A nightly mirror of one important folder to an external drive, with a log you can read and a restore you have actually tested.
A mirrored backup deletes files on the target when they disappear from the source. Test the restore and keep a second offline copy.
One **robocopy /MIR** job per folder, started by a **scheduled task**, with **/LOG** as proof. Mirroring also deletes files on the target - so test the restore before you trust it.
Run robocopy with **/L** so it only lists what it would do. Check the 'would copy' and 'extra' counts before anything touches the drive.
robocopy "C:\sers\ame\ocuments" "D:\ackup\ocuments" /MIR /R:2 /W:5 /L /LOG:"%USERPROFILE%\esktop
obo-dryrun.log"The 'extra' lines are what /MIR would delete. If your target also holds something else you want to keep, stop and use /E instead of /MIR.
Drop **/L** and run the same command. A first mirror of 100 GB takes as long as the copy takes; later runs only move changes.
robocopy "C:\sers\ame\ocuments" "D:\ackup\ocuments" /MIR /R:2 /W:5 /LOG+:"%USERPROFILE%
obo-documents.log"Create a task that runs daily, 'whether user is logged on or not', with robocopy.exe as the program and the arguments from step 3. Put the full path in 'Start in'.
Program: robocopy.exe
Arguments: "C:\sers\ame\ocuments" "D:\ackup\ocuments" /MIR /R:2 /W:5 /LOG+:"%USERPROFILE%
obo-documents.log"
Trigger: daily, 20:00robocopy returns a bitmask: 0 means nothing to do, 1 to 7 are successes with copies or extras, 8 and above are real failures. A task that is 'green' with code 1 did its job.
0 = nothing to do
1-7 = success (files copied / extras seen)
8+ = failureCopy one file back from the backup and open it. Do it once a month - a backup nobody restored is a hope, not a backup.
Files open in another app or owned by another account. Close the app; for system folders use /B with admin rights or a VSS-based tool.
The arguments lost their quotes, or 'Start in' is empty. Check the task's last run result and the log file.
USB drives get letters in plug order. Assign a fixed letter in Disk Management or mount the drive into an empty folder.
/MIR keeps one copy, not versions. If you need history, mirror into dated folders and delete old ones deliberately.
robocopy for an explicit, readable mirror; File History for automatic versions. They can run side by side.
Only if the target holds other data or you swap source and target. Dry-run it once and keep the log.
Disable or delete the scheduled task and remove the target folder you created. Nothing in the source folder was modified.
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