Backup forum

alkemy007 wrote:

when I move stuff from my PC to the external HD, will that then do the same within my IDrive account?

Not exactly.

You have used Backup to copy certain files into your IDrive account. When you make subsequent backups (either with Backup Now or scheduled), the IDrive application will perform incremental backups of your selections. If a file has changed, it'll make a new version of that file and retain up to previous 10 versions. If you have new files, they will be backed up as new files. Anything you delete locally will remain on your backup - this is what you want - protection from potential accidental deletion.

Sync is an entirely different feature. Files are placed in a particular folder on your computer which are then synchronized with IDrive. If you have other computers & devices connected to your IDrive account, these will receive copies of the files. If you delete any files, they will be removed from your IDrive Sync account and all other computers & devices.

If you really want to synchronize your Backup files with your computer, IDrive to provide an Archive Cleanup option. This could be run after you have moved files between drives and it will remove files from your IDrive account if they have been removed from your local disk. I would urge caution with this feature though, because it will wipe out your file versions and may remove stuff you were archiving.

No, it'll skip over any files that haven't changed locally.

You may find that Continuous Data Protection is switched on and IDrive is already backing up your changed files!

If you want totally manual control of your backups you should switch this feature off.

Using CDP and/or a daily schedule would be the safest way to operate your backup. If you occasionally move files from your local disk to your external disk, you could later remove the duplicates from your IDrive account in the Restore tab of the IDrive application (after you have verified they've been backed up from your external disk). You'll still have the issue with the loss of versions for those files.