cp_acwt wrote:What software do you use to sync your two systems?
TL;DR version: for software, I install/update the same apps on both computers, doesn't take much effort after the initial install. For data files, I use a command-line based system I've been using for decades, but if starting today, I'd use OneDrive on a scheduled (intermittent) basis. The key is to keep all your key files in a handful of well-known user-determined locations, not the default "download" or "save" location configured in the app.
Details:
For software/apps, I simply take the time to install the same versions on both machines. I always try to download the install executables and then copy them locally to each machine, so I know I am installing the same thing on each machine. (I try to do the actual install offline, if possible). Nowadays, updates on both machines are more or less automatic, so after the initial installation on a new computer, it doesn't take much work. It used to be that most software licenses also allowed two full installs (one for backup), but nowadays I have to pay for two licenses for MS Office 2019. So far all my other software (Quickbooks, last supported version of Adobe Acrobat Pro, Ultratax, browser, mail client, various utilities like SnagIt, WinZip) can be installed on two machines for my use at no extra cost.
As for data files, if I were starting today and were not a computer jockey, I'd probably use MS OneDrive (yes, a cloud service - how ironic!). The hardest part: you must have the discipline to keep all your data files (Quickbooks company files, tax data files, Word/Excel/PDF documents, etc) in a few well-known folder locations (in other words, don't just let Windows and apps save off files wherever they want to by default, and never to the desktop!!). But then, once every 1-3 days I'd sync my key data folders between the two machines using OneDrive (so the cloud dependency would be relatively short-lived, and scheduled at my convenience). I assume you could do something similar with other file sharing and storage services. A side benefit of putting, for example, all your tax client data files under a single folder tree is that you can then create an encrypted virtual hard disk (VHD) under Windows and isolate all that data offline even when your computer is up and running. Every time I sync my two computers, it also counts as a backup (so I don't have to make any other backups that day).
However in my case, for data files I am continuing practices I started back in the 1980s when I needed (wanted) to sync my work and home computers. I currently use a Microsoft "power user" (command line) tool named "robocopy". "robocopy" is a tool for copying new or updated files, and optionally deleting files on the target that have been deleted on the source. I once wrote my own version of such a tool in C language, although robocopy is certainly much more robust. For those familiar with Unix/Linux, the "rsync" program is the same type of tool.
I have a simple batch file that runs robocopy between my desktop and a shared drive on my notebook. After running my batch file, my entire Outlook calendar (.pst file), my entire Thunderbird mail store (I download all emails locally before reading and save them after except the junk mail of course), and all my documents of interest (QB and other application data files, PDF/worksheets/text documents/music files/photos) are all faithfully replicated on my notebook. I have tested it many times by actually switching my work to the notebook for an extended period, and all works as expected.
