PC utilities forum: How can I get rid of all my duplicate files in multiple hard drives?

I'd like to add a bit to the question - is there one of the answers posted that works for Linux (Ubuntu) machines?

The problem is you seem to be seeking help in a discussion which is a 'general discussion' thread. Members will offer their advice, (good or bad), in reply to the original question that was posted in CNET's "Help & How to" Newsletter.

May I suggest that, if you have specific problems and questions of your own, and if they are not answered specifically by the replies here, you raise your own thread in one of the other forums here at CNET.

There is a list of forums available in the left hand column.

Mark

Wayne,

The answers you are referring to were not replies to your question, they were replying to the original poster's question. If you re-read the original post, you will see that Cynthia was asking for the names of programs that will delete duplicates, which is exactly what the responders did. Of course they are going to recommend the one they used...they aren't trying to "sell" them and they're not spammers or salesman, for crying out loud!

Look at the 3rd line in each post that begins "In Reply to...", if at the end of that line is not your username, then they were NOT replying to your question! Instead of trying to hijack this thread, why don't you just post your question on a seperate thread? SHEESH!

Only one post I can see began with "Hi Wayne", and even that post was not in direct reply to any post you made.

This is what I see;

Your 1st post; http://forums.cnet.com/7726-6138_102-5093696.html - signed Wayne, no replies to you directly.

A post here; http://forums.cnet.com/7726-6138_102-5093781.html - from strooierman. He appears to be replying to your post above, but looking at the thread structure he seems to have mis-posted. However, he is asking you for advice what to delete.

Your 2nd listed post in the thread; http://forums.cnet.com/7726-6138_102-5093834.html - in reply to http://forums.cnet.com/7726-6138_102-5088970.html by pauly1651 . HOWEVER, you will note from the 'In reply to' for pauly1651's post that he is, in fact, replying to the very first post, posted on behalf of Cynthia.

A note. Since pauly1651 was posting a general reply to the very first post, why do you think he would be tracking this discussion to see if anyone asked him questions?

Your 3rd listed post in the thread; http://forums.cnet.com/7726-6138_102-5093695.html - in reply to a post by chrisallenealing here; http://forums.cnet.com/7726-6138_102-5088988.html - That post was also a general reply to the very first post.

Your 4th listed post in the thread; http://forums.cnet.com/7726-6138_102-5093698.html - in reply to starfire990. starfire990's post was in reply to a post just above by alxnsc

None of these have answered you directly. The fact is, in these Community Newsletter discussions, many people may post, then simply not return. They offer an opinion but are not interested in responses because none are expected.

Wayne. If you are having difficulties and want answers to questions, please create your own thread in one of the specialised forums. The volunteers there will do their best to help you.

Good luck.

Mark

I lost my main computer drive and two external drives in an instant a few years ago and with it almost all my photographs. I was able to retrieve my photos by connect the drive only with a USB connector and a Rescue Disk. I back up everything now to a multiple of external discs so I have lots of duplicates and like it very much, thank you.

The best one I found was PC tuneup by Avg not only are they one of the best antivirus software but now they made this great tuneup software. Not sure if you can get rid of duplicates on trial version but sure can on purchased software.Thats what I use once every week.

Steve

Thanks for the suggestion/recommendation for the file indexing program supercat. I have checked it out and it is a beautiful program for someone who has multiple files spanning multiple disks and drives. The program is more elegant than others I have tried. You have solved a recurring problem of mine. This program will surely save me much time. Thanks Again!

I dont know if youre still subscribed to this posting, but the following may provide the best response to your dilemma.

While utilities will find thousands of duplicates that you didn't need, what if 10 of those two-thousand you absolutely needed (because the registry pointed to where you had a copy elsewhere, etc.)? Then youre screwed. A subsequent registry clean will likely result in orphaned or "jacked-up" applications.

My best suggestion to you is if you strongly suspect grotesque duplication, I would do the following:

1. Use the utility to move all of the most recent user files (.doc, .xls, .jpg, etc.) to a central directory, directories;

2. Save and compress EVERYTHING into a backup file on a separate hard drive (or tape cartridge!);
3. Place a listing of everything backed up onto your target hard-drive;
4. Reinstall ALL Software on a "Virgin" Drive;
5. Move all of your user data back onto that drive;
6. If after at least FIVE years you discover that you hardly ever go to that compressed backup for needed files (and the backup is NOT located on cheap cartridge media), then delete the backup and re-use the media.

The result will be a nice clean system with no needless software or duplicates. Anything less than doing it this way and you run considerable risks in my opinion. The utilities cant necessarily decipher what you use frequently or what you will need a year from now. The "Date Last Accessed" file attribute is chronically wrong and can even refer to times when it was accessed in a directory listing or moved to another folder which doesnt really count. It also doesnt know that nine months from now you will need the copy where it was located elsewhere and software errors dont always tell you the exact files its missing. Sometimes software just lists a hexadecimal reference and unless youre a programmer and have access to the softwares source code, you wouldnt know which files it needed or whether that was the problem in the first place. The end result of which would most easily be resolved by a software reinstall anyway. So why not just reinstall everything? With so many tens of thousands of non-duplicated files and numerous software package installations on your system, you must keep things both simple and safeguarded.

Ive had over 20 years experience with this crap in all types of systems and Im telling you these steps are both the SAFEST way AND the most EFFECTIVE way to accomplishing this objective. Go ahead and try it any other way and come back to this post one or two years from now and see if you can tell me this method was not the best. Good luck.

Jim,
I found Clonespy to be the best of for dealing with dupes too. See my comments back near the beginning of this thread two months ago.
Regards,
Bob Eldridge