However once all the folder pairs are setup and the settings created then there are just 1 or 2 buttons to click to perform the backup/ Synchronisation.Ĭlick Compare to get an idea of what will be synced.Ĭlick Synchronise to perform the sync. The interface can be a bit daunting as there is a lot of information on the screen. Under the General tab type in or change the name accordingly. Open File explorer > This PC or Destop > Right click on the drive and click on Properties. Quotation marks ” are for clarity only and should be omitted in the file path. Enclose the volume name in square brackets (“”).

In the target side file path replace the drive letter (E.G. Storage devices are allocated drive letters by the system and this will avoid issues when you have multiple storage devices connected to your computer. I recommend replacing the drive letter on the right hand side with the volume name of the USB device. Using Volume Name instead of Drive Letter I would give the saved configuration file any name that helps you understand what the icon on the desktop will be used for. I recommend saving this to the Desktop so that next time you run it you just need to double click the icon on the desktop. The folders to be synced may include all of the following:Īfter running FreeFileSync for the first time a configuration file is created with the settings and folder pairs you created during the first run. Add these together to get an idea of the size of external USB drive capacity that is needed. Then click Properties to view the folder size (capacity).

You can check each folder size on your computer using Windows File explorer and right click on each relevant folder to be synchronised. This will ensure that large files will be included in the sync process. It is recommended to format the USB device using the NTFS file system.

Use an external USB storage device and ensure it has enough capacity to store the files on your computer. FreeFileSync is Open Source software, available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Instead of copying every file every time, FreeFileSync determines the differences between a source and a target folder and transfers only the minimum amount of data needed. FreeFileSync is a folder comparison and synchronization software that creates and manages backup copies of all your important files.

Freefilesync automatic sync