Advice on file/folder Incremental Back Up Software.

[Pumpa Cat]

Hi

For those of you who play FS2020 you'll know that the "packages" folder that houses the Community and Official sub-folders, where dlc are stored can become very large.

I like to make back ups of these folders for restoring if I have to re-install the game. So much quicker than having to re-download the dlc.

I would like to make regular incremental back ups of these folders, i.e., when I make subsequent back ups after the initial one, only those files that have changed or are new are saved, saving time and space on my destination drive.

I have tried Acronis, which to be honest does exactly what I am after. However, the issue I have with Acronis is that the saved folders are so slow to open. I click on one folder and it takes a minute or so to open. Then that is repeated as I want to delve deeper into the saved folders.

Has anybody any advice on any software, free or paid for, that can, when I choose, scan the aforementioned folders in my game, and save only those that have changed, incrementally. I am looking to save the duplicated files onto an external HDD.

Thank you.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Hi

For those of you who play FS2020 you'll know that the "packages" folder that houses the Community and Official sub-folders, where dlc are stored can become very large.

I like to make back ups of these folders for restoring if I have to re-install the game. So much quicker than having to re-download the dlc.

I would like to make regular incremental back ups of these folders, i.e., when I make subsequent back ups after the initial one, only those files that have changed or are new are saved, saving time and space on my destination drive.

I have tried Acronis, which to be honest does exactly what I am after. However, the issue I have with Acronis is that the saved folders are so slow to open. I click on one folder and it takes a minute or so to open. Then that is repeated as I want to delve deeper into the saved folders.

Has anybody any advice on any software, free or paid for, that can, when I choose, scan the aforementioned folders in my game, and save only those that have changed, incrementally. I am looking to save the duplicated files onto an external HDD.

Thank you.

Windows has incremental backups built in in File History, skip to the second method in this article:

How to Perform Windows 11 Incremental Backup [2 Ways]

This article elaborates on performing Windows 11 incremental backup and provides two ways to achieve such a backup plan. Hope it can help.

www.easeus.com

 

[Pumpa Cat]

Hi Spyder

Many thanks for the advice.

I don't think Windows File History is what I am looking for. It doesn't seem to allow me to choose which folders I want backing up.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Hi Spyder

Many thanks for the advice.

I don't think Windows File History is what I am looking for. It doesn't seem to allow me to choose which folders I want backing up.

Yeah, see what you mean, I just assumed it would give you choice over the source directory. Come on Microsoft, seems a really stupid thing to lock down.

Paragon do a community edition which is free, not used it myself, but maybe worth having a play with to see if it better suits your needs. I can't find any conclusive details on if it supports incremental or just full though, so would have to test it.

Free Data Recovery software | Paragon Backup & Recovery Community Edition

Reliable backup and recovery tool for windows 10 with advanced options of restoring files, folders and os. Incremental and differential backup of the whole system.

www.paragon-software.com

An Open Source option UrBackup which is generally very well regarded:

UrBackup - Client/Server Open Source Network Backup for Windows and Linux

www.urbackup.org

UrBackup Reviews - 2023

UrBackup user reviews and ratings from real users, and learn the pros and cons of the UrBackup free open source software project.

sourceforge.net

 

[Pumpa Cat]

With the URBackup. There appear to be no options on where I want the back up saved. It appears to be internet/cloud based. I am wanting to back up from PC to external SSD.

I am looking at a program called SyncFolders. Did you originally put that link in your reply and then remove it? Or did I get it from somewhere else? 😆

Anyway, SyncFolders seems to do just what I want.

Many thanks.