SyncToy not deleting folders when Echoing

SyncToy not deleting folders when Echoing When running MS SyncToy and echoing one folder to another, I find that the program does not delete folders which are not present in the "original" folder when backing up to a thumb drive. This leads to unwanted proliferation of folders, as the not-deleted ones get copied back again when syncing in the other direction...
Asked by: Guest \| Views: 418

Total answers/comments: 2

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Guest [Entry]

"From SyncToy 2.0 - Frequently Asked Questions

Q. SyncToy 2.0 appears not to sync
deleted files when I have the sync
option set to 'Echo'

A. This can happen if the files are
updated on the right. This includes if
the file was touched by an anti-virus
program, music player, etc. To confirm
that this is indeed the case - change
the sync option to ""Synchronize"" and
do a ""Preview"" sync. Do NOT hit run
because this will sync changes from
the right to the left. If on a preview
you see updates from the right to the
left folder, this means it was changed
on the right. The only workaround in
this case would be to manually delete
the file on the right. And do not
forget to change your sync option back
to ""Echo"".

I'm guessing this is your problem, because I just checked on my computer, the ""Echo"" deletes folders correctly.

Precisions on the ""Echo"". The ""Echo"" method in SyncToy will echo the changes from left to right. But to avoid losing data, it won't take care about folders and files created after. Typically, in your case, you want it to delete the folders you created after, but in general, I doubt you expect the backup tool to erase data it's not supposed to take care of."

Guest [Entry]

Use Empty Folder Nuker to clean up the empty folders left by SyncToy.