Free Software that helps me Backup ONE folder regularly?

[RDL]

Can someone please tell me if there is a free software that will allow me to backup ONE folder regularly to an external drive?

I would do this manually but unfortunately I'm constantly adding things to this folder and would like only to have to backup changes made since last time and not have to worry about a long backup every single time (if it attempts to replace every single item when maybe only one new item has been added) or worse having duplicates backups added on the external.

I know there has to be a way to do this but Time Machine is NO help. Main reason is Time Machine will not let me simply choose what folder I want included instead I have to exclude every folder I do not want backed up and there's just too many things to exclude and I'm not sure where to even start.

Sadly I don't know how to run scripts or mess with terminal so please do not suggest that. I assume if I knew that I wouldn't even be on here asking this simple question. Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to tell me which software might be best.

 

[Cynicalone]

Carbon Copy Cloner will do exactly what you want to do and it is free.

http://www.bombich.com/

 

[SHADO]

You could also use something like DropBox and eliminate the external drive all together. And it automatically syncs ever time anything is changed and is accessible from anywhere.

 

[RDL]

Thank u so much! Will look into Carbon Copy Cloner. I came across it when I googled for an answer but it was on a list of software that wasn't free. I must have misread it! Will look into it again.

And DropBox (for free) is only up to 2GB, unfortunately I have almost 4GB currently in the folder I want to backup so that wouldn't work for me but thanks for the suggestion! Definitely a great solution for smaller files.

 

[GGJstudios]

You could also use something like DropBox and eliminate the external drive all together. And it automatically syncs ever time anything is changed and is accessible from anywhere.

The only problem with using Dropbox for this is that if you accidentally delete or move something out of the Dropbox folder, you can't recover it from Dropbox, as it's deleted. With CCC, if you delete something from your hard drive, the backup is untouched.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

The only problem with using Dropbox for this is that if you accidentally delete or move something out of the Dropbox folder, you can't recover it from Dropbox, as it's deleted. With CCC, if you delete something from your hard drive, the backup is untouched.

That is not entirely true, at least for 30 days.
Dropbox Help - How do I undelete files or recover old versions of files?

 

[GGJstudios]

That is not entirely true, at least for 30 days.
Dropbox Help - How do I undelete files or recover old versions of files?

The problem is what happens after 30 days. Not what I would consider a reliable backup methodology.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

The problem is what happens after 30 days. Not what I would consider a reliable backup methodology.

You can pay, then you get more than 30 days.
But I rather use some HDDs I find on the street to backup to and trust them more than some online cloud service storage system provider system, or so. Though they don't reek of vomit. The OCSSSPs I mean.

 

[Cynicalone]

Thank u so much! Will look into Carbon Copy Cloner. I came across it when I googled for an answer but it was on a list of software that wasn't free. I must have misread it! Will look into it again.

Carbon Copy Cloner is a great Mac app, it still amazes me it is free.

 

[RDL]

With CCC, if you delete something from your hard drive, the backup is untouched.

So unlike Time Machine once I back up using CCC I can then delete certain files from my laptop but still have then on my external and even when CCC syncs again it will not remove them from my backup?

 

[simsaladimbamba]

So unlike Time Machine once I back up using CCC I can then delete certain files from my laptop but still have then on my external and even when CCC syncs again it will not remove them from my backup?

That is correct for the most part. TM backups of files also don't get deleted once the original file gets deleted, that would be agains backup protocol and one of the reasons for TM (accidental deletion of data by the user).

 

[millerj123]

That is correct for the most part. TM backups of files also don't get deleted once the original file gets deleted, that would be agains backup protocol and one of the reasons for TM (accidental deletion of data by the user).

But, at that point data isn't "backed-up", it's just stored once on an external drive.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

But, at that point data isn't "backed-up", it's just stored once on an external drive.

Yep, that is why sometimes backing up the backup can be wise.

 

[GGJstudios]

But, at that point data isn't "backed-up", it's just stored once on an external drive.

Yes, it is backed up. It doesn't cease to be a backup just because a file is deleted from the source.

So unlike Time Machine once I back up using CCC I can then delete certain files from my laptop but still have then on my external and even when CCC syncs again it will not remove them from my backup?

You have several options with CCC. You can elect to archive backups, so if you delete something from the source, it remains on the backup. You can also elect to have the backup "mirror" the source, so anything you delete from the source is also deleted from the backup when you update the backup.

 

[millerj123]

Yes, it is backed up. It doesn't cease to be a backup just because a file is deleted from the source.

I've gotta be missing something. I have one copy locally, and a backup on an external source. I delete the local copy. Now I have one copy on an external source, and no backup.

 

[GGJstudios]

I've gotta be missing something. I have one copy locally, and a backup on an external source. I delete the local copy. Now I have one copy on an external source, and no backup.

The copy on the external IS the backup.

 

[millerj123]

The copy on the external IS the backup.

No, now it's the only copy. ie not a backup. Look, I know this is semantics, but the OP started asking about external backups, and then added "and deleting the original". In that case, they are down to one copy on an external drive.

 

[GGJstudios]

No, now it's the only copy. ie not a backup. Look, I know this is semantics, but the OP started asking about external backups, and then added "and deleting the original". In that case, they are down to one copy on an external drive.

You're right that it is semantics. Technically, the backup is still a backup, even if the original is deleted. When someone's hard drive crashes and they need to restore, you don't tell them to restore from the original (since the internal drive is no longer). You tell them to restore from the backup, even if that's the only copy that remains. The fact that a backup is the only surviving copy does not stop it from being a backup. The original file (the file that existed first) is gone. The backup (the file that was created as a copy of the original) remains. It's a backup.