14 DAY TRIAL // If there was a time when 1GB hard drives seemed to be quite large, now we realize that we will never be able to keep up with technology. There are data supports with enormous sizes, therefore managing the information within has to be a very important task. Not because of lack of space, as erasing some DIVX files could bring us easily about 7-8GB of free space, but having so many partitions and hundreds of directories and files will give us the impossibility of knowing if we have any duplicates that are not necessary anymore.
DoubleKiller is a simple freeware application that allows us to look after our HDD by searching for twin files and, optionally, moving them into a different folder or simply erasing them. The interface has nothing spectacular with all the grey buttons and it looks like you are invited to press the Run button to see what is going to happen. If it is used for the first time, a transfer will follow to the next program's tab where you are asked to browse for folders where the search should take place.
This Option tab is actually the heart of the software, as here you can choose the criteria for the program to realize what you understand/define as duplicate files. In the criterion section, there are 4 fields to be checkboxed, and they can work as separate touchstones or being related. You are able to look for identical files even regarding the CRC32 checksum, which is a nice touch for the software. This redundancy check is a a simple way of protecting the integrity of data by detecting errors in a file sent through space or time. It works by adding up the basic components of the message, typically the asserted bits, and storing the resulting value. This is a helpful feature indeed if you are performing multiple operations on the data. If the comparison with the original data will result in a sum match, it concludes that the message was (most likely) not corrupted.
As one of these criteria is for the file dates to be identical, I have to say I was a bit disappointed when I run my tests. The result page was displaying duplicate files only create on the same date (ok so far) and at the same time, which I don't think it is fair considering I wanted to see all the files regardless by name, size or checksum created in the same day. Maybe it would be a good idea for the producer to insert another criteria related to the specific creation time of the file.
Also your input is required when scanning only for files matching user defined masks. Important to be mentioned is the fact that Regular Expressions are supported. Excluding different file types or file names is also available, and you can leave them out of your search if their have certain attributes or if the files do not correspond with certain size measurements.
For a quick access, you are able to save the program settings in Windows registry. When the option is not activated the default context is loaded whenever you restart DoubleKiller and the user-defined settings are lost. Saving the result page into a tab delimited text file is available as well(viewable as text or in a spreadsheet application). This feature is very well hidden inside the program (there is no button for it), and the only way to find it is by accessing the context menu.
In the program's main window the results are displayed in line with your criteria. Regrettably I have to mention that they can't be ordered by path, size, date, checksum or filename columns. You can check/uncheck all files or just specific ones, and mark the first/last duplicates. If you are going to get rid of these files, you might reconsider as the Windows Recycle Bin is not going to be the place to look for in case you need them back. In other words, the program is bypassing this safety net when deleting and you might have to search for a 3rd party software to recover what you lost. Using the Delete checked files feature will bring up a supplementary question for removing the remained entries for improving the usability of the application.
Instead of the erasing option you can choose to move the duplicates to a different folder. There is no need to worry as the folder tree will remain untouched and the existing files won't be overwritten. As an example, as the scanned folder was F:Softpedia with destination F:Test, I was surprised to find my files moved at the following path: F:SoftpediafTest. "Good thinking" I say, because the program makes you aware where the duplicate files are coming from.
The Assistance menu is far from being a professional one as it looks like it was written in WordPad during a lunch break. Helpful though, as you can find information about the software's features explained in such a manner that everyone is able to understand.
The Good
DoubleKiller is a very fast software that will find duplicates on your hard drive folders and partions based on user-defined criteria. The use of masks and regular expressions can't be but beneficial. The scan is able to omit files with certain file attributes as "hidden", "system", etc. Duplicate files can be exported to a tab-delimited text file viewable in any spreadsheet applications.
The Bad
Help menu looks like it was handwritten. The scan by date returns files created only at the same time (minute). The program does not have a very appealing interface. The buttons functionality (there is check first/last, where is check middle...?) and the entire architecture needs a good update. When the "Save to Windows registry" option is on, the scan includes all the directories from the folder tab even if they are not selected.
The Truth
DoubleKiller is a good program, but a bit undeveloped. As there are other alternatives on the market, you may be tempted to look for others to try. But this one is fast and it does the job properly. It has some glitches not in the code but in its functionality and usability; it is worth giving it a try as it will perform well and you might be pleased with the results. In the end, your hard drive will be cleared from unnecessary files and the directory tree will look much better.
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
