Just a quick feedback to those who recommended SyncBack. The tool is very powerful. I still have some problems distinguishing between Origin/ Destination and where those terms suddenly become right & left (and one has to wonder whether the origin the left or the right was...)

...... but I might be persuaded to buy it


I still personally prefer the User Interface of AllWaySync (cleaner and more graphical, in my opinion), and the fact that it can sync to more than 2 folders at once, but I'll test some more over the week-end.. Thanks to all.

Ignacio

P.S. I am in no way affiliated to AllWaySync.. in case anyone wondered.

DirectoryCompare 3.05 (http://tp.lc.ehu.es/jma/win95.html)
- free
- no problem in Win XP

TotalCommander.
It's a powerful file explorer and can also sync. directories.
See http://www.ghisler.com/

The sync software that comes with XP has served me well for a few years, I have a central desktop and a couple of laptops that sync to it.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/mobility/learnmore/offlinefiles.mspx shows you how to set this up.
The other one to try is sync toy, also free, http://www.microsoft.com/prophoto

Hi, I've used Heatsoft ADCS ( Advanced Directory Comparison and Synchronization) and it is great.

From their website.
ADCS is a very fast and easy-to-use Directories and Files synchronizer. It is ideal for keeping files synchronized between a desktop & laptop and is a very fast method of backing up critical directories. With ADCS you can easily see what have changed in your directories and transfer changes with single mouse click.

I favor HeatSoft Synchronizer

You might search Microsoft for "SyncToy" or look at Space Hound at
http://www.fineware.com/. Space Hound does a lot more than Folder Synchronization and is worth the $45. for a home license.

My long time favorite is Beyond Compare. It not only allows for file and/or folder synchronization to an other drive, it can also do this via FTP. And of course you can compare files and validate data copies. A single license goes for US$30, which is (to me) good value for my Euros.

As this seems an interesting topic, I'm making it sticky.