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General Software Discussion / Re: needed: tool to sync two HDs/folders
« on: February 13, 2007, 08:29 AM »
Sounds like you don't need bi-directional syncing, but handling locked files is critical.
I know just the (free) program for you: HoboCopy http://www.pluralsig.../Craig/HoboCopy.html
I know just the (free) program for you: HoboCopy http://www.pluralsig.../Craig/HoboCopy.html
What is HoboCopy?
HoboCopy is a backup/copy tool. It is inspired by robocopy in both name and in functionality. It differs greatly from robocopy, however, in two respects:
1. It is not as full-featured as robocopy.
2. It uses the Volume Shadow Service (VSS) to "snapshot" the disk before copying. It then copies from the snapshot rather than the "live" disk.
...
Why Does HoboCopy Use the Volume Shadow Service?
Because HoboCopy copies from a VSS snapshot, it is able copy even files that are locked by some other program. Further, certain programs (such as SQL Server 2005) are VSS-aware, and will write their state to disk in a consistent state before the snapshot is taken, allowing a sort of "live backup". Files locked by VSS-unaware programs will still be copied in a "crash consistent" state (i.e. whatever happens to be on the disk). This is generally a lot better than not being able to copy the file at all.