I have a question on how best to set up a new machine using Duplicati.
I have restored my files using a configuration, and it’s working great. This is a new work machine, and I don’t need to restore a lot of my old work files. My question is: do I re-use the previous configuration or start a new one?
If I re-use my previous configuration, say to back up my “documents” folder, does that mean since i have fewer documents in the folder that the older files will be erased on my backup server?
If i set up my new computer to back up with a new configuration to back up the “documents” folder, will that mean whatever files are shared will be duplicated between the old computer and new computer backups?
offers some advice. Opinions may vary, and your preferences might also kick in.
Note: do not attempt to run backups from two different machines to the same destination. Before migrating, make sure the previous machine is no longer running backups automatically. If both machines run backups, one instance will detect that the remote destination has been modified and will refuse to continue until the local database has been rebuilt.
is what I’ll point to in response to the deduplication question which sounded like two backups running indefinitely. Some programs can deduplicate, but Duplicati wants separate folders, as The local database tracks what’s in the destination. Another Duplicati changing it will interfere.
If you re-use it and turn off the old computer to avoid above issue, older documents will persist however long the Options screen Retention policy tells them to. After that, they may be erased.