SyncToy is a free file synchronisation service developed by Microsoft. The application can be run as a Windows Service using FireDaemon Pro, which allows you to have the application start automatically at boot prior to login, start multiple instances of the application and more. This HOWTO will show you how to set it up. You can also use FireDaemon Fusion to manage FireDaemon and other Windows services via a web browser.
SyncToy Setup Under FireDaemon Pro
Download SyncToy. Run the installer. By default, SyncToy installs to C:\Program Files\SyncToy, so we will use this directory for the purposes of this guide.
Run the SyncToy graphical client to set up your folder pairs perform the initial sync. SyncToy will not work as a Windows service until running the synchronisation at least once.
Download and install FireDaemon Pro into the directory of your choice, typically C:\Program Files\FireDaemon.
Next start the FireDaemon Pro GUI from the desktop shortcut. Click on the "Create a new service definition" button in the toolbar (or type Ctrl+N) and enter the information into the fields as you see below. Adjust the paths to suit your installation. Note the required parameters.
- Executable: The path to the SyncToyCmd.exe file. The default path is C:\Program Files\SyncToy 2.1\SyncToyCmd.exe.
- Working Directory: The directory containing the SyncToy.exe file. The default path is C:\Program Files\SyncToy 2.1.
- Parameters: The required parameters to synchronise files. The required parameters are -R "name of folder pair".
Now click on the Settings tab. If you DON'T want to see SyncToy running, uncheck the Interact with Desktop check box & select "Hidden" from the "Show Window" dropdown. You can change the Process Priority to allocate more CPU time to SyncToy or specify which CPU or core that SyncToy will run on (in the case of multi-processor, hyperthreaded or multi-core CPUs).
You may also switch to the Scheduling tab and enter a specific time for the synchronisation to start.
Now click OK to finish setup and start SyncToy!