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Also see: Locate and other file finders that include a "delete found files" option; Directory Utils page for directory deletion utils.
ENHANCED FILE DELETE UTILS
1. TDEL- Sophisticated file deletion.
* * * * [updated 08-11-99]
This is a nicely enhanced del replacement. Tdel can modify your COMMAND.COM file to use Tdel rather than DOS's Del. Includes a great series of help screens. Author: Tsahi Chitin (1999).
Usage: TDEL name_1 [...name_n] [options (below)] _Universal Wildcards supported!
~~~~~~
Basic Parameters: Advanced Parameters:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
/C » Confirm deletion (each file) + » Same as /S, but local
/CA » Confirm if *.* specified @file » Signifies script file
/I » Show percents and files left /D » How to treat empty directories
/P » Pause after each full screen /FS: » Delete until x KB free space
/Q » Quiet mode (no writing to screen) /SF: » Delete until x KB freed
/S » Recurse sub-directories /NF » Process newer files first
/Y » Assume YES on all queries /OF » Process older files first
/YES » Override the /NO: filter
Filters: /NEW » Ignore SET and prior parameters
~~~~~~~~ /W[n] » Wipe: Prevent from recovering
/A: » File attributes to process /TEST » Simulate command (no REAL del)
/DT: » Specify date range to process /LOG[:] » Report deleted file-names
/FN: » Specify files group to process /NoPRND » Disable the PARANOID feature
/NO: » Delete EXCEPT specified /NoSHOW » Don't show activated switches
/SZ: » Specify size range to process /NoTREE » Do not update tree-info files
/DAYS: » Del files by their age (days) /INSTALL » Replace DEL command by TDel
08-11-99: New in v2.67/2.68 (8-99): Lots of enhancements and fixes; see docs.
download tdel268.zip (95K)
2. DELEN -Enhanced delete with extended wildcards.
* * * * [updated 11-05-00]
Written by: Vesa Kolhinen; this file deletion program is quite similar to wipevk (same author). Support has now been added for Win9x LFN's and FAT 32. (Jason Hood, Home Page).
SYNTAX:
DELEN file... [/A:[-]AHRS] [/NPQSTXYZ] [/! | /E files... /I files...]
[@[@]|%[name]] [/4[:dfile] [/[dts-ranges]]
file... Specifies one or more files to be deleted. Wildcards are allowed.
/A: Attribute select /X removes empty subdirectories
/N Nothing /Y answers "Yes" to all prompts
/P Prompt /Z Zap: removes also protected files
/Q Quiet /E Exclude following files
/S Subdirectories /I Include following files
/T Total /! delete all except following files
@[@]|%[name] Reads parameters from a file or from an environment variable.
/4[:dfile] 4DOS: Removes also 4DOS file descriptions from "dfile".
Default file name is "descript.ion".
/[dts-ranges] Specifies date, time or size range according to which
files are chosen. Format is: /[{type}{begin},{end}].
11-05-00: v1.06 (10-00) available.
download delen106.zip (w/ Win9x LFN and FAT32 support, 27K)
or get the older delen103.zip (27K)
MultiDelete- Delete multiple specific or grouped files with one command. Exclusion supported.
unrated [added 08-19-99]
"MDEL is a powerful program that allows you to quickly delete a lot of files. You can separate all of the files with commas or semicolons to be deleted; MDEL *.EXE,*.COM, will delete all .EXE and .COM files. You can also use a second optional parameter to exclude files from being deleted." Win32 version also available on Home Page. Author: Brian Friesen (1999)download mdel16.zip (12K)
Also see MultiCopy & MultiMove.
LDEL- DEL command supports Win9x long file names under plain DOS (for Win9x systems).
See extended description.
SECURE FILE WIPING UTILS
Also see: TDEL
1. Scorch- Effective file wiper also can wipe WIN swap file.
* * * * * [added 1997 updated 01-10-00]
Scorch is an excellent command-line file wiper with some unique traits:
Notes:
01-10-00: latest version is v1.03 (12-99, docs updated, v1.02: /win3 switch now sets the /nodel switch as well)
Scorch's command line syntax requires that you enclose the filespec in square brackets, e.g.,
scorch [myfile.txt]
Shareware status: "This program is shareware. Anyone may use it indefinitely on a single computer for their own private and personal use for free.... If the software is used professionally, or in the course of a business (including the business of government, civil service, or security services), or for the purposes of commerce, then a registration fee must be paid."
download scorch.zip (14K v.1.03)
2. Wipe- (aka Wipevk) Wipes files and scrambles deleted file names; Win9x LFN compatible.
* * * * [updated 11-05-00]
Another good file wiper that also supports extended wildcards.
" If no other instructions are given, file is written over once by null characters....Then the length of file is truncated to zero and it is renamed using random name. Renaming is repeated as many times as the wiping and a new random name is used each time. The date of the file is then changed to "null date", January 1 1980. Finally the file is removed from the directory." Author: Vesa Kolhinen. Support has now been added for Win9x LFN's and FAT 32. (Jason Hood, Home Page).
WIPE file... [/A:[-]AHRS] [/NPQSTXYZ] [/! | /E files... /I files...]
[/M[NQWGF] /V"xxx" /Rn /C"command";"off";"on"]
[@[@]|%[name]] [/4[:dfile] [/[dts-ranges]]
file... Specifies one or more files to be wiped. Wildcards are allowed.
/A: Attribute select /T Total
/C Command off/on /V overwriting Values
/M wiping Mode /X removes empty subdirectories
/N Nothing /Y answers "Yes" to all prompts
/P Prompt /Z Zap: removes also protected files
/Q Quiet /E Exclude following files
/R Repeat /I Include following files
/S Subdirectories /! delete all except following files
@[@]|%[name] Reads parameters from a file or from an environment variable.
/4[:dfile] 4DOS: Removes also 4DOS file descriptions from "dfile".
Default file name is "descript.ion".
/[dts-ranges] Specifies date, time or size range according to which
files are chosen. Format is: /[{type}{begin},{end}].
11-05-00: v2.04 (10-00) available.
download wipe204.zip (w/ Win9x LFN and FAT32 support, 37K)
4. WIPEUTIL- Good collection of specialized file/ disk wiping programs.
* * * * * [added 8-16-98]
WIPEUTIL contains a set of very small (~4K) programs that perform a variety of file and disk wiping functions: See docs and home page for more in-depth descriptions of included programs.
Author: Mark Andreas (1996)
download wipeutil.zip (10K)
5. Real Delete- TSR wipe-delete utility with many options.
* * * * * [added 1997 updated 01-10-00]
Gleaned from the excellent documentation....
"Real Delete...is a memory resident program that intercepts DOS file delete calls and overwrites the files before deleting them. It does this automatically, with no attention from the user other than installing the program in AUTOEXEC.BAT.... [You can also use Real Delete] to expunge a single named file, rather than go memory resident. An unusual feature of Real Delete is that it overwrites the slack space at the end of the last file cluster as well as the file itself. This is not actually part of the file, but it often contains data left in a DOS "dirty buffer"....Each file overwrite is followed by a "file commit" call to make sure that the write happens on the disk, and not just in a disk cache. At the end of all overwrites, the file is truncated with an invalid first cluster number, so there is not even a pointer left to the original contents, and the file is finally marked as deleted in the directory." Author: Iolo Davidson, U.K., Home Page. (1999).
Important notes from docs...
Command line switches (see docs for detailed descriptions of security levels):
/per or /personal - select personal level security /com or /commercial - select commercial level security /mil or /military - select military level security /dewd or /dewd - select kool dewd level security /garb or /garble - all overwrites to use pseudo-random garbage /valid - keep valid cluster number etc. in directory /silent - suppress initial screen messages /unload - remove Real Delete from memory /delonly - do not clear slack space on close or truncate [c:\dir\filename] - delete single named file without going TSR
Shareware status: "This program is shareware. Anyone may use it indefinitely on a single computer for their own private and personal use for free.... If the software is used professionally, or in the course of a business (including the business of government, civil service, or security services), or for the purposes of commerce, then a registration fee must be paid."
01-10-00: latest version is (v1.05;4-99, doc updated).
download realdeal.zip (16K)
OTHER FILE DELETION UTILS
UnWanted- Delete temp, bak, zero-size files and directories. Configurable.
* * * [added 1997 updated 04-15-99]
UnWanted is an easy to use command line prog that helps you rid your disk of "unwanted" files: backup files, temp files, FILE_ID.DIZ's, zero-size files and directories, etc. Since I rarely use this type of program, I haven't compared UnWanted with the competition. When run, it looks in a config file for the file specs and types to delete (the user can edit the config file; default sets are: *.BAK, *.TMP, *.$$$, *.~??, FILE_ID.DIZ, DESCRIPT.ION.). It next searches a whole drive, asks for confirmation of deletions of each matching file, and performs the deletion. It can create a log file of all actions. Author:Tsahi Chitin (1999)
04-15-99: New in v2.50b7 (4-99): Bug fix for fast Pentiums, docs included, development has ended.download uw250b7.zip (Beta, 26K)
1. ELIM- Delete files that DEL can't (with illegal filename characters).
2. RME - Delete files/directories that DEL can't (with illegal filename characters).
* * * *
If you have a recent version of MS-DOS, DELTREE should also remove files with illegal names.
1. Elim: From the documentation: "The main purpose of ELIM is to enable the user to delete files which normal DOS DEL or ERASE cannot handle. For example, the user may run a poorly programmed utility which can create files which have a blank or other illegal character in the filename. DOS DEL will not be able to delete such a file. ELIM will solve the problem. ELIM does not prompt the user for confirmation, where a wildcard is used. Avoid using ELIM in preference to DOS DEL, unless you really know what you are doing."
2. RME is a similar 1995 program that is interactive and can delete directories. From the docs:
"The program will load and prompt the user for a filename. The name you enter can contain the usual DOS wildcards '*' and '?' for use when filtering certain file names. RME will then attempt to locate any matching file or directory names. It will then ask you whether you are sure you want to delete the file or directory. You can exit RME.EXE back to DOS at any time by pressing <Ctrl> + <Break>. RME will not remove directories which contain other files or subdirectories." I can't locate this on other ftp sites- uploaded to my web space.
download elim10.zip (ELIM)
download rme.zip (7.5K RME)
MISCELLANEOUS FILE UTILS
DO- Small "all-in-one" batch utility for file management.
* * * *
The design of DO is unique- not quite a command-line utility but not a dedicated file manager. DO is best described as an interactive multi-purpose batch utility. DO's interface is essentially a command line with a help screen. The user must still type in commands, but the syntax and options are visible at all times. The functions include: find text, file&directory size, attrib, time, copy, move, rename, delete, xcopy, prune, and wipe. Some of these functions are already built into DOS, but DO presents the user with additional options and the syntax is simplified for batch jobs. Some options are unique to DO (e..g., recursive file operations, change the time and date stamp of one or more files). The output of DO is formatted nicely and can be saved to a file. I don't use DO often - but it is an outstanding little program and is well suited to laptop users.
DU- Comprehensive, multi-purpose c- line file management util.
unrated
DU (not to be confused with the UNIX tool of the same name) is a general purpose file utility which performs an extremely broad range of functions. The length of the option list may overwhelm the novice user, but it is impressive. If you're looking for a "do-all" c-line file management program, DU may fulfill your needs. DU defies a short description and I have yet to try most of it's features. One of the hidden strengths of this program is its support of enhanced wildcards (with limitations). Principal operations supported:
Limitations:
Author: Dirk Hartkopf. Germany. (1997)
download du_inst.exe (101K, ARJ SFX)
Fileutils (GNU)- Collection of Unix file utilities for DOS (DJGPP).
unrated [added 9-13-98 updated 06-09-00]
An up-to-date, all-in-one file toolkit ported from the Unix world. Separately zipped documentation helpful. Support Win9x long file names (LFN). Requires 386+ and a DPMI provider under plain DOS (cwsdpmi). (1997).
Note: Some programs (e.g., chgrp and chown) are no-ops on DOS systems.
Concise summary of contents:
06-09-00: New build of v3.16 released (05-00)?
download fil316b.zip (1 MB, binaries only)
download fil316d.zip (311K, docs- html, texi, ps, dvi)
Older (1995) 16-bit binaries (contents similar but not identical):
ftp://gatekeeper.dec.com/pub/micro/pc/simtelnet/gnu/gnuish/dos_only/fut312bx.zip (340K)
LFN-Tools- DOS command suite displays Win9x long file names (LFN) under plain DOS (COPY, DIR, CD, DEL, REN, MD...).
unrated [added 10-23-99 updated 04-18-01]
LFN-Tools "provide easy file management under DOS with long filenames created by Windows 95/98 on FAT32, FAT16 and FAT12 file systems. To take full advantage of these tools, run them in pure DOS mode...It is NOT an extension of DOS [cf. LFNDOS]. All your DOS programs can NOT handle long file names (LFN) even with these tools. Other file systems than FAT are not supported..." Compatible with Windows Millenium Edition.GPL, Source available. Author: Ortwin Glueck (2001). Home Page.
04-18-01: v1.61 (04-01) available: Among other changes, "built in a new cache for extended memory."
Go to LFN-Tools Home Page to download latest version
MAKTST- Create dummy test files for program evaluation.
unrated [added 7-4-98]
A useful tool if you wish to test the capabilities of file handling programs (e.g., renamers, file managers). Allows customization of number, naming, and sizing of files. Author: Gordon Haff/ Bit Masons Consulting. (1991)
usage:
MAKTST /NUM=number /BEG=StartNum /END=EndNum /SIZE=FileSize /NAME=file.ext
Notes: Slow at creating very large files.
download mktst100.zip (36K)
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