SyncBack copies files between defined locations through reusable jobs called profiles. A profile records the two locations, the permitted direction, the comparison rules, exclusions, and what should happen when the sides differ. This is more deliberate than dragging a folder in File Explorer: SyncBack can repeat the same rules on a schedule, preview hundreds of proposed actions, retain selected older versions, or make two locations agree after files changed on either side.
Profiles choose direction
A Backup profile normally treats one side as the source and sends selected changes to the destination. A Mirror profile has a stricter goal: make the destination match the source. That can remove files that exist only at the destination, so Mirror is not a harmless synonym for copy.
Synchronization permits changes to travel both ways. It must decide what to do when both copies changed or when one side no longer has a file. A Group profile does something else again: it runs several existing profiles together. Choosing the profile type sets the basic meaning of absence and difference before detailed rules enter the decision.
Preview exposes consequences
The Differences window lists what SyncBack plans to copy, delete, move, rename, or ignore. It is the last clear inspection point before a profile changes either location. Filters help narrow a large result, while individual decisions can be changed when the profile allows that direction.
An empty action column does not always mean that SyncBack missed the file. An exclusion, a no-change comparison, or an unavailable direction may explain it. The preview needs reading in the context of that profile’s rules rather than as a simple list of all files.
Newer can be wrong
File date and size comparisons work well when one side receives a straightforward edit. They become less certain when clocks differ, another program rewrites metadata, or a restored file carries an unexpected timestamp. A rule that always keeps the newer copy can discard meaningful edits in the older-looking file.
SyncBack can use other comparison details and can prompt or log conflicts, depending on the profile and edition. The important step is to settle which side has authority before scheduling the job. A two-way profile without a clear conflict rule moves the difficult decision into an unattended run.
Deletion has several meanings
A missing file may mean that the user deleted it intentionally. It may also mean that a drive was unavailable, a filter changed, or the profile looked at the wrong folder. Backup, Mirror, and Synchronization interpret that state differently.
Versioning and deleted-file retention can preserve earlier copies, but those settings also consume destination space and follow their own cleanup rules. Turning on versioning does not make every destructive decision reversible forever. If retention removes the needed copy, the profile cannot recreate it from history that no longer exists.
Destinations must be present
A profile can point at a local folder, removable drive, network location, or another supported destination. SyncBack still needs that destination to be reachable with the expected identity and credentials. A drive letter reused by another disk can make a syntactically valid path point at the wrong device.
Scheduled profiles magnify this risk because nobody may be watching when the job starts. The profile log records failures and actions, but a successful log only proves that the configured rules ran against the locations available at that time. It does not prove that the operator selected the intended disk months earlier.
Testing precedes scheduling
A new profile should run manually with its Differences window reviewed before scheduling. That first pass reveals unexpected exclusions, direction choices, and destination-only deletions. It also establishes how long the workload takes and whether credentials remain available outside an interactive session.
After the schedule begins, logs need periodic review. A profile can complete with no copied files because nothing changed, because everything matched an exclusion, or because the source was not the location the user expected. SyncBack automates recorded decisions; it does not determine the intended backup policy on its own.
