Synchronize Outlook and Multiple Computers

Computer users who use multiple computers often would like to synchronize their programs in order to avoid data conflicts. Power users no matter which computer that they are using want to be looking at the same data. The typical computer user could easily be using a laptop, a desktop computer at home, and yet another desktop computer at work. Another possible scenario is where you use a primary computer and keep a rarely used backup computer hanging around in case your primary fails. Grandiose schemes involving buying commercial programs, third parties, and the Internet have been developed. None of which are necessary at all. Keeping multiple computers in sync with each other is actually quite easy to do.

Synchronizing Multiple Computers

What are we talking about, here?

First of all, we are not talking about copying any of your Windows XP system configuration files, nor any of your user data like downloaded programs, music, or videos. Moving large bulky data files around different computers can be better accomplished by selectively copying them to large flash drives or burning them onto CDs.

Synchronization is referring only to program configurations, downloaded emails, calendars, appointments, important events, to do lists, web browser add-ons, bookmarks or favorites, and passwords.

If you are using more than one computer you will have a few programs that ideally you would like to have synchronized on all your computers so that you can stay connected. These programs are fairly easy to identify. Usually they would include your email program, such as Outlook or Thunderbird, your web browsers such as FireFox and Internet Explorer, and basically any program whose configurations you would like to keep consistent. However, the vast majority of your programs, such as RealPlayer, do not need to be synchronized at all. In other words, we need to synchronized only those programs that enable us to stay connected.

Take the FireFox web browser for example, you need a scheme to sync your bookmarks, passwords, and add-ons (i.e., extensions, themes, plugins). And, how about how you have painstakingly configured FireFox to work just the way you like it? You need to sync more than your bookmarks. You need to sync everything that can be configured on a program.

Grandiose third party synchronization schemes are not necessary at all. While such options are available, it is quite frankly a totally insane idea to upload your passwords and calendar to some third party organization on the Web. Further, most commercial sync programs do only a half way job of synchronizing just your bookmarks or email. The solution is quite simple: an USB Flash Drive and one freeware copying utility called Cobian Backup. All that is required, is for you to carry around on your person an object that is slightly larger than a stick of gum, called an USB Flash Drive.

The requirements for this program synchronization scheme are as follows. All of your computers must be running a version of the Windows XP operating system. So, that would include some Netbooks that run Windows XP, but exclude most PDAs, which generally come with their own built-in synchronization method. And, you must be running the same version of each program on all of your computers. The easiest way to assure this, is to always upgrade to the latest version of all of your programs.

This blog is selling the value of sticking with Windows XP on all your computers. Hence, what I offer has been tested and proven to work only on Windows XP which will be supported by Microsoft until 2014. Visitors using Windows Vista or Windows 7 might be able to use a similar method.

Synchronizing Email

First of all, email generally does NOT need to be sync at all. If all you need to do is download the same email to all your different computers, then all you need to do is set up your email accounts correctly. The correct setting is NEVER to have email deleted immediately off your server. You should always configure your email to stay on your server for at least seven days after it has been read.

In a well behaved email program, like Thunderbird, the configuration data is going to be stored on your system hard drive under Application Data. In most cases, your default hard drive will be drive C. For Mozilla Thunderbird, you will need to copy the following data to and from your flash drive.

In brief, the basic idea is to copy and restore all your Thunderbird configuration data, which would include all of your downloaded emails, to and from your flash drive which you would simply physically move from computer to computer.

The freeware Cobian Backup utility will allow you to make this process as pain free and automatic as possible. With this scheme, it is actually just as easy to synchronize a dozen different programs as it will be to synchronize just Microsoft Outlook. You just have to remember that the first step in using a different computer, after logging on, is to restore your configuration data from your USB flash drive. The last step before leaving that computer behind would always be to backup your configuration data onto your flash drive before logging off your computer.

In future posts, that can be found on the Connectivity category I will point out how the entire process can be done specifically for Thunderbird and Firefox, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Office, the freeware Cobian Backup utility, as well as for most other programs.

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