Successful GiveAway Day! - New SoftChronizer v1.1.4 released!

Today at 9am the "GiveAwayDay" of SoftChronizer has ended very successful: 54% of all downloaders have voted "Thumbs up!" for our duplicate file search software!

We also have got much feedback via email, and also many critical and euphemistic comments. - We have watched these comments with high attention and have quickly fixed the most important bugs which were reported, as well as have changed some problems users have shown us with their comments and reviews.

Now, -- only 10 hours later, -- we have decided to be ready with hotfixes - and to release a new bugfixed and more userfriendly SoftChronizer version: 1.1.4! ... Also we have decided to release a FREE SoftChronizer v1.1.3 GIVEAWAY Edition (the original "Giveawayoftheday" built, but with our instructions how to install it) for a foreseeable period of time. ... So you now can test v1.1.3 without any restrictions - and later, if you like it, you can register the latest Shareware edition of SoftChronizer, which is not free and has an active "Shareware Countdown Window" in the unregistered version.

We wish you much fun with SoftChronizer! ... And maybe you decide to directly compare SoftChronizer with your previous favorite duplicate file scanner - and will find out, that ours is faster and will find more duplicate files, than any other on the market, because of its unique "Fuzzy Logic" filename- and file-size comparison features! ... This is what it ultimately is for, ... or not?

Thanks to those who recommended free alternatives
especially Volcano's Duplicate Cleaner. It's a lovely
little program and very clean - free of spyware etc
but also a smooth interface. Much appreciated.

I can't get it to run. I've tried installing it several times.
I get the application "SoftChronizer.exe" error dialog "The application failed to initialize properly (0xc0000005). Click on OK to terminate the application" twice every time I try to run the program.

@27, what you are looking for is to create a junction or symbolic link to the same file from different folders. If you're on Windows Vista or Windows 7, you can do that using command line. The way is to delete one of the duplicate. Then, create a symbolic link from the folder you want it to be to the other file (the similar one in the other folder). This can also be done for folders using junction.
However, junctions and symbolic links are considered advanced features in Windows (though they are pretty much basic in Unix/Linux). For simplicity, I suggest just creating shortcuts - much easier to manage and most programs when you open a shortcut, opens the actual file. You can use a duplicate finder to search for the files, delete one of them, and create shortcuts of the other to replace the one deleted.
In the past, instead of Access, I have also successfully used Excel to create a table with links to files (I was doing research on country statistics) - so I can have all text data files in the same folder, then link them from the spreadsheet row. I can easily get the files by clicking the links in the spreadsheet. The way is to create a URL link, but point to the local file.
Hope that helps.

@stacie, #26- I haven't looked for an mp3 comparison tools, but PictureRelate operates across drives and different filenames- it looks at content similarity.

Well, I installed and used it. I found it buggy and ineffective. As I originally read it, and as ALF post #29 said, the fuzzy logic does not apply to file contents.

It wasn't able to do a good job finding duplicate files. When it did find files (according to its status bar), it forgot them by the time it finished scanning.

Thumbs down. :(

This program is asinine! When you can't even tell what sub-directory the duplicate file is in, how can you tell if it is a true duplicate. The fact that you cannot expand that field is ridiculous. Removing this one for good. Jeramy was right No Clone works better!

I have used the free CloneSpy ( www.clonespy.com ) for many years without ever detecting an error.

Pros: Easy installation. Can add other drives, including external drives in Options. Finds duplicate files easily and quickly.

Cons: Doesn't sort on screen. Right click on on screen brings up menu to export. Makes Excel file, but file is unreadable in Excel 2003 - makes letters and squares. Dissapointing as I was hoping to create a print out.

Won't keep unless there is a way to create a readable export file.

@ #27-Patrick
Have you tried the free Access library database available as Viescas_Books.zip? It was included in John L. Viescas, Running Microsoft Access, Microsoft Press 1997, and available on the web for download. Viescas has written over 40 books about Access 2000, 2003, 2007, SQL, dBase IV, etc. Google search should turn up his site. This simple database may work for you; for more bibliographic, commercial, or other information, you can examine the various database tables, forms, and queries files to learn the db structure and extend it to your needs.

@ #28-everseeker
Have you tried Component Softwares's free CSDiff
http://www.ComponentSoftware.com/Products/csdiff/download.htm

BTW, @ #8..... easy duplicate finder is NOT free as I've just found out by installing.
I'm 0-2 today :(

A person in one of the above comments marked "SoftChronizer" down because today's GOTD offering , "SoftChronizer", "can only search one partition at a time" Is grasping for negative features that are not there. What search program does not index and search individual hard drive programs and/or some standardized search packag'e to read data and organize it in some manageable unit? The search engines report gives its found results in the same

The program must index one "Index Package" at a Time. Examples of index packages include: Such As It Indexes Words , on That any other means of organizing data on a hard drive.
Saying that search software should look at more than one partition at a time has very little understanding of computer mechanics of "multitasking" and I suspect a great deal of other things.
Bigun

Alternative to today's giveaway.

CloneSpy...works best for me and is easy to configure and you can install it as protable... best option I find in it... ability to move the files before deleting..

P.S: Best part this puppy will run on WinPE... so you can do a full cleanup without having a bloated OS in the way.

Shawn

#28 everseeker


I've put some comments in the "General Discussion" pages of the forums, titled:

Duplicate File Finder & Comparison Tools - (re: Today's GAOTD 'SoftChronizer')

It is about Microsoft's free, simple file-folder comparison utility "Windiff". Maybe it is what you are looking for?

For locating duplicate music, Google for titles like Audio Comparer, Phelix (both previous GAOTD offers), Duplicate Music Files Finder (and I'm sure there are others). These claim to "listen like a human ear" to analyze the tracks and create a "signature" to detect same-similar songs, regardless of file size or sample rates.

Hope this helps!

@Maskime #30 (and quoted comments)

Thanks.
I've just put this on my to-do-list and will check it out/give it a try asap.

Patrick.

Sorry that was for #27 !
D'Oh !

@ Patrick (#17)
Duplicate Cleaner will create hard links from the removed duplicates on a NTFS partition (see #11, #15 and #16).
Dupemerge will do the same.

@rick, #15, #21 & Gregor, #19:
The fuzzy logic can only be used for filesize and/or filename.
This is not for content the way Rick would like it.
Applied to content it would take ages to compare, even a few moderate sized files. In this tool you (luckily) don't have that option.
It is even not real "fuzzy logic" (logica) but more correct "fuzzy string searching" (computing); well de difference might be seeming a bit fuzzy, but the latter is more correct.

Well, While this is OK, it really does not do all that much that I need... My needs are to rapidly look at multiple locations, (Which I THOUGHT was what was meant by "...double-file search program...")
Now I see that "Double-file" is a translation of Duplicate File. D'oh!

I need to find ANY occurance of even the slightest variation between the 2 locations... I am not looking for duplicates as much as I am looking for... un-duplicates :)
At the moment, I am using UltraCompare Pro (They've got a trial, but I do not believe there's a "free" release)

Hi,

It seems to me that all software that deals with duplicate files is focussed only on REMOVING duplicates.

What about cleaning up by removing duplicates but still wanting access to the originals because you may have stored them in different folders (saved them on seperate CDs) E.g. an article or paper that is stored in the folder 'Cosmology' has a duplicate in 'Relativity' and one in 'QED' because of different contextual emphasis -and, I my case, 'bad' memory :(

Now, I could set up a relational database using (e.g.) Access, but I'm not so familiar with Access (and similar DB management software) and entering the data I need (local references, URLs, summaries, notes,...) manually or by copy/paste would take months.

How to automatically or semi-manually REFERENCE duplicates, extract keywords/-sentences from them (contextual - for storage in a 'thesaurus'), allow for personal notes, etc., while freeing up discspace, keeping single originals in a central place and optimizing accessibility (in terms of speed and 'semantics'/classification) -without the need for a relational DB?

I have no knowledge of such a (freeware) program that would do all that... And from what I've read so far in these comments today's offer can not even make a decent job of listing duplicates side by side...

Any suggestions? Are there any (free) Access-templates that could do just part of what I am searching for?
I fear I'm asking way too much :(

Greetz (and thanks),
Patrick.

PS: This should be comment #21 at time of submission.

I don't see much usefulness here for me; what _would_ be very useful, however, is an app that can find duplicate pics or music that have _different_ filenames. Now THAT would be useful.

Hi all!

Although I am not a fervent supporter of duplicate file finders, I think that today's giveaway is not bad at all as it does his job pretty well even though the criteria to compare files is limited to name or size lacking the ability to use other criteria such as date file created, date last modified and so on.

For this reason, my recommendation is to use the freeware "DOUBLE KILLER" which is in my humble view, a little bit better, safer and more effective than this GAOTD and any other duplicate file finders out there.

Why??

Because it uses user-defined masks like "*.mp3" or "*.dll" enabling you to limit the scan to certain files so as to protect important files from being scanned.

Furthermore with DOUBLE KILLER you can exclude files in a particular file size range or files with certain attributes, like hidden or system files.

Please note that DOUBLE KILLER is a stand-alone executable that does not need to be installed, so it doesn't alter the registry of your system in any way.

Consequently there is nothing to worry about....LOL!!


http://download.cnet.com/DoubleKiller/3000-2248_4-10407004.html


Enjoy!!

When I run the program as administrator it says it is registered.
If I then run it again as not an administrator it says it is not registered.

anybody have the same result?

Well, number 17 doesn't help me at all. I just can't register it. I keep getting a message "Failed to set data for username". So this will be coming off my PC.

What a shame.

@Gregor: Thanks! The description made it sound like the fuzzy logic could only be used on filenames. In that case, it's worth installing!

For digital photos or graphic images, I can suggest PictureRelate (up to v2.6.0 now- http://www.walthelm.net/picture-relate/index.php) which has worked pretty good for me in the past.

available in english and german.

from the license page: "Noncommercial PictureRelate licenses are free, but you are asked for a small donation."

too bad I'm back to win2k for now, I'd like to try this one's 'fuzzy' feature.

@Rick: SoftChronizer can do partitial Byte-by-Byte Scans! ... You simply need to activate "Filesize->Fuzzy Logic" and the the Byte-by-Byte scan function! ... easy!

I'm with Jeramy on this one.

Tried most,if not all dupe finders/cleaners,and invariably go back to NoClone,which is no reflection on the efficiency of SoftChronizer,as I intend trying it out myself,as nothing beats ones own empirical evidence.

Big ups to Ashraf for WinUtilities Pro.,just downloaded,about to install it.

Further support for activation can be found on the FAQ page of the vendor: http://www.gacas.net/products/shareware/softchronizer/softchronizer-faq.php

Er, I forgot the other awesome feature of Duplicate Cleaner - export and import CSV lists. It can export a CSV list of your dupes, work on the list in another program (like a spreadsheet or database program), then import them back, or you can use the CSV data to feed into a batch file to delete your dupes.

I have a collection of freeware/open source duplicate file finders. I try to work only with ones that are portable or can be made nearly portable. My favorite is Duplicate Cleaner.

http://www.digitalvolcano.co.uk/content/duplicate-cleaner

Like most other duplicate file finders, Duplicate Cleaner lets you compare byte-by-byte, by various file properties such as filename, size or date, and also by mp3 metadata.

Duplicate Cleaner's best feature and biggest strength is its selection assistant. It has a plethora of intelligent ways to automatically select files for deletion and its manual selection interface is consistent and compliant. Once selected you can delete them, move them to the recycle bin, or move them to a folder of your choice (maintaining their folder structure).

Can anyone suggest a duplicate file finder that will find *partial* byte-by-byte matches? I have an mp3 collection with duplicate mp3s that have different tags or have been truncated. I'd like something that will find files that, for example, are 4 megabytes but have a 1 megabyte portion that's exactly the same...or at least something that can do byte-for-byte comparisons of only the audio portion of mp3 files, ignoring the metadata portion.

Another option I have for that issue is a program that compares by audio fingerprint. I know they're out there but I haven't tried one yet.

If they are going to try to sell this to an English-speaking audience, it is probably best NOT to use Google translate to convert from their native language. At least, we can HOPE that whoever wrote the summary of this offering isn't a native English speaker.

Lest you dismiss this as trivial, reread the first sentence. Can YOU understand whatinthehell the program does? Bottom-line, if the developer doesn't care enough to find someone who can speak my language, the program isn't going on my harddrive.

The interface is in German and I can't find any setting that allows me to change it into English.
Totally unusable.

Just like Tkelly46 earlier today, could not get program to register despite strict attention to detail, rechecks, reboots, etc. It is looking like a flawed giveaway.
UK 11:12 GMT

Best free duplicate remover program is Duplicate Cleaner:
http://www.digitalvolcano.co.uk/content/duplicate-cleaner

It can turn duplicate file into hard links (NTFS file systems only), so it will save you a lot of space in the program folder, where you can use it on necessary but duplicate software components.

I have an enormous runtime on my external drive. If this searches and finds what it might think is a duplicate file, will it delete these without my OK? Or does it offer a selective deletion process to safely remove duplicate files? ThanX.

@Ashraf again, you have written on doTech: Users must manually change the "status" of each file individually; no options to change the "status" of multiple files at once. ... That is not correct: Softchronizer has a context menu, when you right-click on the table with the search-results. - there all is what you are missing!

Here is a free alternative: http://www.easyduplicatefinder.com/

This software is useless compared to Easy Duplicate Finder.

http://www.digitalvolcano.co.uk/dupe.html is the number one freeware duplicate cleaner as reviewed by Techsupportalert and I have to agree.

It has excellent speed, listing /sorting and can easily handle different types of media.

Jonny

@Ashraf: it can search for as many partitions as you like, under: "Options -> Paths" you can add as many paths as you like and also partition-paths!

I cannot get the program to register, I fallowed the instructions in the read-me file but it will not register. anyone else having this problem


Note from Moderator: See Comment #17

best duplicate file finder for me is NoClone ...

Free edition:
http://noclone.net/noclone-free.exe

they have a free version that lacks only a function which allows intelligent marking of duplicate files by folders found in ...
be sure to download the free not the trial version
the trial version gives all functions but limits the number of files you can operate on ...
I found the function to mark duplicates by the folders to delete from most important ... so maybe download trial to test ... and free version to use

Reviewed at Gizmos' TechSupportAlert - Best Free Duplicate File Detectors.

Several freeware programs to manage duplicate files have been discussed, reviewed and recommended.

Check the results out at:

http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-duplicate-file-detector.htm

-- The program searched a drive with 192 GB of data in under 2 minutes; its speed is very impressive and its best feature.

-- Results are fair; some have been useful, many are not.

-- Big negative in that you cannot sort by the different options once the search has completed; ie: file name, file size, etc...

As noted, the interface is awkward and not sufficiently simple to use in searching through the search results to find real duplicates. I had about 2000 results, and it was just a matter of scrolling through them and trying to figure out which needed attention. Sorting by type would have helped this tremendously! As is, I don't think I'll continue to use this program.

Regardless, thanks for the giveaway!

The Good
* Straightforward and easy to use.
* Users are allowed to search for specific file types, or search the whole computer.
* Has the option to use binary comparisons in addition to comparison by file name and size.
* "Fuzzy logic" feature allow for a bit of elbow room when searching for duplicate files.
* Provides handy "extra" information on MP3 and image files, such as bitrate and resolution (respectively).
* Fairly fast scans.

The Bad
* Has bugs; can't finish a full scan on my C:/ partition because of errors.
* Can only search one partition at a time.
* Criteria to compare files is limited to name, size, or "byte-by-byte" - lacks the ability to use other criteria such as data file created, date last modified, etc.
* Users can't go back to the search results after the results are displayed if they (accidentally or on purpose) click on a different file type search option.
* The interface could do with a makeover.

Free Alternatives
WinUtilities Pro (Duplicate File Finder module).

For final verdict, recommendations, and full review please click here.