Sync already existing/populated folder without having to re-download everything first (SOLVED via file-matching feature)

Definitely a +1, thanks for the effort!

@lmeurs noted! :smile:

When is this feature available? I’m experiencing the same issue: everything backed up to Drive but had to change my local InSync folder.

@Stefan No ETA yet, but it should be available real soon.

Thank you.

“real soon” kind of sounds like an eta…
Actually, that is the hardest eta commitment to make, as it means for us users much “sooner” than you think “soon” means :smile:

Hi @maltokyo we do not want to give a specific date but I would like to assure you that it will be ready for our next release in a couple of weeks :smile:

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Hi - Is this feature now available in either stable or beta versions? I have more than 1TB of data and just bought a new PC.

Thanks for the reply.

@Gaurav_Kapoor: Yes, this should be available in Insync 1.3. Please try it out.

So I install insync for the first time, I already have a network folder which is the mirror of my google drive structure. Can someone describe what will happen at first launch (sync) ?

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OK - I have version 1.3.3.36056, how do I use the existing folder without downloading and duplicating these files on all my other devices?

@icenov simply follow the simple on-boarding process. Choose your current Google Drive folder and let Insync run in the background.

Thank you. Happy New Year!

I tought your service would be the answer to my troubles…but after using it… i just seem to do everything manual. All my folders duplicate, and if i tell insync not to sync some folder…it trys to delete the local one? well seems that your create a blind application.

yes please +1 …

This is not working for me. Insync deleted my folder (500 mb) on google drive. I restored it from trash on Drive, but now insync is re-downloading the entire folder, even though it is the exact same as the folder on my external.

Thanks

I’ve posted an unofficial how-to of a workaround that I’ve been using for a while.

https://forums.insynchq.com/t/unofficial-how-to-resync-existing-files-folders-without-duplicates

Am I right that it’s been coming “soon” since 2015?

With Google discontinuing the ability to select folders to backup, Insync is the answer, but it will want to download a TB of files on top of the files that are already in the folders. With 1 TB of Google drive files, I really can’t install it if it will download a TB of data to replace identical copies that are already in the same folders.

What’s the status on this? What is the new “soon”?

Thanks.

Hi @JerryLerman!

This is addressed via our file-matching feature (which has been available in later 1.x versions).

If you pick an existing folder with files identical to your Google Drive storage, Insync will file-match rather than download the copies. :slight_smile: Hope this info helps!

Not working for me. I first tried on a machine with only some folders synced. It didn’t tell me that it noticed I already have a Google Drive installed. It gave me an option to use a completely new directory or change it to a different directory. Specifying the different directory as the existing Google Drive directory resulted in it re-downloading everything.

I just started the same process on the machine with a TB of files and it was the same story. I stopped it before the download began. On that machine too Insync did not recognize that I already have a Google Drive.

Why doesn’t it know that I already have a Google Drive installed? What does it look for?

@JerryLerman What did you mean by “already have a Google Drive installed” – is this the old folder you used on Google Drive’s Backup and Sync?

Yes, it’s the old folder I used on Google Drive’s Backup and Sync.

I decided to be adventurous and uninstalled Google Drive Backup and Sync and I installed Insync again. I pointed it to the existing Google Drive from Backup and Sync, figuring I’d put up with it re-downloading. But it didn’t work that way. Insync started uploading all the files again. I started getting duplicates with parenthesized names. So I uninstalled Insync and deleted the duplicates using the web browser.

I tried downloading a new copy of Google Drive Backup and Sync but found it’s no longer supported so I instead downloaded the new File Stream. Not only did it create a new drive that I didn’t need, when I told it to do a full sync and pointed it to the same existing Google Drive location, it also started uploading everything as duplicates. So, it was a worse experience. So I uninstalled it.

Back to Insync. I installed it, specified a new location, and just let Insync download all the files to the new location. When done, I deleted the old Google Drive folder and created a junction with the old folder name pointing to the new Insync download location so that existing programs work.

I’m fine now. Not sure what I did wrong but I was expecting it to be less painful.

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