Top 2 Ways to Sync Local Folders to Synology NAS on Windows

What is Synology NAS used for?

Synology NAS enjoys great popularity among computer users. For home users, Synology NAS makes it easy for them to access various files by multiple users. It also helps to safeguard their data from Windows, macOS, Linux, and mobile devices.

For enterprise users, Synology NAS provides strong business data protection and seamless file sharing and syncing across various platforms. Users can create, edit, and sync documents, spreadsheets and slides with real-time communication.

If you want to backup your PC folders to Synology NAS or share local folders with family or colleagues through Synology NAS, read on to get the how-to guide.

How to have Synology synchronize folders to NAS step by step

Here I’m going to show you how to have Synology sync folders with PC in two efficient ways. Method 1 applies to Synology NAS only while Method 2 applies to different NAS including Synology, QNAP, and WD My Cloud, etc.

Method 1. Sync folders to Synology NAS via Synology Drive

Synology used to provide an application called Cloud Station Drive to help users sync files between Synology NAS and computer over the Internet. But now Cloud Station Server will be succeeded by a new application, Synology Drive Server, which covers all of the original key functionalities. It enables you to sync files, view history versions, and get share links.

This article will show you how to use Synology Drive Server for file synchronization. If you still want to use Cloud Station to have Synology sync Windows folders to NAS, however, there is a very detailed official tutorial for your reference.

▶ To use Synology Drive, you need to do some preparations:

1. Install the Synology Drive Server package on the NAS from the Package Center app.

2. For each NAS user who wants to store files and access their home directories on Synology Drive, you must enable the user home service on the Synology NAS. To enable the user home service, navigate to Control Panel -> User & Group.

▶ To perform Synology sync local folders:

1. Once Synology Drive Server is installed on the NAS and user home service is enabled, you can access Synology Drive from your favorite web browser. Click on the Synology Drive app from the DSM web interface. Synology Drive web app should be opened in a new browser tab.

2. Then log in to your Synology Drive web application and click on Client -> Download client from the user menu. Then download the Synology Drive Client installer according to the prompt.

3. After the installation is complete, open Synology Drive Client and click Start Now.

4. Type in Synology NAS, Username and Password. To use SSL encryption, make sure to check the Enable SSL data transmission encryption. Once you’re done, click on Next.

5. Then, Synology Drive Client will ask you whether you want to set up a Sync Task or a Backup Task. We choose Sync Task to sync local folder with Synology NAS.

6. Then you can set up your sync folders. By default, the /home/Drive folder of your Synology Drive will be synced with the folder C:\Users\Username\SynologyDrive of your computer. To change the sync folder of the Synology Drive, click on the Change button. You can also change the folder on your computer that will be synced with your Synology Drive folder.

7. After selecting the folder to be synchronized, you can check or uncheck the Enable On-demand Sync to save disk space on your computer checkbox to enable or disable on-demand sync. Next, you can click on Advanced in the lower left corner of this program to configure advanced sync settings.

Tip: There are 3 tabs provided: Folder, File Filter, Sync Mode. You can customize the sync settings according to your needs.

8. Once you’ve done configuring the Sync Task, click on Done.
9. Navigate to the Synology Drive folder in Windows File Explorer. Drag and drop PC folders into the Synology Drive folder, and they will be synced to the Synology NAS automatically.

Method 2. Synology sync local folders to NAS using a handy freeware

As you can see, you need to drag and drop PC folders into the Synology Drive folder manually. It would be a heavy workload to drop and drop multiple folders from different locations. Is there an easier way to sync multiple PC folders with Synology NAS? The best free file sync software - Qiling Disk Master Standard can help you.

Click the download button above to download and install Qiling Disk Master on your computer. Then, follow the instructions below to sync local folders to Synology NAS via Qiling Disk Master:

Step 1. Run Qiling Disk Master, click Sync and select Basic Sync.

Tip: To enjoy more advanced sync modes – Mirror Sync, Real-Time Sync and Two-Way Sync, you may upgrade to higher editions.

Step 2. Edit the task name based on your needs. Click Add Folder to select the folder(s) you want to sync to Synology NAS. After adding the first folder, you can click the "+" button above to add the second or more folders. 

Step 3. Expand the drop-down menu of the second bar and choose Add Share or NAS Devices.

Step 4. In the pop-up window, type the IP address of the Synology NAS and click the blue button at the right. Type username and password if it is needed.

Step 5. Choose one folder on your Synology NAS to store the synced data and click OK.

Step 6. Confirm the operation and click Proceed to begin.

✍ Notes:

• You can configure more sync settings from Options and set up automatic sync from Schedule Sync.
• If you have created sync tasks with different NAS devices, you can go to Tools > Storage Management to manage your NAS storage.

• If you create an Qiling account, you are able to backup files to Qiling Cloud. It offers you 1TB free storage for 15 days after you sign up for an Qiling account.

FAQs about Synology Drive sync

1. What is the sync limit for Synology Drive?

There are some known limits with Synology Drive, such as files larger than 2GB cannot be uploaded and files larger than 4GB cannot be synced across devices. In addition, Synology Drive does not support the synchronization of system files or folders.

2. What is the difference between Sync Task and Backup Task in Synology Drive?

“Sync Task” allows you to sync files from your computer to Synology Drive Server and vice versa in real time. “Backup Task” only allows you to backup files from your computer to Synology Drive Server on a customized schedule.

Verdict

Both Synology Drive Client and free Qiling Disk Master can help to sync local folders with Synology NAS. However, Qiling Disk Master is superior to Synology Drive in syncing multiple PC folders with Synology NAS. What’s more, Qiling Disk Master supports all kinds of NAS brands.

If you want to copy data from one hard drive to another, Qiling Disk Master also offers the Disk Clone feature. Try it now to discover more!

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