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I ought to be using the StableBit Bundle all wrong... for something supposedly simple


Marvin

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OK, I have to admit that I jumped and purchased the StableBit Bundle with less research that I'd generally do and now that I've been trying to do the simplest thing I intended to do, I'm wondering if I make the wrong jump and if I can still use the StableBit products for what I intended, i.e. to "pool drives" across 2 laptops and 2-3 USB disks.

To simplify, I'll use an example with just 2 laptops, each with its own USB drive. Let's call them

1) PC1 with C: (256GB SSD) and D: (1TB DD) - has generally USB-E (8TB Seagate Hub), let's call it USB8

2) PC2 with C: (256GB SSD) - has attached most of the time USB-D (5TB Seagate), let's call it USB5

What I was searching was a product that pools from those 2 USB drives (and potentially the internal HDD on PC1) and also duplicates files across them regardless if both USB drives are plugged into PC1 (when user of laptop 2 is travelling) or ever laptop has 1 USB drive attached

For example, I'd carry PC1 when travelling, take pics/videos and store them in c:\family\pics. I'd love when I get home and plug in USB8 into PC1, to have all my files under that directory to Duplicate onto the USB. I was hoping to be able to specify a Sync subdir. Yes, free products like FreeFileSync do that, or simple robocopy. But, I also want those files to be duplicated onto USB5 if I plug it into PC1, next to USB8... or if wife had USB5 plugged into her PC2. Also doable with GetSync, file shares and mapping on the other site... but neither automated, nor clean, and human errors happen all the time, especially after a red eye flight from west coast to the east coast.

So far I feel like every single Google search that took me to DrivePool and/or CloudDrive and somewhat indicated I could it, needed a bit more reading on my site, before I make the Bundle purchase.

Observations:

1) can't really Duplicate my c:\family\pics to d:\family\pics, and to (USB8) E:\family\pics regardless if USB8 HDD is plugged into PC1 or PC2. I guess DrivePool is not at all designed to pull internal, external disks or network shares unless it creates it's own PoolPart.* hidden folder and moves everything I want protected, pooled and duplicated under that hidden folder structure on all Pooled drives? Or can it simply pool from existing C:, D: and attached USB E: manipulating file placement and duplication of already existing files without having to move them?

2) DrivePool can't see a network share. Or can it? So it won't Pool between \\pc1\c and \\pc2\d even if I map e: to \\pc2\d_shared?

3) Perhaps the above is a no-no but luckily I also paid for CloudDrive and it supports File Share!!! So I'd think, it'd simply let me see the files on the remote PC's SSD and attached USB disk there as a local CloudDrive. Well, the devil is in the details that I've overlooked. I could add the remote USB as a CloudDrive to my laptop but it doesn't see any files there. If I copy files on my PC's CloudDrive, I see scrambled directories and files show up on the remote laptop's drive but that's of no use in my case.

 

Am I overlooking the super simple things here or I totally misinterpreted what any of those products do?

 

Any pointers to how to simply pool and protect/duplicate existing pics in existing directories across 2 laptops with 2 USB disks would be very much appreciated!

 

THANKS!

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Hi! It looks to me that this is a task for a syncronization software. Using DP (preferably on a local server or a NAS) is perfect for backups and give you centralized access to your files. But putting the files there is something you have to do yourself. 

To automatically move/copy files from and to a USB that is connected/disconnected frequently will need software that detects the USB when its present and then check if this is the same USB as last time.

Personally I use AllwaySync to do this. It stores a metadata file on the USB to check if it's known. It's freeware up to a certain amount of files transfered per month, maybe you should try it.

If you chose to get one or allready have a NAS at home, you can use AllwaySync to transfere your pictures to it. 

Why don't you use a cloud service like Dropbox or Onedrive. These services can syncronize files between several computers and keep all computers up to date as long they are connected to the internet. It cost money if you need more space though...

Hope my comments help :-)

Roger J.

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