How to Sync Files and Folders in Windows 7 Computer?

Scenario

What Is File Sync?

Sync (short for synchronization) is an operation that can keep files in multiple locations up-to-date. That is to say, file sync is to make two files or more stay the same and transfer the newly-created or updated files and folders from the source directory to the target directory.

In other words, file sync is file backup in a certain way. Most of us know that we need to backup system before system crash or data corruption. If we synchronize files or folders to another place, we can get the files or folders back from the copies when the source data is damaged.

The files can be synchronized to the local space or different PCs though network and we call the process single file synchronization or remote file synchronization. When doing file sync, it will scan the files of both source and target directories to find the changed files, and then transmit the needed files or delete the needless files to keep the files in different places same.

Set up File Sync with Windows 7 Built-in Tool

It is easier to sync files in Windows 7 than in earlier Windows operating systems. Windows 7 has the function called Sync Center to synchronize files. With Sync Center, you can sync files on Windows 7 network drive to local so that you can work with those files even when you're not connected to the network, or when the server is unavailable. Follow the guidance below to sync network files to local:

1. Click the Start button > All Programs > Accessories > Sync Center to open the Sync Center. Then, click Manage offline files on the left pane.

2. In the pop-up window, click Enable offline files and OK. Then, restart your computer to make changes take effect.

3. Search “\\IP address” or “\\hostname” from Start to open network drive. All shared folders will be displayed. Right click on the folder or file you want to sync and select Always available offline.

4. After the process is done, the folder or file will get a sync overlay icon which means it has already been synced. You can also view sync results in Sync Center.

Sync Center in Windows 7 is designed to help you sync with files in network locations. If you want to sync a mobile device with the computer, Windows gives you several other options. However, some users get stuck on Windows 7 Sync Center problems like “Offline Files cannot be activated in Windows” and “Access is denied”, etc. Is there a superior sync tool to help you sync files in Windows?

Synchronize Files in Windows 7 with AOMEI Backupper

AOMEI Backupper Standard is free file sync software with multiple powerful functions:

• The File Sync feature enables you to synchronize files from one folder/disk/computer to another folder/disk/computer. It makes transfer files from PC to PC such an easy thing.

• Most commonly used cloud drives are supported by AOMEI Backupper, including Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Box, SugarSync, hubiC and Cloudme. You are allowed to sync local folders to cloud and vice versa.

• The Schedule feature can help you set up automatic sync based on the daily/weekly/monthly mode.

All Windows PC operating systems are supported by AOMEI Backupper. You can use it to sync files in Windows 10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP. The operations are easier than Windows 7 built-in tool. Learn how to sync files in Windows 7 via AOMEI Backupper below:

Step 1. Download, install and launch AOMEI Backupper Standard edition. Click “Sync” and select “Basic Sync”.

Step 2. Then you will go to the following interface. Click “Add Folder” to select the folder you want to synchronize.

Step 3. Choose the target directory where you would like to put the folder in.

Step 4. Click the “Start Sync” button to proceeding.

>> Options: you can write a comment for this sync task to distinguish it from others. You can also enable email notification to inform you of the sync results.
>> Schedule: you can schedule the sync task to run daily, weekly, or monthly. If you want more advanced schedule modes like Event triggers or USB plug in, you may upgrade to AOMEI Backupper Professional.

Notes:

• It cannot synchronize files or folders to CD/DVD/Blue-Ray.

• It cannot synchronize single file larger than 4 GB to FAT/FAT32, because FAT/FAT32 only supports single file size up to 4 GB.

• Basic Sync performs one-way file sync. That is, changes made in source can be reflected in destination but destination cannot. If you'd like to perform two-way sync, try higher editions.

✨ How to backup files to AOMEI Cloud

As cloud storage is becoming more and more popular, AOMEI offers users its own cloud - AOMEI Cloud. After you sign up for an AOMEI account, you can use 1TB storage for free within 15 days. Just click Backup > Cloud Backup to backup files to AOMEI Cloud.

Summary

You have learned two ways to sync files in Windows 7 from this page. Sync Center can help you sync Windows 7 network drive to local while AOMEI Backupper supports various sync locations. Apart from syncing files, AOMEI Backupper offers backup and restore features to help you backup Windows 10 to NAS. Don’t hesitate to give it a try!