Backup Google Drive
Preparing for disaster
Backups are one of those things we all know we should do, but never get around to.
Only when our laptop is stolen or disk crashes do we regret not having made the backup. All our precious files and photos are gone forever.
Approximately 92% of stolen laptops are never recovered, while hard disks have around 10% chance of failure per year.
Google Drive storage
Google storage and Syncdocs make it easy, quick and cost-effective to backup your data to the cloud.
Google has distributed, fast data centers around the globe. This makes Google storage a safe, reliable place to backup your data. You can easily access your files via the web and on most mobile phones.
Google Drive storage is on of the most cost-effective cloud solutions available. 100GB of online storage is $2 per month. Syncdocs is only $19.95
So for less than $4 a month Google and Syncdocs give you 100GB online backup capability.
Go back in time
Syncdocs also stores previous versions of your files on Google, so you can easily go back to an earlier version.
Sync vs Backup
Sync
By default Syncdocs syncs your PC to Google and every other linked PC. This means that the Syncdocs folder on all your PCs and Google Drive are the same.
Backup
Backup is typically a one directional copy from your PC to Google.
How to setup Syncdocs to Backup Google Drive
This guide will walk you through the steps needed to backup your PC to Google Drive.
1. Select the “preferences” menu item in Syncdocs
Right click on the Syncdocs task bar (system tray) icon:
2. Select “Advanced Options”
You may not need this step if you are already seeing advanced options.
3. Un-check the options indicated below
Your files will now be backed up to Google Docs.
Whenever you make a change these changes will be synced.
You’re done. Simple as that!
Restoring your backed up files from Google Drive
Backups are pretty useless unless you can restore them. Here’s how to restore:
1. If you’ve only lost a few select files
Go to Google Drive on the web and save (download) from the web interface.
If you have a many list of files online, use the directory tree or the search box to find the file by name.
2. Restoring multiple folders
Check the “Download Google files to this PC” option in the preferences screen shown above. Click on “select” above and choose the folders to restore.
If these folders still exist locally and you want an exact copy of Google Drive to overwrite them, then delete them locally first.
3. Restoring everything on the same PC
Check the “Download Google files to this PC” option above. Then just Start the Sync.
If the data still exist locally and you want an exact copy of Google docs, then wipe it locally first.
4. Restoring everything on a new PC
Just install Syncdocs on it. The default settings will copy everything back as a sync.
5. Restoring a particular version
Click on the file in Google Drive then from the list of versions select the one with the date and time you want.
More Backup Options
Optional: Do not convert files to Google Docs format
If you are just backing up to Google Docs, then you probably wish to preserve the original document formatting, so don’t convert to Google Docs.
Optional: Back up once a day
Normally Syncdocs backs up changes to your files when you save them. You can also set a scheduled backup.
Syncdocs lets you back up changed files once a day to Google. Check the option below and select the time you want to backup to start.
Note that your PC needs to be turned on at the backup time, and Syncdocs needs to be running in the taskbar.
Limitations of Syncdocs Backup
System Volumes
Syncdocs is designed to back up data files, but not your operating system.
Syncdocs cannot backup entire volumes, so you can’t use it to backup your entire C: drive or ‘Windows’ directory. For this you need a drive imaging tool like Acronis True Image or Symantec Ghost.
Locked Files
Syncdocs also currently cannot backup locked files. These are typically Windows registry files, active Outlook PST files or in-use Microsoft SQL databases.
Comments? Suggestions?
Please let us know what you think.
Thank you so much for posting this! I was trying for so long to figure out how to use Syncdocs only to backup the documents from my local machine!
One question, if I unselect the option to “Sync renames and deletions too,” but after I make changes to documents on my local machine such as delete old files I don’t need or rename files to something new, won’t my Google Docs folders start filling up with a bunch of old files and multiple versions of the same files that have different names (after a rename)?
@Matt: if you don’t click “Sync renames and deletions too,” then you all these files will remain on Google Docs. Google Docs storage very good value, at $20 for 80GB a year, so normally this is not a problem.
If you don’t want these old files hanging around, then check this option. They will go into your Google trashbin, where you can access them.
I have been using Syncdocs as my primary backup for a while. There is still one major feature missing. The ability to backup (or sync) from multiple folders from your local PC. With the addition of this feature Syncdocs would be an unbeatable backup tool.
We’re working on this and expect to add this multiple folder feature in the next 4 weeks.
I am thinking about upgrading my Google storage account if and when SyncDocs does implement the multiple folder feature. Can you let me know the status of when that might be available?
Thanks.
Multiple folder syncs are currently in beta testing. If you want, you can take it for a test drive by downloading the beta version from the download page.
I could not find the link to download the beta, but I did see text that describes it as being expired Sept 30, 2011…no?
@SB: the link is here: http://www.syncdocs.com/downloads/Syncdocs_beta.msi
The inability to back up active Outlook PST files is a major bummer. Do you recommend a workaround to get them backed up through Syndocs?
Hello,
We are looking google drive as disaster recovery solution , I would like to know can i filter some files like MP3,MPEG & other system files.
Thanks,
Rajan Merwade
Do you want to include or exclude these files? To exclude files do the following:
Advanced file and folder exclusion
For advanced users, Syncdocs can be set to ignore specific file names or file types.
Note that doing this requires editing a settings xml file. You can break your Syncdocs if you destroy this settings file. If you do break the settings, you can repair Syncdocs, either by re-installing it, or by clicking on the “Default Settings” button in the Preferences.
To set which file types sync, first exit Syncdocs.
Then edit the settings file called appsettings.xml in the folder:
c:\Users\your_username\AppData\Roaming\Syncdocs\user_name@gmail.com\
and edit the section “FileAndFolderNamesToIgnore“
Not syncing certain file or folder names
To ignore all files called “thumbs.db”, add thumbs.db to the list:
Files or folders (collections) in this list will be ignored.
Not syncing certain file types
Syncdocs can also ignore certain extensions:
The above will ignore all .lnk and .LNK extensions.
Extensions are case sensitive.
Restart Syncdocs when done.
How would you guard against a user deleting a file on the Samba Office storage, which is Synced to our Google Storage, and have the user decided they needed to recover the deleted file?
Currently I have a separate 5-day rolling backup to a local server.
Thanks for you great product and your suggestions.
All erasures go to the recycle bin locally or online.
A full version history of all files is stored online, so you can revert to previous versions.
Following questions re backup please.
1) Does unchecking Download Files to This PC stop syncing to mobile?
2) Does rechecking re-enable syncing to both PC and mobile?
Unchecking Download Files will stop files being copied from Google Drive to your PC. New files on your PC will still be uploaded, though.
If I decide to reformat my computer but make a local backup of my local google drive will Syncdocs recognize this once I get everything going again? Will Syncdocs redownload all of the cloud files or will it recognize that they are already present locally?
Yes, Syncdocs will recognize the local files are the same, and will not re-download cloud files that are already present.
So, I just finished testing and registered SynDocs. So far its great. But there is one feature I would love to see as far as Syncing Vs. Backing up. I’d love to see a selection based on specific folders. Some of my folders I want always in sync, some are perfect as a one way backup. Additionally, it would be great if I could set up backup time constraints that are different from Sync.
For example, my Sync directories I’d want to be processed 24hour a day any time there’s a change deal with it. With my backup directories, I’d like to see an option to only upload them at off peak times like 6pm to 6am.
Another thought, would be to have priorities on the directories. Maybe make it so my sync folders have a higher priority than backup folders so anytime there is a high priority file changed its synced as soon as possible before any low priority files.
These are just a couple of thoughts that would help improve SyncDocs.
Thanks,
Gary
Thank you for the detailed suggestions, Gary. Quite a few others have suggested similar requirements, and we’re looking at ways of adding them to future versions of Syncdocs, without making the program too hard to use for novice users!
We have been testing syncdocs prior to purchasing mainly using to backup encrypted files to Google Drive. Is there a way to specify a folder to backup files and folders to? Right now, folders and files are showing up in the root directory on Google Drive. If we want to backup a laptop too, would be nice to keep the folders separate.
You can select folders to backup via the Preferences -> Folders menu.
I’m not sure if that answers your question? Do you have a set of computers and want to back each up to its own folder on Google Drive, while using just one Google Drive account?
Yes…would like to backup multiple computers to different folders on one google drive acct.
So, is there a way to specify folder on Google Drive to backup into?
Not with the current version. It backs up into the same folder structure locally as on Google Drive.
You can, however, create different folders and tell Syncdocs only to sync those folders on a particular PC.
+1 for this. I too was evaluating Syndocs as an encrypted backup solution using Google Drive. Unfortunately the lack of ability to configure a destination folder means we have to run a separate scheduled job to copy the data to be backed up into a folder that can be used as the destination folder. Adding this additional layer of complexity does not make syndocs an attractive backup solution.
You can specify the backup destination folder as follows:
1. click on the Syncdocs taskbar icon
2. select “Preferences”
3. then click on the “Folders” Tab
(if you do not see an “Folders” tab, click on “Advanced options…” button to see it)
4. Click on “Change” and select the backup folder.