I am looking for recommendations on how to merge the data from 2 drives. Over the course of time I have my hard drive (C:) and a usb drive (F:) with ~50GB of data on each. I want to get all my data onto C:. I think about 40GB of the data is duplicative. So here's what I've got... Some files are on C: only. Some files are on F: only. Some files are on Both. What's a good strategy? Here are some thoughts. A) Copy all data from F: to C:. Then use "Duplicate File Finder" to plow though all the duplicate. I think that will take forever. B) Use Synctoy to sync the drives. I think synctoy will take care of a bunch of the duplication. Then use "Duplicate File Finder" to plow through a smaller amount of files. Any thought would be appreciated. -kpictjl

I have used a program called Beyond Compare for some time now. This program can copy all your files for you. There are many options to filter the results. Program is very easy to use. I THINK they still offer a 30 day trial period with full use of the program. It is actually 30 uses, not 30 days. Try it, you won't be disappointed. The link below is for the program. http://www.scootersoftware.com/down...

Beyond Compare looks pretty good. It looks like I can compare folder X with folder Y and see the duplicates highlighted, right? -kpictjl

Yup, Beyond Compare is a great program.

You can filter by showing the duplicates along with many other options. You can copy to the left or right and select what to copy, or make both files the same. Filter by file name including date or ignoring date. The choices go on.

If both logical partitions have Windows installed on them, DO NOT copy \Windows, and Windows related files elsewhere, such as ones in the root folder (C:\) , from both to one partition - that will probably result in disaster, making it necessary to install Windows from scratch. ..... It is not wise to "put all your eggs in one basket". It is better to have at least two partitions on the hard drive, or on the computer on more than one drive, rather than having everything on one. If your single hard drive has only one partition, get another drive, or you can use third party programs such as Partition Magic or a freeware partition manipulation program to make at least one more partition on it, without you losing the data already on C (though you are advised to back up essential data first). You DO NOT necessarily have to install software that didn't come included with Windows on C. For most software, rather than using the default Express or whatever the standard installation choice is, you can choose a Custom installation, or modify the path or just the drive letter to that of another partition - in that case a little bit is installed on C, the vast majority of the software will be installed on the other partition. Music, video, documents, and other individual files can be on any partition.

Tubesandwires brings up a good point. If the purpose of merging is to free up space you should consider your backup routine. I use Beyond Compare to maintain a second copy of my personal files. If you don't have enough room consider burning the backup copy to disk. DVDR holds 4.4GB of uncompressed data. I buy DVDR on sale for 15/20 cents. Pretty cheap insurance.