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Conflicts - best way to resolve them? RRS feed

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    I have been using live mesh for a number of months to sync files across two machines and with the Live desktop. The two machines are a work PC and a home PC. The work PC runs the XP client, the home PC runs the Vista x64 client on Win7RC.

    I use one folder in particular to sync source code between machines, so that i don't have to go through the hassle of accessing our source repository remotely, however sync'ing this many files (approx 1500) has produced many thousands of conflicts. I can't say how many conflicts, because i don't know for sure, but i have resolved thousands so far and still they come. The method i use to start the sync process is to run an MSBuild file, which takes the source, cleans it (removes temp files, binaries, etc.), and then copies it into the mesh folder.

    So i have a bunch of questions related to this:

     - how can i determine how many conflicts i still have left to resolve?
     - is there a way i can bulk resolve the conflicts (usually by deleting the folder/file, not by saving or moving it)?
     - why is it that some folder conflicts can be resolved by deleting the folder, but many can't? (i just get the error prompt saying "Failed to resolve the conflict").
     - why is it that deleting a folder orphans the files inside of it - shouldn't it delete the children also, and behave like the Windows file system that we have all gotten used to?
     - why is it when i delete the problem root level folder, from both sync'ed devices, the conflicts still exist and have to be resolved?

    I wouldn't worry about the conflicts, except it appears that they ultimately cause files/folders to stop sync'ing properly, and when this happens Mesh becomes unusable. Mesh can be a great product, but it is still suffering some teething problems.

    Thanks for any help / suggestions :)

    Wednesday, July 15, 2009 11:07 AM

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    Unfortunately, the ability to better handle conflict resolution isn't something that we've seen yet. Many months ago the Live Mesh team indicated that this was on the plate for future inclusion in Live Mesh, but we don't know anything more. There are msot certainly suggestion bugs that you can vote on for conflict resolution topics.
     

    Live Mesh Beta: Suggestions - Go cast your vote!

    As for the other questions:
    - how can i determine how many conflicts i still have left to resolve?
    You can't - they are in the notifier, but there's no easy way to determine the total

     - is there a way i can bulk resolve the conflicts (usually by deleting the folder/file, not by saving or moving it)?
    No, conflicts must currently be resolved one at a time

     - why is it that some folder conflicts can be resolved by deleting the folder, but many can't? (i just get the error prompt saying "Failed to resolve the conflict").
    I don't know the answer to this one. I suspect that it has to do with the nature of the specific conflict - that is, the source of the conflict. perhaps PC1 shows a file or files to have been changed, yet PC2 says to delete the file and its container. 
    Apparently the logic for conflict resolution could use lots of work.

     - why is it that deleting a folder orphans the files inside of it - shouldn't it delete the children also, and behave like the Windows file system that we have all gotten used to?
    Good question. I don't know - I suspect it is because the container and the files are each objects to Live Mesh. If the folder is deleted, it doesn't mean that the files are deleted. Live Mesh apparently needs to container to be empty before you can delete the container. If it isn't, orphans are the result.

     - why is it when i delete the problem root level folder, from both sync'ed devices, the conflicts still exist and have to be resolved?
    And yet another good question. The only way to stop this would be to remove the folder from the Mesh before deleting the folder.

    -steve

    Microsoft MVP Windows Live / Windows Live OneCare, Live Mesh, & MS Security Essentials Forums Moderator
    Wednesday, July 15, 2009 3:17 PM
    Moderator