How to DECLUTTER AND ORGANISE YOUR PC
Almost every machine
nowadays comes with a 500GB to 1TB hard drive. And more often than not, most of
us do not delete the unnecessary files and folders on our computers till our
operating system informs us of low disk space, or simply slows down because of
all the clutter. Now, out of habit, we first delete files that have a larger
footprint. However, large files aren't always the culprit. It is the build up
of browser cache and history items, identical photos, as well as duplicate
files and folders on the hard drive that are the real problem.
Windows, of course, has its
own tools that let you spring-clean your PC, but for a power user-especially
someone who has data running into terabytes--something more is needed. To that
effect, here are a few free alternatives that will help you run a clean, mean,
killer machine.
DUPLICATE FILE FINDER
This software can search
for copies of any file type, including images, audio, video, archives and
applications. It can weed them out by name, by “creation date“, tags (metadata)
and even compare contents to find duplicates.
When you find these
duplicates, you can configure the software to dump them into the Recycle Bin,
store them in a Backup folder, or delete them permanently. The first two
options allow you to restore files that you have removed after a scan.
Duplicate File Finder can
also be configured to skip files `less than' or `more than' a certain size;
ignore hidden files and ones with the same name and creation date. When these
options are enabled, it will only compare files by content.
This tool does a quick job
without putting too much load on system resources. The amount of time it takes
to find duplicates depends on the number of files to be scanned and their
individual size.
http:www.auslogics.com |
Size: 8.17MB
SIMILARITY
While Duplicate File Finder
works well for multiple file types, it might not be able to pick two music
tracks in different formats and is unable to identify duplicate photos that
have been rotated or flipped. Enter, Similarity. This utility analyses the
contents of popular audio file types including MP3, WMA, OGG and AAC to
create an “acoustic fingerprint“ to detect clones. It will also locate
duplicate photos including ones that have been rotated that are saved in
the folders you select.
Similarity runs a deep
scan, but is still able to provide results in a short period of time. The
duplicates are displayed in separate tabs, along with details like bitrate,
location and resolution. Here, you can “mark“ a whole bunch of files say , by
location for removal in just one step.
Similarity even lets you
tweak the accuracy with which it analyses track length, tags and content.
Though, we don't think you will need to tinker around here, as the software
works perfectly with default settings.
http:www.similarityapp.com
| Size: 5.13MB
MUSICBEE
If you have amassed a huge
collection of music over the years, maintaining all those files can be a
daunting task. Well, not if you use Musicbee. This free software makes it easy
to find and manage the audio files on your PC.
Point the software to the
directories or the drives on your machine, and Musicbee lists all your audio
files in a single window. From here, you can search and delete duplicates,
right-click on a song to add it to a playlist, auto-tag your tracks, search for
music by title, convert from one format to another, and move albums to specific
folders to sort your collection. You can play songs on its built-in player in
full screen, or choose between a mini and compact mode. And as a track plays,
you can rate it out of five to create a curated list of your favourites.
You can choose between a
10-band or 15-band equaliser, and you can also apply DSP effects to your music.
With Musicbee, you can rip
a CD and even use it to burn one. The software lets you manage your podcast
subscriptions, so you can add the RSS feed link to automatically download the
newest episodes. Plus, you get internet radio stations such as Icecast,
Shoutcast and Soma FM in the software itself. But all of this is merely scratching
the surface; you will keep discovering additional music management features as
you continue using this tool. It is a one-stop solution for a completely sorted
music library on your PC.
getmusicbee.com | Size:
11.6MB
SPACESNIFFER
So you have found and
removed all the duplicate files from your PC, but you are still not sure what
is hogging disk space. Get SpaceSniffer to scan your hard drive for a bird's
eye view of all the data on it. This software displays files and folders as coloured
blocks the largest rectangles are the ones that should be trimmed or
transferred to an external storage device.
Click on a rectangle and
SpaceSniffer will take you one level deeper to show you its contents more
boxes, again within that folder. You can launch Windows Explorer to open the
file location from SpaceSniffer or send the file straight to the Recycle Bin.
With this tool, you can view multiple disk drives side-by-side and even save a
snapshot of the folder structure to a text file for later reference. Navigating
through the coloured boxes can get trippy, but it does make it easier to
identify and remove large files and folders.
http:www.uderzo.it | Size:
1.58MB
SLIMCLEANER
SlimCleaner gives you a
detailed report of the detritus that has accumulated on your hard drive. These
`temporary files' are usually created by the operating system, installed
software and web browsers. Uninstalled applications also leave behind residual
files and entries in the Windows Registry. You can use SlimCleaner to clear
clutter, and “defrag“ the hard drive to improve overall read-write performance.
You can even delete
sensitive files perma nently with the “Disk Wiper“ and “Shredder“ tools. Choose
the files or folders you want to remove and select the intensity with which it
should run. For instance, a “3-pass overwrite“ makes it more difficult for
someone to recover the data with third party software. And if you are the
forget ful type, configure SlimCleaner's sched uler to run once every month at
a particular time.
slimcleaner .com | Size:
13.4MB
DROPIT
After you've rid your
computer of all the dupli cates, renamed files, and even sorted them into
folders, you will need to ensure that you maintain a clean PC. Try DropIt a
simple software that eliminates the tedious task of searching and opening
folders to sort your files.
After installation, DropIt
sits in the system tray .Click on it and a floating blue icon shows up on your
screen. Then, simply drag and drop files onto the icon, and DropIt sorts it all
according to the rules you have set.
You can filter your files
by name, directory , size, date, properties, content) and associate any one of
the 20 available actions to perform (Move, Copy , Compress, Extract, Rename,
Delete, Split, Join, Encrypt, Decrypt, Open With, Upload, Send by Mail, Create
Gallery , Create List, Create Playlist, Create Shortcut, Copy to Clipboard,
Change Properties and Ignore). Say , you drag a .jpg file onto the icon. DropIt
then prompts you to create a filter for JPG files. You can then set the
software to move all .jpg files to the Pictures folder on your PC.
To truly understand the
powers of this software, right click on the floating icon and access its
`Guide' PDF for a lowdown on DropIt's complete features and how you can use it
to maintain a clean, well-sorted computer.
http:www.dropitproject.com
| Size: 4.1MB
|
Ashutosh
Desai & Savio D'Souza
|
|
TNN
|
TOI 18FEB17
No comments:
Post a Comment