Here's the scenario: 2 XP Home PC's and 1 external USB hard drive
One XP Home standalone desktop computer in an office where most of the work is done. Main programs used include Excel, Word, Outlook and a database program to keep track of workflow and progress (forget the name, but I know where the data files are stored). There is also one XP Home standalone desktop computer at home that will be used. There is one external USB hard drive to be used to backup & transport data from office to home and vice versa.

All data from work computer was transferred to home computer and vice versa. As of right now the two computers contain the same data. Tomorrow they will not be in synch anymore as work is done on each computer independently.

What I need is a synchronization solution where changes & additions on the work computer can be synchronized with the USB hard drive which can then be synchronized with the home computer and vice versa. This includes all documents created or modified, all necessary Outlook files, and the database files generated by the other program.

Anyone have suggestions on a good but inexpensive (<$100) software utility to use in this scenario? Any other ideas are welcome too. Thanks.

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Solutions that won't work:

Briefcase
I tried using Briefcase, but that doesn't seem to work properly in this situation. I've had success with it when two computers are connected directly to one another, but here we have computers in separate locations with an external hard drive to transfer the data. Synchronizing from office PC to USB drive works great, but trying to synch the data with the home computer is troublesome because some of the data resides in different folder paths on each PC, such as Documents and Settings\username\whatever_folder (different usernames on each PC).

USB hard drive as the data drive
Sounds like a great idea, but it's too risky. The purpose of the USB drive is to transfer and synch data bewteen the two computers and can also act as a secondary backup drive. It is not to be used as the primary data drive. What if it fails...then what? I'd rather have the data sitting on both PC's and the USB drive can act as a secondary backup. In this case, if one of the three drives fails, no big deal, the data is stored on two other drives.

only thing i would be able to recommend is setting up a server and saving everything there. obviously you've already thought of that and ruled that out for one reason or another though.

Yeah. Cost

I know that there are software packages out there that do what I need, but I'm not too familiar with them and don't have time to start trying them out. I remember reading about one synchronization package that is pretty good, but I can't remember it's name.

i've never used one or really looked at them. i'll ask around and see if i can find anything.

I'm not 100% sure but heres a couple of links that might help you.

http://www.handybackup.com/synchronize-fil...d-folders.shtml


and


http://www.cellarstone.com/syncup.htm

Perhpas, something like this?

would pcAnywhere fit into this scenario?


edit: gotop I just clicked your link after I posted! :lol:

Yes, that's the type of software I'm looking for. Thanks so much. I still can't remember the name of the one I read about. I guess I'll need to start evaluating some of these packages today...something I was trying to aviod.

Using PCAnywhere was a thought, but there are too many variables to make this a permamnent solution. The risk is dropped connections and bandwidth considerations...upload speed at either location is around 256k max. Also, the Internet connection at the office can be flaky at times because the connection is being shared.

Alan -

I think that Iomega makes a Backup program that might work in this case. If you set up the backup of the first computer to be to the USB Hard Drive, then you could write a batch file to copy the files that have changed to the second computer. This assumes USB 2.0 for speed and identical directory structures for data, but it might work.

Another advantage is that you can set up the program to save any number of revisions to each file, giving the individual the ability to go back to earlier versions of the file. This would require more hard drive space, but would give an additional level of protection. LINK

wheel

i talked with my co-worker and he recommended cvsnt. the only cvs i'm familiar with is the cvs update i've used briefly with freebsd to update packages and such. cvsnt is free. he also recommended ms visual sourcesafe http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/previous...tinfo/features/ . it sounds like it might do the job

Thanks wheel. While looking at it I browsed around the site and found Iomega Sync . It looks like it might work, if third party hardware is supported.

Full Description:
Iomega® Sync software allows you the freedom of portable data protection, keeping your important files synched between multiple computers. Active Disk powered, Iomega Sync lives, launches and runs on your portable Iomega product. As you change and save files, Iomega Sync automatically synchronizes between your hard drive and your portable media. So, your latest file revision is always on your portable media making Iomega Sync the perfect choice for mobile users.

This company has a free 30 day trial of the software that might do what you need:

http://www.softwarepursuits.com/suresync/suresync.htm

I've used a Windows Briefcase in situations like this, but this is how I got around the problem you describe:

I put the master copy of the folder (briefcase) on the removable media. I had the removable media mounted in the same location (same drive letter, or under Win2K or WinXP, you can mount a volume on any empty directory).

I then copied the briefcase to each computer.

Given this, you can synchronize each computer to the contents of the briefcase on the removable media. So, you can work locally, then then sync it to the media. Carry it home, sync again and you update the files on your home machine.

here is a shareware option...

i have never used this before

DamnItJim, thanks. It's on my list of software to evaluate.

jlv, thanks for your workaround with the Briefcase. I'll give it a shot and see if I can make it work that way.

I feel like I should have a solution for this right off the top of my head, but in all the time I've been working with computers I haven't run into this specific situation. Always room to learn something new

Another one to add to my evaluation list. Free is good

Thanks to everyone for their help.

After looking at all of the products presented here, and quite a few I found searching around, I decided to go with a program called SmartSync Pro. If anyone is interested here's their website: http://smsync.com/ It's a nice program to solve my specific issue.

I've been meaning to do something similar, but still doing things manually because I'm afraid the syncing software will remove an important file because it got confused about which was the "master". Do you specifically tell it which drive to treat as the master each time you connect the external drive?

mydeal, yes. You can create different profiles and specify the source and destination folders. I used it alot last night testing it under different file changing scenarios and today at my clients locations and everything worked great.

Wow, it's only $35 for the Pro version! After you've used the product for a few weeks, please report back on how it's working out for you.

Thanks,
Diggler

Any updates on how this is working for you Alan?

Thanks!

Yes. SmartSync Pro is working great. I've been using myself also. For Outlook we've been using SyncPST which works great too.

The scenario changed a little. The client is using a 1GB USB Flash drive to transport the data. He sync's data from the office PC to the flash drive then sync's the flash drive with the home PC. The USB hard drive is used once in a while to fully backup the office PC.