From Newsgroup: uk.comp.homebuilt


I use an HP Microserver N54L running Linux Mint xfce to create iso files
from DVDs and to act as a home media server, the files are backed up to a Windows PC on my home network.

I have two backup programs, Smart Sync Pro and SyncBackSE which are too
clever for their own good. I believe the date/time kept on the Linux
machine is more accurate than that on the Windows machine. Originally I switched from Smart Sync Pro to SyncBackSE because the latter didn't get confused, however, I just went to run a backup and it wants to copy
absolutely everything.

Is anybody aware of a backup program that will just consider file path and file size in deciding whether of not a backup is needed? Would XCOPY work?

I tried to ask in the Linux group but somebody wanted to start an advocacy
war there.

If not I am going to have to fire up Visual Studio and see what I can do...
--
Jeff Gaines Dorset UK
Thanks for teaching me the meaning of plethora, it means a lot.
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From Newsgroup: uk.comp.homebuilt

On 2026-04-12, Jeff Gaines <jgnewsid@outlook.com> wrote:

I use an HP Microserver N54L running Linux Mint xfce to create iso files from DVDs and to act as a home media server, the files are backed up to a Windows PC on my home network.

I have two backup programs, Smart Sync Pro and SyncBackSE which are too clever for their own good. I believe the date/time kept on the Linux
machine is more accurate than that on the Windows machine. Originally I switched from Smart Sync Pro to SyncBackSE because the latter didn't get confused, however, I just went to run a backup and it wants to copy absolutely everything.

Is anybody aware of a backup program that will just consider file path and file size in deciding whether of not a backup is needed? Would XCOPY work?

I tried to ask in the Linux group but somebody wanted to start an advocacy war there.

If not I am going to have to fire up Visual Studio and see what I can do...

https://medium.com/@gurusquad90/rsync-for-windows-a-comprehensive-guide-91d3238a0997

This might be a solution.

--- Synchronet 3.21f-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: uk.comp.homebuilt

Jeff Gaines <jgnewsid@outlook.com> wrote:

I use an HP Microserver N54L running Linux Mint xfce to create iso files from DVDs and to act as a home media server, the files are backed up to a Windows PC on my home network.

I have two backup programs, Smart Sync Pro and SyncBackSE which are too clever for their own good. I believe the date/time kept on the Linux
machine is more accurate than that on the Windows machine.

This is VFAT issue. NTFS is better I think.

Originally I
switched from Smart Sync Pro to SyncBackSE because the latter didn't get confused, however, I just went to run a backup and it wants to copy absolutely everything.

Is anybody aware of a backup program that will just consider file path and file size in deciding whether of not a backup is needed? Would XCOPY work?

Depends on the mechanism, but I'd always reach for rsync as a first (and
last) port of call.

I tried to ask in the Linux group but somebody wanted to start an advocacy war there.

If not I am going to have to fire up Visual Studio and see what I can do...

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From Newsgroup: uk.comp.homebuilt

On 12/04/2026 in message <xn0pofy594kf2py006@news.individual.net> Jeff
Gaines wrote:

If not I am going to have to fire up Visual Studio and see what I can do...

Many thanks for the replies. I did, in fact, fire up VS and was able to
put together a synch app very quickly.

Running it highlighted the problem. Nothing to do with my backup programs, there was a link in one of the Linux directories which in Windows is a
file (*.lnk). However, Windows apps treat a Linux link as a directory so
were trying to back up files that it had discovered in the "directory". I actually discovered it when I deleted the link from Windows, it followed
the link and had deleted 7 series of Boston Legal and 5 of Buffy the
vampire shagger before I realised what was happening.

Still learning at 78....
--
Jeff Gaines Dorset UK
The first five days after the weekend are the hardest.
--- Synchronet 3.21f-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: uk.comp.homebuilt

Jeff Gaines wrote:

there was a link in one of the Linux directories which in Windows is a
file (*.lnk). However, Windows apps treat a Linux link as a directory so were trying to back up files that it had discovered in the "directory".

.lnk files aren't hard or soft links (in a linux sense) they're
shortcuts known to windows explorer.

<https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/openspecs/windows_protocols/ms-shllink/16cb4ca1-9339-4d0c-a68d-bf1d6cc0f943>

Windows does [now] have both hard and soft links (in the linux sense).

<https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/fileio/symbolic-links>

<https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/fileio/hard-links-and-junctions>

if you want the full set, see also .pif files

<https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/3235893/editing-pif-files-in-windows-10>
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From Newsgroup: uk.comp.homebuilt

On 13/04/2026 in message <n44q0jFt1t9U1@mid.individual.net> Andy Burns
wrote:

Jeff Gaines wrote:

there was a link in one of the Linux directories which in Windows is a >>file (*.lnk). However, Windows apps treat a Linux link as a directory so >>were trying to back up files that it had discovered in the "directory".

.lnk files aren't hard or soft links (in a linux sense) they're shortcuts >known to windows explorer.

<https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/openspecs/windows_protocols/ms-shllink/16cb4ca1-9339-4d0c-a68d-bf1d6cc0f943>

Windows does [now] have both hard and soft links (in the linux sense).

<https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/fileio/symbolic-links>

<https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/fileio/hard-links-and-junctions>

if you want the full set, see also .pif files

<https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/3235893/editing-pif-files-in-windows-10>

My file manager knows about these so it knows what to do if somebody
activates one!

Creating symbolic links programmatically nowadays is hard because of permissions.
--
Jeff Gaines Dorset UK
This mess is what happens when you elect a Labour government, in the end
they will always run out of other people's money to spend.
(Margaret Thatcher on her election in 1979)
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From Newsgroup: uk.comp.homebuilt

On 12/04/2026 14:53, Jeff Gaines wrote:

I use an HP Microserver N54L running Linux Mint xfce to create iso files from DVDs and to act as a home media server, the files are backed up to
a Windows PC on my home network.

I have two backup programs, Smart Sync Pro and SyncBackSE which are too clever for their own good. I believe the date/time kept on the Linux
machine is more accurate than that on the Windows machine. Originally I switched from Smart Sync Pro to SyncBackSE because the latter didn't get confused, however, I just went to run a backup and it wants to copy absolutely everything.

Is anybody aware of a backup program that will just consider file path
and file size in deciding whether of not a backup is needed? Would XCOPY work?

I tried to ask in the Linux group but somebody wanted to start an
advocacy war there.

If not I am going to have to fire up Visual Studio and see what I can do...

Xcopy, robocopy and rsync all have the wits to consider similarities of
the source and the destination copy, before starting a backup. This goes beyond timestamps, file sizes and archive bits set, and looks also at
the file contents. You don't want that reliability?

The above are command line tools.

On Windows, I used to use this GUI back in the day https://www.karenware.com/powertools/karens-replicator-backup-utility

If it wasn't that then some MS PowerToy GUI that slapped a form with a
zillion checkboxes in front of xcopy.exe or robocopy.exe ...


FWIW My choice system backup program is urbackup. It's there but invisible.
--
Adrian C
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From Newsgroup: uk.comp.homebuilt

On 15/04/2026 in message <n4a2omFnbipU2@mid.individual.net> Adrian
Caspersz wrote:

On 12/04/2026 14:53, Jeff Gaines wrote:

I use an HP Microserver N54L running Linux Mint xfce to create iso files >>from DVDs and to act as a home media server, the files are backed up to a >>Windows PC on my home network.

I have two backup programs, Smart Sync Pro and SyncBackSE which are too >>clever for their own good. I believe the date/time kept on the Linux >>machine is more accurate than that on the Windows machine. Originally I >>switched from Smart Sync Pro to SyncBackSE because the latter didn't get >>confused, however, I just went to run a backup and it wants to copy >>absolutely everything.

Is anybody aware of a backup program that will just consider file path >>and file size in deciding whether of not a backup is needed? Would XCOPY >>work?

I tried to ask in the Linux group but somebody wanted to start an >>advocacy war there.

If not I am going to have to fire up Visual Studio and see what I can >>do...

Xcopy, robocopy and rsync all have the wits to consider similarities of
the source and the destination copy, before starting a backup. This goes >beyond timestamps, file sizes and archive bits set, and looks also at the >file contents. You don't want that reliability?

The above are command line tools.

I use SmartSyncPro or SynBackSE, both make a full comparison of the files.

On Windows, I used to use this GUI back in the day >https://www.karenware.com/powertools/karens-replicator-backup-utility

RIP Karen, her software was brilliant.

It was the back up program following a symlink that caused the problem.
--
Jeff Gaines Dorset UK
All things being equal, fat people use more soap
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