[TheZee]

Ok, call me brain dead but I have had and continue to have this confusion over the difference between backing up a file/folder, synchronizing a file/filder and then just plain copying a file/folder. What I am searching for is an application that will enable me to make a backup of particular files/folders to a CD. I want to be able to use the backed up files/folders saved on that CD in case there's a meltdown or corruption of my system and I have to restore certain files/folders. Fro example, I want to be able to backup home/library folder and home/applications folder onto a CD. Just those two folders. Not the entire Home folder. Although I do realize that backing up the entire Home folder is the best way to go. Bare with me. I want to then be able to use this CD to restore applications and preferences and the like to my Mac if ever I have to do an archive and install or the like. What is the difference between backing up a file/folder and synchronizing a file/folder? I am thinking that to do what I have described above I would need to utilize the "backup" method. Right? Another question if I am not bugging you yet. Why can't I simply insert a blank CD, drag the home/library folder to the disk image, let it copy the folder then burn it to the CD? Can I do that and still end up with a usable set of files/folders in case I need to restore anything? Any and all advice is greatly appreciated. Peace out. . .

[himself]

Making a back-up is synonymous with copying. Automated back-up utilities simply make a copy of specified files at certain intervals. Synchronizing (also called an "incremental" back-up) is the same as making a back-up, except only the files that have changed since the last back-up are copied to the back-up media. For example, if your main computer is connected to an external firewire drive used as a back-up drive, and your system is set to sync to it once each night, your sync software would compare the contents of your back-up drive to the original, and only copy the files that have been changed.

There is also a method known as a "differential" back-up, which is similar to inremental, but I won't get into that, since I don't want to confuse you further.

[Old Toad]

Backup and synchronize are two different animals.

In the backup mode files are copied only in one direction, from folder A (the source folder) to folder B (the backup folder). In either case, it only copies over the files that have been changed since the last backup.

A synchronization copies both directions, copying the most recent version of each file in either folder to the other folder in order to make each folder identical to the other. So if you have occasion to use both folders and want them to be the same then you use sync.