Backup question

[loopyloops]

I set up synback on my parents comp., and although I set it to backup both their user names (in windows vista), it only back up their "app data" - not documents, desktop, etc. which are also under the user name. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks.

[loopyloops]

I set up synback on my parents comp., and although I set it to backup both their user names (in windows vista), it only back up their "app data" - not documents, desktop, etc. which are also under the user name. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks.

Just to clarify, I'm trying to backup C:\Users"user name"\.

[Dave Wilkins]

Vista uses links, shortcuts & & 'labels' a lot, so that you get unexpected results. For example, try browsing to - and then, into - the (My?) Documents 'folder' under C:\Users\[username] and you'll likely get a surprise (both in SyncBack and in Explorer).

You may need to make several profiles, each pointing at one subfolder of the user profile - and you will likely need to use the username 'magic folder' (at the very top of the Browse tree - above 'Computer', IIRC) to get to the 'real' location. Make sure you can browse 'into' it - i.e, into a subfolder - if you can't, it won't work. Don't forget to browse back up a step if you succeed. If there are no subfolders inside the location you're aiming for that you can Browse into to check, follow exactly the same path in Explorer to make sure you can at least see files (which aren't visible in the SB path browser, so you won't know one way or the other).

Sorry, but I've dispensed with Vista (with relief ), and even then I had it rigged to point to locations on a separate data drive to store documents (etc) in. (So that I could, if necessary, nuke the system drive from orbit and re-image it, etc, without affecting most of my data). I thus can't 'trace the same path' as you need to if I tried. Perhaps some Vista / freeware users might chip in with anything I've forgotten (or got wrong)

[loopyloops]

Vista uses links, shortcuts & & 'labels' a lot, so that you get unexpected results. For example, try browsing to - and then, into - the (My?) Documents 'folder' under C:\Users\[username] and you'll likely get a surprise (both in SyncBack and in Explorer).

You may need to make several profiles, each pointing at one subfolder of the user profile - and you will likely need to use the username 'magic folder' (at the very top of the Browse tree - above 'Computer', IIRC) to get to the 'real' location. Make sure you can browse 'into' it - i.e, into a subfolder - if you can't, it won't work. Don't forget to browse back up a step if you succeed. If there are no subfolders inside the location you're aiming for that you can Browse into to check, follow exactly the same path in Explorer to make sure you can at least see files (which aren't visible in the SB path browser, so you won't know one way or the other).

Sorry, but I've dispensed with Vista (with relief ), and even then I had it rigged to point to locations on a separate data drive to store documents (etc) in. (So that I could, if necessary, nuke the system drive from orbit and re-image it, etc, without affecting most of my data). I thus can't 'trace the same path' as you need to if I tried. Perhaps some Vista / freeware users might chip in with anything I've forgotten (or got wrong)

Thanks! Wonder why it only has a problem now (it didn't seem to a few weeks ago) and why my laptop doesn't have the same issue, i.e. if I backup C:\Users\[username], I get everything.

[loopyloops]

Vista uses links, shortcuts & & 'labels' a lot, so that you get unexpected results. For example, try browsing to - and then, into - the (My?) Documents 'folder' under C:\Users\[username] and you'll likely get a surprise (both in SyncBack and in Explorer).

You may need to make several profiles, each pointing at one subfolder of the user profile - and you will likely need to use the username 'magic folder' (at the very top of the Browse tree - above 'Computer', IIRC) to get to the 'real' location. Make sure you can browse 'into' it - i.e, into a subfolder - if you can't, it won't work. Don't forget to browse back up a step if you succeed. If there are no subfolders inside the location you're aiming for that you can Browse into to check, follow exactly the same path in Explorer to make sure you can at least see files (which aren't visible in the SB path browser, so you won't know one way or the other).

Sorry, but I've dispensed with Vista (with relief ), and even then I had it rigged to point to locations on a separate data drive to store documents (etc) in. (So that I could, if necessary, nuke the system drive from orbit and re-image it, etc, without affecting most of my data). I thus can't 'trace the same path' as you need to if I tried. Perhaps some Vista / freeware users might chip in with anything I've forgotten (or got wrong)

Thanks! Wonder why it only has a problem now (it didn't seem to a few weeks ago) and why my laptop doesn't have the same issue, i.e. if I backup C:\Users\[username], I get everything.

Actually, when I brows to documents in explorer, I get what I expect - everything in my "documents folder under my user name.

[loopyloops]

Vista uses links, shortcuts & & 'labels' a lot, so that you get unexpected results. For example, try browsing to - and then, into - the (My?) Documents 'folder' under C:\Users\[username] and you'll likely get a surprise (both in SyncBack and in Explorer).

You may need to make several profiles, each pointing at one subfolder of the user profile - and you will likely need to use the username 'magic folder' (at the very top of the Browse tree - above 'Computer', IIRC) to get to the 'real' location. Make sure you can browse 'into' it - i.e, into a subfolder - if you can't, it won't work. Don't forget to browse back up a step if you succeed. If there are no subfolders inside the location you're aiming for that you can Browse into to check, follow exactly the same path in Explorer to make sure you can at least see files (which aren't visible in the SB path browser, so you won't know one way or the other).

Sorry, but I've dispensed with Vista (with relief ), and even then I had it rigged to point to locations on a separate data drive to store documents (etc) in. (So that I could, if necessary, nuke the system drive from orbit and re-image it, etc, without affecting most of my data). I thus can't 'trace the same path' as you need to if I tried. Perhaps some Vista / freeware users might chip in with anything I've forgotten (or got wrong)

Thanks! Wonder why it only has a problem now (it didn't seem to a few weeks ago) and why my laptop doesn't have the same issue, i.e. if I backup C:\Users\[username], I get everything.

Actually, when I brows to documents in explorer, I get what I expect - everything in my "documents folder under my user name.

"Browse", I mean - is there an "edit" function here?

[Dave Wilkins]

"An edit function" where?

I'm not convinced you are browsing (with Explorer) the same path you are asking SyncBack to copy from, especially as you don't cite the path used. It's perfectly possible there is a a valid and non-valid path (one that will include Documents, and one that won't, because it only contains a reference to that folder, and not the folder itself) and you're using one for one application and one for the other.

Did you try browsing into the Documents folder as listed in the SyncBack Source 'picker' (using the SyncBack Source picker)? You didn't say. If your parents don't have any subfolders in their documents folder, try adding one to test with (create a dummy folder). If you cannot browse to that subfolder in SyncBack then what you are looking at is a non-standard reference to that folder, and it won't work. Try the alternates as suggested

You are also confusing the issue with references to 'my folders and my documents' - given that the issue is on your parents' PC. Your PC may be set up differently, and you appear to have been using SE on that PC since 2007 (according to your ticket history).

You could also try using SyncBack in 'run as Admin' mode (right-click the shortcut > select from the menu). This assumes you are logged on as an admin user anyway (otherwise it's unlikely to work, or even be available)

Note that if it used to work and now does not, and works on your PC in SyncBack freeware (try installing a copy to test - all our versions can be installed in parallel - just don't use the same install folder) but not on theirs, it suggest something broken on their PC (some of the folder mapping, linking, etc)

[loopyloops]

"An edit function" where?

I'm not convinced you are browsing (with Explorer) the same path you are asking SyncBack to copy from, especially as you don't cite the path used. It's perfectly possible there is a a valid and non-valid path (one that will include Documents, and one that won't, because it only contains a reference to that folder, and not the folder itself) and you're using one for one application and one for the other.

Did you try browsing into the Documents folder as listed in the SyncBack Source 'picker' (using the SyncBack Source picker)? You didn't say. If your parents don't have any subfolders in their documents folder, try adding one to test with (create a dummy folder). If you cannot browse to that subfolder in SyncBack then what you are looking at is a non-standard reference to that folder, and it won't work. Try the alternates as suggested

You are also confusing the issue with references to 'my folders and my documents' - given that the issue is on your parents' PC. Your PC may be set up differently, and you appear to have been using SE on that PC since 2007 (according to your ticket history).

You could also try using SyncBack in 'run as Admin' mode (right-click the shortcut > select from the menu). This assumes you are logged on as an admin user anyway (otherwise it's unlikely to work, or even be available)

Note that if it used to work and now does not, and works on your PC in SyncBack freeware (try installing a copy to test - all our versions can be installed in parallel - just don't use the same install folder) but not on theirs, it suggest something broken on their PC (some of the folder mapping, linking, etc)

To edit a post after posting...


Thanks for your reply! Something's amiss. In syncback, for the source, I click on the folder icon, navigate to "computer", click the "c" drive, navigate to "users".

[Dave Wilkins]

Editing of posts had to be withdrawn after spammers were found to be abusing it (editing innocuous 'me too' posts after a while, trusting this would fool our RSS readers into not alerting us of the edits). Sig blocks had to be withdrawn for new users for the same reason (especially as an edit in a sig block propagated instantly to every post they had made)

Your latest post seems to terminate abruptly mid-way thru your browse...

[loopyloops]

Editing of posts had to be withdrawn after spammers were found to be abusing it (editing innocuous 'me too' posts after a while, trusting this would fool our RSS readers into not alerting us of the edits). Sig blocks had to be withdrawn for new users for the same reason (especially as an edit in a sig block propagated instantly to every post they had made)

Your latest post seems to terminate abruptly mid-way thru your browse...

Was just showing how I get the source - the destination is an external HDD - then I hit "run. So, for whatever reason, it's not copying everything withing "users".

[Dave Wilkins]

Yes, we'd already figured that about 10 days ago. What you're not answering is the question I've asked at least twice - can you browse to a folder inside 'Documents' in that \Users\ path, using the SyncBack Source picker/browser? (Assuming there are subfolders in the Documents folder in question - if not, add one for testing: you can delete it later). If you cannot select that subfolder of Documents - that is, drill into the Documents folder to an inner level of it, Vista is presumably displaying a virtual folder, which is presumably why it's being skipped - as though it's not really there...

Check also if you get different results when you Run As Admin (assuming the user is an admin, otherwise not sure why you're trying to backup multiple User paths, as that's bound to fail)

[loopyloops]

Yes, we'd already figured that about 10 days ago. What you're not answering is the question I've asked at least twice - can you browse to a folder inside 'Documents' in that \Users\ path, using the SyncBack Source picker/browser? (Assuming there are subfolders in the Documents folder in question - if not, add one for testing: you can delete it later). If you cannot select that subfolder of Documents - that is, drill into the Documents folder to an inner level of it, Vista is presumably displaying a virtual folder, which is presumably why it's being skipped - as though it's not really there...

Check also if you get different results when you Run As Admin (assuming the user is an admin, otherwise not sure why you're trying to backup multiple User paths, as that's bound to fail)

Ah - sorry. Yes, I can use the picker to browse to documents, back that up and documents and all its sub folders get backed up - or I can drill down to a sub folder and back that up - I can do that with "desktop" as well. I get the same result running as admin., i.e. if I select "users" or "users\username" all that backs up is the top folder "app data".

[Dave Wilkins]

In that case, I'm baffled, but as stated a while back, I cannot replicate (not least because I'm not using Vista any more, and also because I re-jigged my Documents (also Desktop and a few others) paths when I was, to point elsewhere (off-system-disk)). So I wouldn't know if anything I saw was as a consequence of that or something else...

If it used to work on their PC, and now doesn't, it's obviously a toss of a coin whether it's SyncBack or their system that changed, and if the same version of SyncBack works on your PC, it rather suggests the latter.

Anyone else seeing this (hopefully with suggestions )?

[loopyloops]

In that case, I'm baffled, but as stated a while back, I cannot replicate (not least because I'm not using Vista any more, and also because I re-jigged my Documents (also Desktop and a few others) paths when I was, to point elsewhere (off-system-disk)). So I wouldn't know if anything I saw was as a consequence of that or something else...

If it used to work on their PC, and now doesn't, it's obviously a toss of a coin whether it's SyncBack or their system that changed, and if the same version of SyncBack works on your PC, it rather suggests the latter.

Anyone else seeing this (hopefully with suggestions )?

Thanks Dave! Question - are there older vers. of syncback archived somewhere?

[Dave Wilkins]

Not routinely, sorry. If you have a specific version in mind, you can specify it, and I can ask the developer if he's prepared to make it available, but generally we only make the current version available unless there's a very good reason for the converse. As you say the current version is working on your PC, it seems unlikely the syndrome is related to the version of SB, as I already pointed out