Backed-up old files/folders remain on MyCloud Mirror after deleting on computer-not mirroring

Hello, have struggled with this MyCloud since getting it. When I compare my C: an D: and my external K: to the MyCloud Mirror folders in “Network” via file explorer, I see the backup has a bunch of old files. There are files in the backup on My Cloud Mirror that I moved or deleted long ago. It keeps the “old version” and from what I can tell most of the new versions. I look at the D: for example on my computer and a few folders and then do the same via explorer on the Network folders, which has 3 under Doug-PC for the 3 drives I am backing up. I see on those the old files and the new ones. What is the purpose of the software if I have to go in and delete the old files? Each folder has files I have changed, moved or deleted. If it doesn’t mirror those changes, I find myself going through each folder 2TB of folders and files. This is absurd. If I leave them, it fills the drive. If I ever have to use the backup, I will have like everything Ive ever done on the computer thrown in a pile like pieces form 100 different puzzles all together. I was told the software keeps up with changes to each drive so it “Mirrors” what I had on the computer.

What I have done

I deleted about 1TB of old files via the explorer and Network>WDMYCLOUDMIRROR> the 3 backup folders for the 3 drives I’m backing up… and left some files to see if it deleted those with the below setting change, but it did not.

It fills with backup files and the red light ends up coming on and I don’t see it, so things stop getting backed up. I found a setting where you can decide how many “versions” of a backup you keep for each file. WD Smartware>Settings>File History> “1”

Question

  1. How do I set it to do its job and “mirror” what I am backing up, deleting files I delete and adding new ones? Right now I am manually going in and deleting these.

Additional Problem

It appears to add most of the new files on backup, but 12 hours after the scheduled backup,for example, on my computer, there are all folders in D and about 12 .jpg .xls individual files, very small kb of size, but the MyCloud only has 3 of the 12. Why not the rest? That is a big problem, because all the folders and those files are checked under WD Smartware>Home> Backup Source>“D” I have Backup set at 9:30, 11:30: 2am daily for the 3 drives. I was told it would be better to do this than continuous as it can slow my network. Perhaps it is not done. All three Backups on the software say “Copying Files…” I see it has the last backup in history, then a missed backup category but nothing, then the next scheduled one.

Questions

  1. If a backup at 9:30pm doesn’t finish before the next backup of another drive at 11:30, does it stop the backup of the 9:30 or does it miss the 11:30?

  2. Why is the “missed backup:” empty but it appears it missed it due to the question above? Wouldn’t it tell me the time of the missed backup.
    Other than being off or the network not connected, something like that, why would it miss a backup anyway, its a computer and should do what it is programmed, unless the above question is true?

  3. If the above is true, how should I set backup to get all the files?

Additional Problem

MyCloud Mirror appears not to like the folder named Temp. In the documentation I did not see anywhere obvious that I needed to babysit the software to make sure it likes a folder name. Yes by nature Temp is temporary, that doesn’t mean I dont want it backed up. It is my Temp stuff, things I need to do or whatever that are not permanent folders or will not remain permanently. It should display the Folder “Temp” as a folder I can check to back-up.

What I’ve Done

Renamed the folder “Temporary.” and it showed up as an option to check to backup. I like Temp better…Not Temporary, ughhh I should be able to name a folder what I want and back it up.

Questions

  1. Why is it not even displaying Temp as an option in the WD Smartware>Home> Backup Source> “D”, the folder Temp doesn’t even show?

  2. How do I get it to make all my files and folders available for back-up?

  3. How do I get it to “Mirror” the files I want to back-up?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Doug

Hi, I personally don’t use WD Smartware but it is my understanding that the software backs up all the versions of a file. If you’re looking to synchronize your files, you can use WD Sync. Check out the links below to see if they contain any information that might be useful/helpful to you and hopefully someone with experience will share information in regards to your issues and concerns.

https://support.wdc.com/knowledgebase/answer.aspx?ID=11395

https://support.wdc.com/knowledgebase/answer.aspx?ID=3644

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Correct - SmartWare is backup software not mirroring software. It’s not designed to delete anything, and if it did then it would not be fit for purpose.

I think the misunderstanding here is the word mirror. The device (as shipped) uses RAID1, which means the two drives it contains mirror one another (they are automatic duplicates) to be resilient against drive failure. It has nothing at all to do with mirroring data via backing up, no matter what software is used.

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Thanks for the reply.

I can’t be the first person who wants to take their computer stuff and have a copy externally. I can’t imagine 2 TB on a cloud…There is no way to use these WD Mirrors as the latest version every night at midnight of what I have on the computer? I was told by the WD support people when I first bough it that it would see any changes I made to files and update the backup accordingly. So as it stands If I move files and improve my folders, any backup will have the old ones and the new ones, basically a big mess if I ever have to use it. Seems like with all the technology it could mirror not only itself but my computer, I mean if it can mirror itself why not my computer?

I should ask…SO you are saying it essentially takes whatever files are on the computer each scheduled backup and saves them. So would it replace files and folders with the same name each night? If there are file name changes where I no longer use a file or folder, I would still see the old one in the backup because it doesn’t delete anything? Does it overwrite I guess I am asking? I have it set up to keep 1 copy, so I am no longer sure what that means anymore…“Enter the number of backup versions to keep for each file”…I guess that would mean the latest version each backup verses say 3 nights worth where I may or may not have made changes to any file, such as an xls, it has the same file name, but with more than 1 version I would see any changes in each version despite having the same file name…vs 1 version it would be the latest…ughhh

It’s backup software, nothing more.

If you add a new file, it will back it up.

If you change it, it will backup the new version and perhaps keep the older version too, depending on your settings (if you have it set to store 1 version it will just keep the newest one). But if it doesn’t change then nothing new will be written to the drive, as the identical file is already there.

If you rename or delete the file, the backed up version will remain on the MCM in case you want to recover it later.

This is exactly how backup software is supposed to work. What you are looking for is synchronisation software, which is different. WD do also make such software (WDSync) which you can download from their site, or if you prefer you can use other software from the internet. The use of WD software (either for backup or for sync) is not mandatory - the MCM will work fine with any 3rd party software solution.

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Thanks, wish WD had stated that, but in the Philippines or India they spend more time trying to translate and repeat your question back to you then actually answering the question. Can ypu tell me what is good sync 3rd party software. Id like to abandon WD if they cant be cleae

There I can’t help I’m afraid as I use backup (Smartware) rather than synching.

But some searching with your preferred search engine should give you some suggestions to try out.

Let’s see if anyone can help with Backup. I added a file called AYSO… I see it in the Backup list checked to backup along with every other file, but the My Cloud Mirror has not added that file name and its contents to itself from my computer after 2 nights of backup now.

Same is true with a bunch of files out of folders just on the D…xls’s jpg’s PDF’s…they are all checked under Backup>Doug-PC>Data (D:) but have not shown up either, Backup is enabled.

Any idea why?

Well I added the WD SYNC software jpeng. It looked promising. I saw a folder I added on my work computer in the MYCloud Mirror and WD Sync Settings. But it says

“Important: The WD Sync software does not support “nested” sync folders. This means that you cannot sync a folder that:
Is a subfolder within an existing sync folder
Includes a subfolder that is an existing sync folder”

Not sure if that means only in the synced folder you cant add another sync folder, or if it doesnt support sub folders on my computer.

On top of that, I added a test document within one of the folders on my work computer that was supposed to sync as that folder is in the WD Settings Folders Added to sync, but it never showed up. It is not behaving like Sync, it is backing up. It says it is syncing, but I dont see any changes synced hours later