markowe

OK, have tried the "Overwrite any changed files" solution and YES, all seems to be good now! Wonder why that didn't seem to work before. Maybe it started working because I uninstalled BTS along with all the settings and reinstalled. THANKS. It kind of makes sense that it would get stuck, I guess, since it doesn't know what it's supposed to be doing, but it's odd that the error message suggests a connection problem... On another note, though, but maybe related, why does the file list under Peer list for the given folder contain ALL the files in that folder, not just the ones that need syncing? And similarly, why under the "History" (clock) tab is there also a complete list of files, including ones that don't need syncing? Is it that the local machine doesn't know which files need updating and so "syncs" them all (even if that just means running a checksum on them on the remote machine, or whatever)? I hope it's not actually syncing them all again - though my Progress hasn't budged from 1% in some time, which somewhat suggests it's syncing everything (about 200 GB-worth instead of only 10 GB, say)?!

THANK you! That is by far and away the clearest explanation I have read of this option! OK, yes, there should be no changes happening on B anyway so it is fine for them to be overwritten, presumably versioning will continue regardless of this. I shall go away and try this, as I had read this recommendation earlier in the thread, so hope that will give me some joy. Thanks again.

Yes, you understood my garbled explanation (but see my query below). I THINK I tried it, but not since I reinstalled, I will give it another go. Only, can you clarify, as I find this a little confusing: my local computer is meant to sync with a remote computer which is only allowed to READ from my local computer, not make any changes to it - i.e. I am doing an ongoing backup, basically, to a remote computer. So the remote peer is the one I have given a RO key from my local computer for the relevant folder. Is that the correct usage for what I want to achieve? I also want all versions backed up on the remote peer (indefinitely, or at least 1000 days - I have set that part in the advanced settings). So what does "Overwrite changed files" mean in that context - I can't find a clear explanation anywhere. If I check that option, will my versioning still happen on the remote peer? I don't want changes from my local computer simply overwriting what is on the remote peer as I often need to roll back versions, so I am just nervous about changing that setting - but I am sure someone can clarify.

EDIT: Oh - naahh... spoke too soon. I redefined all my folders as I wanted read only sync on my local folders and, hey presto, the problem is back, "Out of sync" and "No peers online to receive" xxGb. In fact there should only be around 3 Gb that actually need syncing - that is another strange aspect of this problem. A TON of files get listed in the History tab which do NOT need syncing - dating back months and months. As far as I can see on the remote computer it's not actually doing anything anyway. Very frustrating as I was really pleased with the way BTSync was working as an ongoing remote backup for my files. Just watching the behaviour again - most of the time an Out of Sync message, with the occasionally "flurry" of activity, allegedly uploading something at a snail's pace of a few kb/s, and then the speed dips back down again and we go back to "Out of Sync". That's the annoying thing with this - the computers ARE communicating, it seems, but the actual syncing is going awry. Have been following the thread since December, having had the same problem intermittently. Just want to chime in and say that 1.4.110 seems to have fixed the issue for me, syncing is going ahead normally. I made no changes to settings, permissions, folders, anything like that, just upgraded automatically on both computers. Can't be 100% sure it wasn't working in a previous version too, but it certainly is now. Got a big sync to do now...

Sure it was a bit reckless in hindsight as you don't really know what's going on behind the scenes. Well, I will keep an eye on it and see if that is all as regards these issues - I have put Dropbox in the ignore path... It would be nice in a future version to be able to select folders to sync in a granular way from the GUI as it's always a hassle to edit text files and be sure you have specified the paths properly etc.

Apologies, 1.1.82.

OK, this is going to be hard to explain as there could be a million factors at play. I set up BTSync effectively as a backup to a disk at a remote location. The contents of that disk are not altered locally at the remote location, i.e. the only changes happening should be in one direction, from my desktop to the disk at the remote location. I had BTSync set up to sync my whole My Documents folder, which included Dropbox - thought it was overkill, but didn't actually think there would be any problem. So about a week later I head into Dropbox to resume a project I had been working on, and I find ALL my project files missing (about 5 months' work - backed up in other ways too, but still a SERIOUS setback to reconstruct). OK, hold the panic, so I head into Dropbox and show the deleted files for that folder, and there they are, my project files, disaster averted! I undelete them and they pop up again in Dropbox, apparently safe and sound. Now, the question is, how the hell did they get deleted? I assure you there is absolutely no earthly reason for me to go in there and delete them all, or anyone else to do so, and nobody has deleted them at the remote location and prompted a sync which effectively deletes them at my end. Yet there is also no sign of them in the .SyncArchive directory (actually there were SOME project files that also should NOT have been deleted, but not these particular ones). I must say I have been concerned at the number of !sync files which seem to be floating around on my disk - I am not sure there should be any given the model I am employing, and even if there are, I am concerned as to why they are not disappearing once their function has been fulfilled. Is there any known issue with BTSync (especially in combination with DB) that could cause something like this? I have read some of the DB-BTSync threads but they do not mention an issue like this. I still can't be 100% sure the issue has ONLY affected my Dropbox folder. Obviously I have instantly shut down BTSync, I can't possibly risk using it if there is ANY suggestion it might cause any kind of file loss.

Have scoured the forum and FAQ and haven't quite got my head round this question: so what is a good model for doing the "initial sync" of my data locally. E.g. I have four or five folders on 3 different locally networked computers totalling perhaps 150Gb in total which I want to sync to an external drive on a PC at a remote location primarily for backup purposes. If I just set up a regular sync to that location my 150Gb will probably take a lifetime to sync "over the wire". So can I just initially do a normal file copy locally to my external drive to get the bulk of the data on to the drive, and then take that drive to the remote location and set up BT Sync there and carry on syncing over the net, but obviously with a lot less data to get synced up? If that is possible, what do I need to be careful of in terms of folder names/paths to make sure that BT Sync navigates the structure correctly (I don't know whether it creates a path name according to the local drive name, folder name or... what exactly)? I can kind of try this myself, but it might be a big time-waster so figured I would ask first..!