Benfleet
Hi Everybody.
Just want to check that the back up for my 2 laptops is how you guys and girls would do it please? Basically I have 2 Laptops and using 'sync folders' any changes that are made to the Music folder and the Virtual DJ folder in my documents will mirror both ways, as an extra precaution this will also back up in triplicate with a 2 way sync to an external hard drive.
The idea is that it doesn't matter which laptop I use both will be up to date. Does this sound like a good plan or is there something I am missing?
Thanks in advance for your help.
Just want to check that the back up for my 2 laptops is how you guys and girls would do it please? Basically I have 2 Laptops and using 'sync folders' any changes that are made to the Music folder and the Virtual DJ folder in my documents will mirror both ways, as an extra precaution this will also back up in triplicate with a 2 way sync to an external hard drive.
The idea is that it doesn't matter which laptop I use both will be up to date. Does this sound like a good plan or is there something I am missing?
Thanks in advance for your help.
geposted Tue 28 Jun 16 @ 2:24 am
Cannen
I do something similar for the Virtual DJ folder in My Documents. I use a program called Owncloud. It works like Dropbox except that I'm hosting everything myself. You could also use bittorrentsync. It creates a peer-to-peer network between your computers. You can have all of your files in sync all the time. It's great for playlist and history. Although, you probably don't want to use it for your DB or settings.xml file.
Another option is to use Dropbox with an addon called Boxifier.
It will allow you to choose folders that are outside of your Dropbox folder. I believe that you are only going to get one extra sync location though with the free version. Keep in mind though, you have to have enough space in your Dropbox to store whatever files you want to sync between computers.
Owncloud works for me, but I'm hosting it on my own website and really only sync the VDJ folder.
Hope that helps.
Oh, one more thing. The way you are doing it, you have to be careful. I've had trouble in the past syncing music files the way you are. Sometimes VDJ doesn't like it when the file dates are changed.
Another option is to use Dropbox with an addon called Boxifier.
It will allow you to choose folders that are outside of your Dropbox folder. I believe that you are only going to get one extra sync location though with the free version. Keep in mind though, you have to have enough space in your Dropbox to store whatever files you want to sync between computers.
Owncloud works for me, but I'm hosting it on my own website and really only sync the VDJ folder.
Hope that helps.
Oh, one more thing. The way you are doing it, you have to be careful. I've had trouble in the past syncing music files the way you are. Sometimes VDJ doesn't like it when the file dates are changed.
geposted Tue 28 Jun 16 @ 2:54 am
Benfleet
Thanks Cannen. looks like I need to give it some more thought. Can I ask do you not back up your Database XML file at all?
geposted Tue 28 Jun 16 @ 8:05 am
Cannen
If I need to copy my music drive to a backup, I format the backup and do a complete transfer. I make an exact duplicate. It's easier than trying to find the files that are different, where, etc.
Wipe it, copy to it. Then, I can go watch a movie and go to bed. I don't have to worry about prompts asking me if I want to overwrite something.
I keep my music on an external hard drive. So, the database file that is in the documents folder of my computer doesn't really do much.
Wipe it, copy to it. Then, I can go watch a movie and go to bed. I don't have to worry about prompts asking me if I want to overwrite something.
I keep my music on an external hard drive. So, the database file that is in the documents folder of my computer doesn't really do much.
geposted Tue 28 Jun 16 @ 8:42 am
Benfleet
That makes sense, thank you for your help.
geposted Tue 28 Jun 16 @ 9:30 am
blckjck
I use batch files with xcopy and robocopy to mirror things over my network to my PC, my external, and a network drive. Some things like license files, settings, and databases get sent to dropbox as well. I run the batch file manually.
There are sync programs that monitor the files for you. This is convenient, however, if you make a mistake changing something, it's all mirrored right away. Manually running the batch file keeps that from happening.
When mirroring between PC's, keep the license files out of the mirror and back them up somewhere. If you overwrite it with one from a different PC, you will have to have internet to get it back. This you might not notice until your somewhere without internet.
There is more on this discussion in the following thread:
http://virtualdj.com/forums/210231/General_Discussion/I_need_to_write_a__BAT_file_script_to_help_me_do_the_backup.html
There are sync programs that monitor the files for you. This is convenient, however, if you make a mistake changing something, it's all mirrored right away. Manually running the batch file keeps that from happening.
When mirroring between PC's, keep the license files out of the mirror and back them up somewhere. If you overwrite it with one from a different PC, you will have to have internet to get it back. This you might not notice until your somewhere without internet.
There is more on this discussion in the following thread:
http://virtualdj.com/forums/210231/General_Discussion/I_need_to_write_a__BAT_file_script_to_help_me_do_the_backup.html
geposted Tue 28 Jun 16 @ 2:38 pm
Benfleet
Thanks for the help everybody. It looks like I have the C:\Music backing up via the sync app but I am taking care to only do that one way at a time from the last used laptop to avoid any issues. The Virtual DJ folder is backing up with the exception of settings and license file and so far it all seems ok...
Does that sound reasonable do you think ?
Does that sound reasonable do you think ?
geposted Wed 29 Jun 16 @ 7:06 am
Cannen
Sounds reasonable to me.
If you want to get a bit tricky, you could buy a Raspberry Pi 3, and an extra external hard drive.
Hook those up at home and run BitTorrentSync on it. Then, setup a sync between it and your other 2 laptops. That way, if one laptop changes, the changes are sent to the Raspberry Pi at home and to the other computer. If you do that, you'll always have a safe copy at home in case anything happens and you'll keep just the files that have changed synced up.
There are tutorials online for that. Also, using the Raspberry Pi, you could do the Owncloud thing like I do, but it gets a little more involved.
Looks like you have the important part taken care of though. My other suggestions are just for the next level.
If you want to get a bit tricky, you could buy a Raspberry Pi 3, and an extra external hard drive.
Hook those up at home and run BitTorrentSync on it. Then, setup a sync between it and your other 2 laptops. That way, if one laptop changes, the changes are sent to the Raspberry Pi at home and to the other computer. If you do that, you'll always have a safe copy at home in case anything happens and you'll keep just the files that have changed synced up.
There are tutorials online for that. Also, using the Raspberry Pi, you could do the Owncloud thing like I do, but it gets a little more involved.
Looks like you have the important part taken care of though. My other suggestions are just for the next level.
geposted Wed 29 Jun 16 @ 8:14 am
Benfleet
Thanks Cannen, that next level stuff would melt my brain...
geposted Wed 29 Jun 16 @ 8:15 am
lincol2
Has anyone use Acronis software for backing up VDJ to another computer? Your thoughts?
geposted Wed 29 Jun 16 @ 2:41 pm
Benfleet
No doubt the Acronis back up would work -disc imaging may need some more thought. There are plenty of easy free apps out there that give you the option to sync folders and make exceptions for files you don't want to copy.
Having said that maybe a disc image would be ideal if your back up was designed to rebuild the main drive after disaster, then again if everything other than the VDJ software, settings and license are backed up then it's not hard to reinstall and log on for a new license.
I'd be keen to hear what those more computer literate think though?
Having said that maybe a disc image would be ideal if your back up was designed to rebuild the main drive after disaster, then again if everything other than the VDJ software, settings and license are backed up then it's not hard to reinstall and log on for a new license.
I'd be keen to hear what those more computer literate think though?
geposted Wed 29 Jun 16 @ 7:32 pm
blckjck
I disk image my main drive about every month or two. Most of the free apps leave something running or continuously checking things, so I stay away from those. An advantage to imaging instead of fresh installing is speed. If you have to replace your main drive and do a fresh install, you have to do a lot of OS and driver updates. In addition to that, if you've disabled things or made changes for performance, you will have to figure all of that out again. Reinstalling VDJ and putting your backup settings is fine. If you have installed plugins, you'll have to get all of those and their dependencies again.
This year I upgraded my network infrastructure so everything was gigabit LAN. With that came a new router that is also capable of doing network storage with USB drives. You can even enable your own personal cloud. With a USB3 1Tb drive shared on the network, I can image and backup with ease.
This year I upgraded my network infrastructure so everything was gigabit LAN. With that came a new router that is also capable of doing network storage with USB drives. You can even enable your own personal cloud. With a USB3 1Tb drive shared on the network, I can image and backup with ease.
geposted Wed 29 Jun 16 @ 8:06 pm
Benfleet
Yes if course - thank you for that. I think I'll invest in a full version of Acromis.
geposted Wed 29 Jun 16 @ 9:05 pm
Cannen
Keep in mind that Acronis is a disk imaging program. Basically it creates a snapshot picture of your hard drive as it is now. That's all well and good for the computer it has taken a picture of, but trying to put that image onto a complete different computer would be a disaster. You would need to create a snapshot of each computer.
Plus, this doesn't solve the problem of the OP... keeping his two DIFFERENT computers in sync.
Plus, this doesn't solve the problem of the OP... keeping his two DIFFERENT computers in sync.
geposted Thu 30 Jun 16 @ 4:51 am
Benfleet
Thanks Cannen, good point. My main aim is definitely to sync but probably also a good idea to image each drive.
geposted Thu 30 Jun 16 @ 6:47 am
kradcliffe
As stated in the other thread just use Robomirror. It's free and does the job perfectly.
geposted Thu 30 Jun 16 @ 8:08 am
Benfleet
Yeah found one problem with my sync - will try Robo mirror.
geposted Thu 30 Jun 16 @ 10:15 am
Benfleet
Yeah found one problem with my sync - will try Robo mirror.
geposted Thu 30 Jun 16 @ 10:17 am
lincol2
thanks guys
geposted Thu 30 Jun 16 @ 1:37 pm