Replace by NTFS hard link

Thank you for your business as NoClone customer. This issue talks about replace true duplicate files by NTFS hard link. The advantage of doing so is to recover valuable disk space while keeping access to the linked files by operating system and progras.

Application 1

Sometimes duplicates are necessary because of file categorization like Mr. Nick Hegenbarth suggested:

Your program nearly does what I want! I would like it to be able to produce an NTFS Hard Link to one 'original' file in every place where a duplicate is found. By NTFS Hard Link I mean just that, not a normal link.

Why do I want this? I am a DJ and I keep a hard drive with MP3s of all the tracks I play. I have categorised them into directories such as 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and also duplicates under Artist, Genre etc. The wasted space is not a great issue as hard drives are so cheap. It is silly though to have to have copies of the files in every place where they belong in a category.

Thanks for Nick's suggestion, we have made NoClone 4 recovers your valuable disk space by linking to duplicate files, operating system and programs can still access to the same files using the same file path.

To replace true duplicate files by NTFS hard link, choose menu Action, SaveSpace, Replace by NTFS link. This replacement works only with file system with NTFS (Windows 2000, XP, 2003 or later) not FAT or FAT32 (Windows 9x or ME), plus files to be linked have to be on the same hard drive.

Application 2: back up archive

You can use replace by hard link within (uncompressed) backup archive where file entries may be required.

Replace by shortcut

What if files are not resident in the same hard drives / partition or not their file system is not NTFS? You can enable "Replace by shortcut" which creates a shortcut file of marked file linked to unmarked file. Replace by shortcut available for deleting files and moving files.

This table comprares NTFS hard link and Shortcut link.

	NTFS hard link	Shortcut link
Required NTFS	Yes	No
Required on the same hard drives	Yes	No
Linked file moved	Windows and programs can still access using the same path	Broken shortcut links
Linked file deleted	Windows and programs can still access using the same path	Broken shortcut links

Ref: Replace by hard link , about hard link

>> Download NoClone 4 Now | >> Buy NoClone 4 Now

Bug report | comments and suggestions

Alan
Author
http://noclone.net/