HomeSync1.6

Name: HomeSync
Price: 22.95 $
Rating: 1.25 (5 reviews)

12 December 2010

Back up necessary files for OS re-installation.

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Overview

HomeSync can help you back up a minimum amount of files in the system necessary for you to put applications back to life after OS reinstallation. After re-formatting a hard disk drive and reinstalling OS, launch HomeSync and switch to Copyback.

You don't have to back up the entire User folder before reinstalling OS. You'll just have to back up preference files and others and then put them back where they belong after OS reinsallation. Which file to back up? HomeAdvisory will assist you. Depending on the application you select, HomeAdvisory will tell you which file to copy and why.

What's so special about HomeSync? After backing up files, reinstalling OS and applications, press Copyback. And HomeSynch can put stored files and folders back to where they belong.

Note that the Lite version no longer allows the user to use Copyback.

Click here for User's Guide.

What's new in HomeSync

Version 1.6:

The Back up button will be disabled once the copy process starts.
The Copyback button will be disabled once the copy-back process starts.
'Clear' is fixed to make sure that all definitions are deleted.
A set of measures is taken to make the application fully compatible with Snow Leopard, which was long overdue.
The application remembers the location where it was last closed.
HomeAdvisory will check and see if the selected file (or folder) exists in real time.
The progress wheels that appeared when the application calculated sync item sizes are removed as they can cause problems under Snow Leopard.
Numerous minor changes and fixes are made.

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3 Reviews of HomeSync

While this is a nice idea, after looking at the specifications and screenshots, based on its description, it simply does not seem to cut the mustard. The reason I say that is that it does not seem to address any of the folders and files that will end up in a system library folders that support various applications for all users. For me it is this particular area that makes a backup and reinstall so difficult. I have the space to completely back up my user folder and all user folders, as well as my application folder what takes the time is finding all the support files and folders in the root library folder and preserving them. To the best of my knowledge there currently is no application available that will do this. This means that after the new system is in place, if a user does not search through the root Library folder (the library folder is on the hard drive on opening it) for support files and applications, and back them up manually, they may have to do a complete reinstall of some of their applications after reinstalling the system, in order for those applications to work properly again. What complicates this issue more is that some of the files are invisible. So what this means to the average user, is that formatting the drive and installing a new system can be a very daunting task. Based on this description with the software should be doing, is backing up all the visible and support files for applications that are not in the user folder but scattered in the various other libraries of Mac OS. Based on the specifications and screenshots, this program does not do that. It would be nice to see a future version that did this. Then it wouldn't be worth the money. For now, for me, it's just as easy in my Mac Pro, the backup my user folders and application folders to an auxiliary drive. Then I can restore those folders after installing a new system.

(3)