File-sync/backup Program, Quick & Easy, For Good

Hoping someone can recommend a file-sync/backup program that can detect absolutely every circumstance, even files that have simply been moved to another folder. It took me a long time to realise that Windows apparently doesn't update its timestamps when files are moved, even to another drive. I had just been using WinRAR but now I realise I need something more sophisticated.

I considered programs that will force all timestamps to get updated but I don't want to take that approach, I'd like to still keep track of which content is newer, for posterity. I'd prefer something non-intrusive, meaning something that doesn't need to be constantly running and monitoring everything, but at the same time I'd like to not have to think about it, if that makes sense. Something that 'just works'.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. https://www.portablefreeware.com/forums/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif
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It won't help in your case, but I have a batch file that uses 7Zip to back up source code without rebuildable files to a folder on your hard drive with a back up date stamp on the file name. You have to hard-code this folder, so it can be redirected to a flash drive or other removable medium, but you can type in a sub-folder name. I don't remember if it makes the new sub-folder, though. If anybody's interested, just tell me, and I will post it, along with a file to get the current date, here.

 

How about disk imaging software? I use Macrium Reflect:
https://www.macrium.com/reflectfree
Their knowledgebase:
https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/

 

What files? Just your personal files or everything? And how up-to-date must the backups be? And what are you intending to use as backup media? IMO if it's your personal files you want backed up you are already using one of the very best softwares available in WinRAR, but if you mean all files, i.e.the whole disk or partition, then imaging software such as Macrium Reflect, as already suggested, or disk management software such as Partition Wizard will be necessary. Developing and implementing a good backup strategy is vital, but not a simple matter at all.

 

I find FreeFilesync very good for mirroring files/folders - https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/freefilesync.html
apart fom that, I use Macrium Reflect (as previously referenced) for all my imaging and File/Folder (paid version necessary for file/folder) backups on my secondary drive.

 

Pretty unbelievable - I just realised that even renaming files doesn't change any of the date/time data! Is my Windows broken??? That means all this time I have been doing (low-tech) incremental update backups, a whole bunch of files simply aren't being included...

I'll spend some time looking for cover-all "sync" programs, but I might as well just do my own "diff" technique using indexing and data management, and basically output to text files I can transform to batch files to do it all for me. I might also just keep track of the original dates with the same indexed filelists. I can transform those into spreadsheets. I already know there are command-line tools to do most of what I have in mind, so unless anyone has further suggestions, I think I'll just take that approach.

Thanks again for all the feedback.
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You might as well reinvent the wheel too while you're at it

 

Save yourself the effort and study the WinRAR backup options more closely. When you select Generate Archive Name by Mask and select from yymmddhhmmss your backups will include ALL versions of the file.

 

I think you've misunderstood my posts... I was using WinRAR for years up until this point. It will not update files incrementally if they are simply moved or even renamed. At the very least, it will create a lot of duplicates, which is tolerable for personal backups, but I also wish to share my game development projects with colleagues and it's getting far too massive to just keep uploading it all over and over again. Making a mess for myself is one thing, but not for dozens of other people on computers on the other side of the planet.

I'm not reinventing the wheel, I'm trying to find a workaround solution for a broken one.
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I recommend 7Zip for the backups. It produces better compression. I am working on my own compression technique, but it's no where near usable right now. Again, if anybody here is backing up source code, I have a batch file to use 7Zip to compress code without rebuildable files to a folder on the hard drive or a flash drive.

 

this is the only backup program i have used now for some years
SyncBackFree
https://www.2brightsparks.com/freeware/index.html
it's a wonderful program,
good luck with it all

 

Thanks! I stumbled across GRSync-Win, which is a great sync tool that handles click+drags, renaming and deletion. As far as I can tell, it will give you a perfect backup without sitting in the background constantly monitoring everything, no mess and no loss, which is 50% of what I'm looking for. SyncBackFree is good too.
Now I just need to find a way to do only the latest increments, to package and upload, no matter how or what it is (renamed, moved, etc). The big problem I have is that I can't maintain a whole other copy of my gamedev project, just to diff, it's just too big and I already have a free-diskspace crisis. I couldn't find an option to do this with GRSync or SyncBackFree (yet), although I have an inkling it is possible. Ideally, something that keeps like a log of the sync'd folder instead of the whole folder itself, and work from that. Or maybe just only do logs, which is why I was thinking about just doing a low-tech command-prompt approach all by myself. It would be mostly dealing with TXT files, turned into BAT files, to do it all for me.

Still open to suggestions anyway, however. Thanks again!
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I decided to go with just getting an external HDD as the destination, using GrSync to sync with that, and something like DiskPulse to monitor what exactly is happening during the update, that I can then use to create my own patches to upload to collaborators. I realise it goes deeper than just click+drags or renames. There are things happening like possible incrementing/decrementing numbers in pre-existing filenames and actually who knows what else. At least, now I know...
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