Does anyone here use GoodSync on their PC at all?

I have tro external hard drive enclosures, one use as an always on and connected hot drive for use, and the other being a powered down cold drive that’s a coone of the hot drive (only powered on to sync everything once every now and again).

would GoodSync allow me to auto sync the hot drive onto the cold drive whenever I power it on? And by that, I mean delete anything deleted and copy over anything new? And does it sync based on metadata sophisticated file scrutiny or simply using file naming?

Any experiences or thoughts would be appreciated!

 

nope, I use FreeFileSync (and too scared to use RealTimeSync) on both Windows and MacOS,
it allows me to sync whatever folders content I want, does not crash/fail even with external drive unplugged or network disconnected,

for "on the go" sync of some files between PC/Mac/phone I use Synology Drive (kinda Dropbox replacement)

 

Thumbs up for free file sync.
But don't buy the donation edition.
I did it several times and I still got nag screens.

 

I used it for ages.
And what you try to achieve is possible. I did it in the past to prepare my laptop when I'n not in the studio.

If you connect a removable disk to an automatic synchronization, GoodSync automatically detects this and offers you that Goddsync remembers the external drive not with a drive letter but with a special disk label.
As soon as you plug in or fire up your external drive Godsync will recognize it and automatically start the sync process.



In this case I synced from my internal Kontakt drive (E:\) to my mobile SSD drive with its title "Kontakt_mobil". If you really sync it automatically be aware of that Goodsync deletes files on one or both drives. This can ofc be dangerous so be careful

 

Last edited: Dec 1, 2024

GoodSync, wow. I've used it for a long time, like @twoheart
Extremely convenient tool. The rest's been answered already

 

Try Gs Richcopy360, it well-suited to your workflow—you can automate backup/sync to your cold, powered-down/plugged-in-as-needed drive, and it will intelligently mirror changes (including deletions), based primarily on metadata.

 

I use Resilio sync. Its free. It is designed to use the torrent protocol in a private way, so you can auto sync across mutliple devices over local network or internet. It also has a local folder syncing, which is what you are asking about. I use it to sync project folders across Mac, PC, and Linux NAS. What's great is that I could be working on something in another country, and as long as I'm connected to internet, it will sync to all my connected devices. Some people lose all data in luggage with laptop and backup drive. I can rest easy knowing my backup/clone got home before me. SyncThing (a competitor product) works like this too, but requires Web UI for Mac and Windows...and I never tested local file sync with it.

 

Last edited: Aug 18, 2025

Its excellent for remote syncing. That is my primary use. Best part is that it doesn't need a central computer. So for example, if you have 3 computers, and one is offline, it will sync with the others and automatically update when the computer comes online. If two computers have the same file, the 3rd computer will download from both simultaneously, which can take full advantage of any network bandwidth you have available.

 

Check Gs Richcopy and AllwaySync, the ideal tools for your request

 

I dont use any sync software anymore, but when I did, I used - Syncthing

 

Technically speaking is mirroring, so anything deleted on source is deleted also on destination + new things copied. I don't know how to automate the backup on drive power on, but you can schedule regular silent backups.

And if serious the program can scan for CRC or MD5 checksum to see if the file is really the same or just having the same name, keep in mind it can take forever, unless program has a db lookup table.
I use SyncBack and Beyond Compare, but I'm open to other options, and I'll try others posted in this thread.

 

Oh, by the way: You could use Auto hotkey or something similar to check for the drive every ten seconds and when it's there sync per command line (fastcopy could do that or freefilesync as well. as far as I remember it does command line).

 

I use GoodSync for many years, it does what you need and many more. It recognizes previously added drives. You can compare files by their hashes (MD5).

It would be better to check the manual: https://www.goodsync.com/manual

And download the free version. It is limited but it is possible to get an idea.

Is it possible to use Resilio Sync with an external hard drive and a single PC? It it is possible does it make sense?

 

I've tried many, but the best in my opinion is SYNCOVERY.
It's very fast and it doesn't copy identical files, but moves them.

 

Yes, I have one particular folder (for audio renders) on my internal laptop drive that syncs to an external when plugged it. The Resilio app allows for this.