The function of Duplicate Cleaning was provided in the previous giveaway of WinUtilities (v6.2, 6.4 & 7.0). However, it was complained that WinUtilities also identifies duplicate system files, which made it hard to use and is not for novices. Clone Terminator is different. It has an option to exclude system files, which makes it much more easier to use.

PROS
option to exclude any files.
Option to exclude system files.
Good for both novices and professionals.
Small size
Compares actual file data and checksum, which ensures it is a true, complete duplicate. I tested it on two word files with exactly identical size, with just one character differed, and it did not identify them as duplicates.

CONS
Scanning of whole MY Computer could take up to an hour or more.
Hogs up most system resources while scanning for duplicates.
Cannot identify SOME dupes between a harddisk and a USB drive.
Not suitable for a file modification date comparison, because it does not take that criteria into account.

Verdict: a 6.5/10 for a scanner of dupes that is accurate but uses a lot of system resources, to the point that you can't even open a Word file to edit.

PESfan  –  14 years ago  –  ¿Te ha parecido útil este comentario? si | no (+241)

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I found I had version 1.5 on one pc from a previous Giveaway, and this is noticeably faster - but still not quick, for hefty drives I'd set it running when I'd be away from PC for a few hours, or overnight.

Incidentally, it DOES compare drives on networked PCs, including USB external drives.

#1 - Like you, my desktop was overflowing with icons (and my attempts at organisation mostly make things worse.) Then I found I could hide all the icons giving me a clean desktop on XP (right-click on desktop > arrange icons by.. > Hide Icons). I don't bring them back, but as Explorer lists "Desktop" at the top of the folder tree, I just use that as a quick program selector. A couple of clicks and all is displayed.

Back to Clone Terminator - I started the old v1.5 to compare 500gb drives, and it got to the comparison stage and was crawling along. Then on another PC I downloaded the current offering, installed and set to compare the same two drives. Whilst writing the foregoing, v2.5 has finished, whereas v1.5 is still at 37% - considerable improvement!

Pete  –  14 years ago  –  ¿Te ha parecido útil este comentario? si | no (+42)

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THE GOOD:

*** Smooth download, installation, and activation on Vista x32 OS.

*** Very easy & intuitive to use, even without looking at Help Menu.

*** Allows user to exclude pc system files from scan & duplication deletion, to ensure computer is not adversely affected by process.

*** Took only 5 seconds (very quick) to scan system for duplicate file.

*** Nice, simple, clean, easy-to-understand, easy-to-navigate GUI.

PERCEIVED DRAWBACKS (IMHO):

*** Help File shows up only after (and not before) duplicate file scan. It would be useful to have Help File on Main screen, prior to scan, for explanation of duplication scan and deletion process beforehand.

*** No utility for backing up files (as safety precaution) prior to duplicate file scan & deletion, in case anything unexpected goes wrong.

SUMMARY:

Despite above-noted limitations, all in all, this program is very useful and, with careful and cautious execution by the user, is most definitely a keeper. Therefore, an enthusiastic thumbs-up from me for today's GiveAway. Thanks much, GOTD and Enplase Research.

By the way, for those of you who miss today's GiveAway, a good Open Source option is: Duplicate Files Finder.

MichaelMooreFan  –  14 years ago  –  ¿Te ha parecido útil este comentario? si | no (+34)

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I've used previous incarnations of Clone Terminator and especially recommend it if your hard drives are getting full. It's amazing how many duplicate files can be found. I would proceed with caution using this software though because some duplicate files may be required in separate locations so it's always advisable to firstly do a restore point and then a backup anything you’re going to delete so that you can replace any files that may have been required. Once you’ve confirmed that all systems are still running okay, you could then delete the backups.

Thank you to Enplace for allowing this to be given away again and to the Giveaway team for their continued presence on the net.


If you miss today’s giveaway there's a couple of freeware programs you can use (see below that will do a similar job as today’s giveaway. You can download them from the following address’ (please note I've only just done a format on Sunday and haven't got around to installing Web of Trust yet, so can't say whether the three sites I’ve posted below have any affiliations to malware giving sites).

Free Disk Cleanup:

http://www.softwarelode.com/29558/details-free-disk-cleanup.html

or

http://www.bestfreewaredownload.com/freeware/t-free-free-disk-cleanup-freeware-zqojzfeh.html

SearchDuplicate Files:

http://downloads.zdnet.com/abstract.aspx?kw=duplicate+files&docid=741625

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Whiterabbit aka Stephen  –  14 years ago  –  ¿Te ha parecido útil este comentario? si | no (+25)

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My comments for version 2.5 are the same as for previous versions. It's buggy, unreliable, and has some UI issues; I wouldn't use it. Unlike what some have mentioned, it's supposed to back up to the Recycle Bin (although that's not reliable). Vista did an XP SP2 compatibility reinstall.

The open-source Duplicate Files Finder mentioned by #14, MichaelMooreFan, supposedly supports symbolic links and hard links, but the UI could use a great deal of improvement. See my comments on the previous version of this for other alternatives. One should exercise extreme caution when deleting duplicates; hard links or symbolic links, as applicable, are safer but have implications.

Fubar  –  14 years ago  –  ¿Te ha parecido útil este comentario? si | no (+21)

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