How to decide which file to delete?

srvdt2005 · Post by **srvdt2005** » Sun Dec 14, 2008 9:11 pm

I'm not very technical, but this question may help others. I ran the scan using V1.3 on XP on my C: drive. I did not select "Exclude Harlinked file from Dupe List". I ran the scan and all dupes(5000+) are the same in every way, except for the path. First, is the duplicate list ONLY duplicates, or, is one of them the original that must be kept? If both are duplicates, is it safe(or recommended) to remove both, or is there decision making required to decide which one.(example, the file "desktop.ini" is listed twice. First path is C:\Windows\ and the 2nd "desktop.ini" has a path called C:\Windows\system32\. Are both duplicates of another "Master" file that is not included on the list? Is it OK to delete both? Or, if I need to keep one of them, not sure how to decide which one to delete. Next, is there a good reason to keep "Zero File Size" files for any reason. I realize many questions in one post. I would appreciate any advise and any site suggestions to visit to learn more about such technical and important questions. Thank you so much! Also, a reply to this post with questions for me to clarify is welcomed:) Sweet Program DV!!!

DV · Post by DV » Mon Dec 15, 2008 8:29 am

Hi
The list contains the original and the duplicates. The program has no way of knowing what you should keep and what you should delete. Unless you know what the files are (eg a document you have created) I would recommend against deleting anything, especially anything in the Windows or System32 folders.

srvdt2005 · Post by **srvdt2005** » Mon Dec 15, 2008 9:17 am

Thanks so much DV. Haven't done anything yet, lucky for me. Do you have an opinion on deleting or keeping "Zero Size Files"? Thanks!

DV · Post by DV » Mon Dec 15, 2008 12:11 pm

Unless you know what they are, may as well leave the 0 size files - can't do any harm.

Braino · Post by **Braino** » Wed Dec 17, 2008 4:17 pm

Hi DV - great little program. I did notice one thing in the UI I would like to see changed. When selecting files, I am used to being able to highlight a group of files, then hit the spacebar to check all that are highlighted. Your program (v1.3) me to highlight a group, but when I hit spacebar, only the last file is checked.

...i assume this is a bug, can you fix? I find the selection assistant nice, but I am more used to the other. way.

new user · Post by **new user** » Tue Dec 30, 2008 12:23 am

Works great. Thanks for the dev.

Patti · Post by **Patti** » Tue Jun 16, 2009 10:42 am

Deleting files, What difference between RED and BLUE files in main window?