How to Sync Two Folders on Same Computer (2 Ways)

Why Sync Two Folders on the Same Computer?

With the increasing development of technology and science, computers play an irreplaceable role in our daily life. It helps to store a large number of folders, including important data such as your family photos, your favorite music, financial records, working documents, and so on. 

Therefore, many users want to sync two folders on same computer. Two main aspects are responsible for this action.

• Syncing two folders in a single computer can be a certain way of data backup. You can prevent your data from being lost due to human error, software conflict or data broken by folder sync.

• The traditional copy-and-paste pattern is time-consuming progress. It takes a long time to copy and paste one folder, especially for some folders with large capacity. In the meantime, some special folders (eg: system files) cannot be copied correctly.

Best Free Folder Sync Software – AOMEI Backupper

How to sync two folders on the same computer easily and safely? AOMEI Backupper Standard, the professional folder sync software, can be the best solution. This useful freeware supports Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8.1/8, Windows 7, Windows Vista and XP, including all 32-bit and 64-bit versions.

With AOMEI Backupper, you could:

• Sync two folders on the same computer in simple steps. 

• Enable Schedule Sync to sync folders daily, weekly, or monthly. More precisely, you could set backup day, time or intervals.

• Choose to sync deletions from the source directory or not in Options.

• View, modify, or delete synced files at any time.

Besides, this folder sync software is easy to operate with an intuitive interface. And it still supports backup files or creating a cloud backup for your data. 

Method 1: Sync Two Folders on the Same Computer Step by Step

With an intuitive interface and clear guidance, you can sync two folders in Windows 10 or 11. Also, it applies to syncing two folders in Windows 7, 8, 8.1, XP and Vista.

Before syncing two folders on Windows 10 computer, you must check the integrity of the folder. And then, download the free folder sync software below and use it to sync folders. For server users, try AOMEI Backupper Server!

Step 1. Launch AOMEI Backupper Standard in Windows 10, click Sync on the left sidebar, then choose Basic Sync.

Step 2. You can modify the Task Name according to your needs. Click Add Folder to select the folder you want to sync. 

★ Optionally, you can click the Filter settings button to set file extension inclusive or exclusive and sync files with certain file extensions. So you don't need to sync all files, thereby saving disk space. Please upgrade now before using it. 

Step 3. Select a destination folder (E:\My Backups) to store files. Then click Start Sync to sync two folders on same computer.

★Notes:
✍Click Options to comment on the folder sync task to distinguish it from others. You could also enable email notification and then set up email configuration information to receive timely email or SMS notifications.
✍Click Schedule Sync to sync your folders automatically. You have 5 modes: Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Event triggers, USB plug in and the last two modes are premium features on the AOMEI Backupper Professional. 
✍ Except for Basic Sync, on the premium version, you still can use Real-Time Sync, Mirror Sync and Two-Way Sync. They have been significantly improved in sync frequency, data security, and sync direction.
✍ Do not change the folder name of the source after syncing. Otherwise, this software cannot sync it anymore.

Method 2: Sync Two Folders on the Same PC using SyncToy

SyncToy is a free file sync software provided by Microsoft, which is used to sync two folders in Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10, and 11. And the sync destination can be a local folder, external devices like USB flash drive, or a network shared folder from another computer. So you can not only sync folders on the same computer with the following steps.

Step 1. Please download Microsoft SyncToy and install it on your Windows 7 computer. Perform SyncToy, and click Create New Folder Pair button at the bottom of the window.

Step 2. Choose the source folder and target folder on the same computer by clicking Browse of Left Folder and Right Folder separately. And click Next >.

Step 3. Tick Synchronization, Echo, or Contribute as the sync method. Click Next >.

✍Synchronization: two-way sync. It will sync data from each other when there is a change.
✍Echo: left to right sync. Renames and deletes on the left are repeated on the right.
✍Contribute: left to right sync. Renames on the left are repeated on the right. No deletions.

Step 4. Name the sync task, and press Finish to complete all the sync settings. 

Step 5. Click Run the sync two folders on the same computer right now.

Summary

It is not difficult to sync two folders on same PC, is it? Reliable software and simple steps make synchronization effortless. You could use folder sync software described above: AOMEI Backupper and Microsoft SyncToy to work it out.

And both of them can help you sync files between two computers since they allow you to use both local folders and network shared folders as sync destination. To unlock more advanced features, please check the edition comparison page.