14 DAY TRIAL // One of the problems we are often faced with when it comes to poor PC performance is related to the large number of obsolete files stored on our hard drive impeding the computer from running at full capacity. The clutter is in many cases the result of incomplete uninstallation of various pieces of software that leave behind all sorts of remnants that in time choke up the registry. In other cases, we inadvertently keep several copies of the same file on our local drives and this happens mostly when dealing with music and photos. These types of files are prone to spawn duplicates first of all because of their naming variety, that is to say the same music track, digital picture or wallpaper can be saved under several names when we get it from diverse sources, although it is the same exact contents every time.
Fortunately, there are plenty of utilities designed to help get rid of the pesky dupes and give a breath of fresh air to both user and machine. Such a tool is Auslogics Duplicate File Finder, a freebie bent on identifying "twins" and "triplets" stacked on your HDD. This piece of software is made to assist you in freeing disk space with no fuss at all and in no more than four steps once you set it up and run it. The application itself doesn't take up much space as it weighs in at just over 1.6 MB uncompressed and under 6 MB after the installation.
The interface is basically a wizard that makes the operation very easy, enabling you to quickly choose the folder(s) that will be scanned and customize the parameters. The directory selection can be performed in the first screen of the application and here you will notice that Auslogics Duplicate File Finder is capable of searching not only in the local drives, but also in locations from removable and optical media. The configuration of the criteria for locating dupes is also at hand in the second screen of this utility and it's the final step you have to take before starting the scan.
With this tool you get a decent variety of matching options that include file names, date and time, size and contents. That last filter is the most accurate as it will look inside the files in order to identify duplicates that have different names and creation dates. This MD5 search facility is perhaps the best choice but it will take its toll in terms of overall scanning time, considerably increasing the duration of the whole process.
If you have a somewhat clear idea about the size of the files that may have doubles on your hard disk, there is an advanced setting that will let you leave aside the items that shouldn't make the object of the scan. This exclusion refers to the physical space occupied so you will be able to ignore files that are smaller than a specific dimension you will manually input (default setting is 1 MB) in kilobytes, megabytes or gigabytes.
Auslogics Duplicate File Finder can find dupes in any format and to facilitate the narrowing of the search scope you are presented with several type groups, namely images, archives, video, audio and applications. In case you are not sure about the kind of duplicates that are hiding on your drives, you can simply check the box that makes the hunt open for all kinds of documents.
With all the settings configured now it's time to hit the button that triggers the scan and watch how the operation goes on. The process usually takes only a few seconds if the search by contents and for all file types options are not active, but it can last several minutes if you opt for a full-blown scan with all the angles covered. On the system used for testing this app the CPU load peaked at 30% for an AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 1.90 GHz, while the stress on the memory was negligible, around 13 MB of RAM being used.
As soon as the examination is complete, you will get the results in a window from where you'll be able to single out the ones that will be removed. The dupes are grouped and the clusters are easily identifiable thanks to an alternating two-color code. When right-clicking any of the listed items you'll have access to a menu that helps you manage the selection commands, open the files on the spot or change the default program for viewing them, explore the containing folder or view the document properties. The software will display on top of the results window the exact number of identified duplicates and an estimate for the free space you will gain if you erase some or all of them.
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Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
