TOPIC: Synicing programs

1. Yes, the synchronization software works on different versions of Windows, whether XP, Vista, Windows 7, or any other varieties. Most of the sync software, such as Dropbox is also cross-platform with a client for Mac OS X.

2. For what you're trying to do, these are two different things. The sync software is usually used for publishing a specific group of files, such as HIP and your documents folders, not the entire machine. You could use the sync software, such as Dropbox, to synchronize your HIP folder to all your machines.

For sharing the contents of the entire machines (or large amount of files) between multiple machines in your home, your best bet would be to use the built in Windows file sharing to allow the files to be visible between machines. You don't necessarily need to synchronize the contents of the entire machines, but just make the files available. Basic instructions for setting up Windows file sharing can be found under the following links:

Windows 7 - windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Share-files-with-someone or www.addictivetips.com/windows-tips/simpl...p-by-step-procedure/

Windows XP - support.microsoft.com/kb/304040

I dont think sharing is quite what I'm looking to do.  I want to make sure all my important files are located on all my pc's along with my backup drive.  This way if one crashes I can still get to it on the other without going into panic mode.  I will only be doing the documents folder, music, HIP, and pictures.  These are of coarse, large amounts of info.  The backup drive I copy and past once a month manually. 

For most of the Synchronization software, these are intended as a shared folder on each machine where you're able to copy files into and have available on each machine. In the example of Dropbox, there's a folder that you specify on the machine (or a "dropbox") that you copy the files to be shared into. It does allow just one folder to be used as the drop location. The items copied into this folder are then uploaded to their servers. When another machine accesses the dropbox, the files are copied down from the server.

There are a number of these services that are available beyond Dropbox, some for free, some for pay. A list of these services can be found here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_online_backup_services

One that does a similar function and is free is the Microsft SkyDrive as part of the Windows Live Essentials ( explore.live.com/windows-live-mesh-sync-skydrive-using?os=other ).

For doing actual backup of your data, probably your best bet would be a service such as Carbonite ( www.carbonite.com/en/ ). This allows backup of numerous folders on your machine (that you specify) which are watched for changes and automatically backed up. For the cost of the service, this would offer the most secure and reliable backup as possible.

Got my new PC and have started reading up on the possible ways to do what I want.  I found a small note saying that Window Mesh does not work on XP. 

Also, something I didn't mention last time, it is very important to me that I don't have to pay a monthly fee for a sync program.  I'm willing to pay a one time fee for software but not a monthly fee.

I would also like it to auto sync without me having to do anything like copying files to a shared files or something.  I have enough to do without having to add to my work list.  LOL

Did I just make things more difficult?  LOL

So I have gone through and been playing with a number of the other file syncing options (and there a number of them out there) and might have found an option that is working for what you've described John.

Dropbox across the board is still considered the gold standard for syncing of software, but another to try is called SpiderOak. The software itself can be found here: spideroak.com

SpiderOak offers a free 2 GB option, which for most inspections and basic reports should be more than enough. As John had mentioned in a previous post, the goal is to share multiple folders without having to use a set dropbox folder as the sole point of sharing.

SpiderOak does allow this to be done. On each machine, the SpiderOak client is installed. Once installed, you can click on the Backup tab, and specify on this machine the folder to be backed up. The same process is done on each machine. After the files are backed up, you can then go to the Sync tab and create a new Sync. The Sync allows you to specify a folder on each machine that has the client installed to keep synched up. In the case of the Home Inspector Pro, if you have the Home Inspector Pro folder set to backup, you can then go in and create a Sync for the Client Data folder, then one for the Data folder (which includes the Documents folder below). This will then keep the files in each of these folders synchronized.

The sync process seems to work pretty well and the responsiveness of the program is pretty good. You're able to pick and choose which folders to backup, then within the backup, which folders you want to sync. This gives a significant amount of control over backup and sync than you would see with Dropbox.

The only downside to this as I can see, is the free package is limited to 2 gigabytes total space for backup and syncing. If you go over this limit, you'll then need to remove some files, or pay for the unlimited package ($10 a month for 100 gigabytes).

Overall, there are a number of good options for synchronizing the data on your machines. The rub is that if you're going for true simplicity and lots of space, you're going to have to pay for it. Bandwidth and data storage cost a lot of money, there is never going to be a free option than does everything. But this is a good intermediate option that works pretty well.

If you were to decide to go with the paid option, this actually is a pretty competitive price for online backup, especially as you can backup multiple machines for one flat rate. Services such as Carbonite charge per machine, so if you're running 2 or more machines, this could be a great deal.

Their FAQ answers a number of good questions, so this might be worth reading over for more information: spideroak.com/faq

Product: SpiderOak
URL: spideroak.com
Cost: Free for up to 2GB of space, $10 a month or $100 a year for 100 GB of space ( spideroak.com/pricing )

I have been looking around at some of the software available.  What do you think about ViceVersa Pro?  www.tgrmn.com/