the backup again, but then it would be on the external drive

[Aloy]

I have a somewhat similar question from a different angle.

I've recently purchased a Maxtor One Touch 4 mini and is trying to use the Sync function to keep files between my laptop and my workstation synchronised but has encountered a werid problem with that functionality.
I realise that after i have choosen the folders which I want to sync, i can no longer delete files from these folders. E.g. Once a file is deleted from the laptop and i tried to update the sync by pressing sync, it actually thinks the file on the One Touch 4 Mini is a new file and puts it back in the folder.

I might be doing something wrong here so please advice on what is the correct way of updating the sync data on the One Touch 4 Mini when a file is (correctly and deliberately) deleted in the sync folder.

Thanks!

[mpcapoze]

I think I understand the intended differences between Sync and Backup, but I don't understand the technical differences.

I have one PC and one OneTouch 4. If I click on "Sync", my selected files are copied to the OneTouch. If I click on "Backup", my selected files are copied to the OneTouch. If any files are changed or deleted, the copy on the OneTouch is updated to match my PC. If I lose my files on my PC, I can restore them with the OneTouch - using either the copy made with "Sync" or with "Backup".

What am I missing? What is the difference between "Sync" and "Backup"? The only difference I can find is that the "Backup" can be scheduled and that "Sync" provides additional functionality to synchronize a third device (another PC for example) with the first two devices (original PC and OneTouch). Isn't "Sync" and "Backup" really the same?

[dianar]

I posted a similar question in the FreeAgent forum.  I hope someone will respond. 

Doesn't a backup write each file again even if it has not changed and sync only updates the file if it changed?  Seems to me that using "sync" would be much faster once you have made a full backup of all the files you want to have on the external drive.