My copy technique is straight vanilla--pull up my other computer on the local network, open a window, and drag the folder to a window on my other computer. No typing, no nothing. I normally first delete the folder on the target drive, otherwise files that have been deleted on my current system will still remain on the target system.

I have the source system's windows set to be ordered by last modification date to help me remember which ones need backup. This doesn't work for subdirectories, so I have a little file in the root of every folder that I just rename with a new date when I've done work in some subdirectory. That's enough to kick the folder up in the modification date list.

It's brute force, but I know exactly what's where.

I've never had any problem with this technique before, and it seems odd to me that only a few files out of hundreds, all in exactly the same folder, would give me trouble.

I have another completely separate backup, using Retrospect, and an external USB hard drive on the main computer that's used just for this. That's automatic, and works by just pushing a button. I use the "replace" function, so theoretically it's doing the same thing my manual backup does.

All this is for data only, my "D" drive as it were. I have the option of using "Ghost" to create an image of my OS and application drive, my "C" drive, but I do that very seldom.

The Macs here have little external "one button" hard drives that also use a version of Retrospect. I push the button myself now and then, since I don't think my family is very good about this.