Will FreeFileSync ever be updated again?
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New: DesktopSnowOK (Jan 6, 2025), Platform 29.5.3 (Jun 27, 2024)
1,100+ portable packages, 1.1 billion downloads
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It will be updated if the publisher ever fixes the long-standing bug that prevents it from being run from another EXE. You can't even run their standard version from the PortableApps.com Menu as it will error on launch and close. This bug was introduced in 6.3, over 8 months ago, and is still not fixed: http://sourceforge.net/p/freefilesync/discussion/open-discussion/thread/...
Outdated apps are all detailed in the outdated apps thread: https://portableapps.com/development/outdated
It includes details on apps that can't be updated due to external reasons outside of our control. It's linked from the Development section.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
@John. It seems that their Help forum gets more attention so I posted a request for an answer on the issue and Zenju replied, see http://sourceforge.net/p/freefilesync/discussion/help/thread/6d19172e/
The publisher is aware of the issue but seems unconcerned with it. As this affects both the local and portable versions, you basically can't run FFS from a menu or use it with an automated scheduler app, making the app far less useful. The last properly working version is 6.2.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
That sounds as if there was a way to start FFS, so I would be interested to get to know, how? I cannot start a version higher than 6.2, may some times such a version has started, but usually it hasn't.
------- Currently there is the workaround to just start manually via Windows Explorer, so this is not a showstopper issue.
How do you do it? FFS does not start at all usually.
Windows 10 Home, 64bit
Is there a counter somewhere? It would be interesting to know how many people have downloaded it.
By the way, actually it sounds like Zenju does not like FFS be used by PortApps.
Windows 10 Home, 64bit
If you mean how many times has the PA.c package of FFS been downloaded, it's around 500,000.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
Are there public accessable download counters at sourceforge for PA apps?
If you click on the Files section, each sub-directory should have a small graph icon, maybe 20x20. It shows the weekly downloads if you hover. Click on it and adjust the dates as you wish.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
Waiting for an official PortableApps.com release, I use this workaround to run the recent versions of FreeFileSync with PortableApps. (I apologize for my very bad english)
1. Download FreeFileSync_6.XX_Windows_Setup from http://sourceforge.net/projects/freefilesync/files/
2. Extract it with the utility Universal Extractor, the program files are in the {app} folder
3. Create and open a new folder named e.g. FreeFileSync_6.12
4. Copy here the previously extracted {app} folder
5. Create a batch file FreeFileSync.cmd
@echo off
start "" %~dp0\{app}\FreeFileSync.exe
cls
exit
6. Now with the utility Advanced BAT to EXE convert FreeFileSync.cmd to FreeFileSync.exe
7. Copy the folder FreeFileSync_6.12 to the PortableApps folder
8. Refresh Apps Icons
FreeFileSync can now be run with PortableApps.
This seems complicated but can be done in 3 minutes.
What do you think?
Kindest regards
That seems fine. I did something similar but used a compiled AutoHotKey program instead.
I did the equivalent within NSIS last time using a BAT file and a hidden command line window and it still failed. This was a few versions ago. The current version of FFS fails about 1/2 the time within the Notepad++ Portable package or when launched from the PA.c Platform with no real reason I can see as to why it sometimes works and sometimes doesn't.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
This is a very strange issue. I did not know about this issue at all until I read about it in the description on PortableFreeware yesterday. I have been running it using Task Scheduler and it always been working fine. It works fine as well when launched from various file managers like XYplorer, xplorer2, and more. But once the Portable Apps platform gets involved, it keep throwing up that error. To make sure, I also tested running it using AutoHotKey, PureBasic, and some other languages and it works fine there too. And this is all tested with various computers. So there must be something in common with the computers for those who have problems starting it up for anything BUT Windows Explorer. Otherwise, it seems to be working fine except for the Portable Apps platform.
The difficulty with the program though is the programmer is primarily a Linux programmer. So he/she is probably not as inclined to dig deeper into this issue
since it seems to only be an issue for some Windows users.
This is very sad, I've been researching this for a while on the FreeFileSync website and here and it feels like what the developer has implemented is effectively DRM
I use FreeFileSync on multiple backup drives and have a copy of the entire application on all of them in case restore is needed, unfortunately I don't want to go to restore my data one day and find that I can't due to an artificial error.
So my options now are either to keep using an old version or look elsewhere I suppose
Thanks PortableApps devs. I appreciate what you do!
I Still Like XP better even though I've got Windows 7
Try Toucan backup.
https://portableapps.com/apps/utilities/toucan
I once had downloaded and tried portable FFS versions from the FFS website, but there had been the same issue like the PortApps versions.
Windows 10 Home, 64bit
I am running FreeFileSync 7.6, the recently released version. I installed it as the standalone version, during the windows installation you get that option. The only thing I had to do was delete the second .EXE file "RealTimeSync,exe". Works fine in Portable Apps. Windows 7 Pro, 64 bit
I dropped it into the FreeFileSync Portable directory structure, deleted RealTimeSync.exe, ran it on my Windows 8.1 x64 system, same old error. Same thing happens when run from the PA.c Platform in its raw state without our launcher and with no changes from their raw install. It's always been like this. It'll never work on some machines, work 50% of the time on others, work once and then fail on others, and work OK on others. It does this from XP to Windows 10. And it's done it since the day that bug was reported. No attempt has been made to fix it since then.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
I deleted all the file of the folder PortableApps\FreeFileSyncPortable\App\FreeFileSync
I downloaded the version 8.1, install it with the option portable selected.directly in the folder PortableApps\FreeFileSyncPortable\App\FreeFileSync
I run FreeFileSyncPortable.exe first, it give me some error, about globalconfig.xml, and close, I delete the file, rerun it and it works
It opens with error in the existing ffs file, but it correct itself, just save the modified version.
The only problem remaining is the error on the globalsetting file sometimes it works right away, sometimes you have to rerun, sometimes you have to delete the file, it is always the same error :
Cannot open fie : "GlobalSettings.xml"
Error Code 32: The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process. (CreateFile)
The file is there, I open it and it looks OK
Hope this will help
That error is the one that's been happening to users for a long time now. Users fall in three categories (1) some never encounter it, (2) some it happens on and off and they need to rerun it a couple times like you, (3) some it happens every time without fail.
Version 8.0 and 8.1 are now even more broken. It has a .dat file that locks FreeFileSync to a specific relative path, forcing you to install it from the FreeFileSync installer that has adware in it. Worse, it breaks the ability to run it from a portable path in a cloud drive since it changes between PCs. You have to install it on every PC.
The last properly working version of FreeFileSync is the one we package. It's likely we won't see another version that works properly until someone forks it, removes the installer bundleware-tied .dat requirement, and fixes the long-standing process bug.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!