Question

I want to compare two folders on Windows (Vista, XP) which have a large number of huge files, which I need to compare. If I use Beyond Compare or such tool to compare the folders, it is taking a lot of time if I do it manually. I need to add that folder comparison to batch file.

So on Windows (XP, Vista), is there any command (built-in) or any 3rd party tool/utility (commercial or freeware – either) to compare two folders using the command line.

Answer 1

There is the built in command COMP that you could use. It depends a little bit on what you actually want to compare.

Compares the contents of two files or
sets of files.

COMP [data1] [data2] [/D] [/A] [/L]
[/N=number] [/C]

data1 Specifies location and
name(s) of first file(s) to compare.

data2 Specifies location and
name(s) of second files to compare.

/D Displays differences in
decimal format.

/A Displays
differences in ASCII characters.

/L
Displays line numbers for differences.

/N=number Compares only the first
specified number of lines in each
file.

/C Disregards case of
ASCII letters when comparing files.

To compare sets of files, use wildcards in data1 and data2 parameters.

Use a syntax like COMP c:\folder1 c:\folder2 to compare all files in folder1 with the content of folder2. If you need to recurse into the subdirectories, you need to use a batch script using a FOR loop and the PUSHD and POPD command.

Just leave a comment, if you need help with that.