Smartware Pro: Purge backups of files that have been deleted from the PC

Having paid for Smartware Pro for use with an external backup drive, I was hoping it would prove a better backup solution than either the free copy of Smartware that came with the drive or Windows File History (Win.7 and 8).  In fact, I have been disappointed because of the inability of Smartware (in either version) to remove unwanted files that have been deleted from the PC  - as has been noted by many posters in these forums (I know you could do so manually but life is too short for that).  In turn this means that your backup drive gradually fills up until the only way forward is to delete the entire backup and start over (or re-format).

This is NOT a safe way of operating as you will have no backup at all during the start-over process unless you have a second backup drive going as well, which would require using separate backup software as Smartware would not keep two backups going.  This behaviour of Smartware occurs even if the Settings > File History tab is set to keep only 1 copy.

I suggest that Smartware Pro should include a facility to purge deleted, files. This is surely a fairly basic requirement for any backup software?

My question, then, is really one for WD; are there any plans to add this purging facility to Smartware Pro?  So many of your customers would welcome it. 

By the way, I have heard about WD Anywhere Backup having just this purging facility but, as a cloud-based system this is not open to me; I have over 300GB of data, you can imagine the upload time that would be required at current data rates (several weeks of continuous uploading!).

My own solution has been to have a second external drive and use Windows File History for that one even though there have been reliability issues with this software.

Thank you.

2 Likes

This seems like *basic* functionality for backup software. Please add it to the basic version of SmartWare.

Agreed.  I need this basic feature!

I have serveral files that have not been not backed up. Some of them have never been included on the list of folders to be updated In the “View Files” they are marked as “being used”, indeed they are system files or they don’t even exist anymore.

Another one is said to be a “File pending backup”. It has been this way since I installed WD Smartware. The file ist still there, still waiting backup.

My questions:

  • how do I get rid of those unwanted backups
  • how do I get the on file pending backup to get backed up

I would really need this feature right now.

I am in need of purge functionality and am very disappointment in WD about this. A basic purge function for WD Smartware Pro has been asked for over many years (there are related posts on this forum from 2011 - current) and WD still has not done anything to address it.
I am frustrated and will think twice before buying another WD product.

It’s now 2016 and they still haven’t added that feature???