MultiComp Instruction Manual

MultiComp is a Windows application which can compare two collections of files and report whether they are identical or not.

Installation

First download the latest ZIP file by clicking here.

Unpack the ZIP file. If you are running Windows XP, just double-click the ZIP file and then drag the Setup file out onto your desktop. If you have an earlier version of Windows, you will need an Unzip utility such as WinZip.

Double-click the Setup icon. This will run the automatic installer.

Operation

Start MultiComp by double-clicking the desktop icon if you have one, alternatively, click the START button and choose All Programs -> MultiComp -> MultiComp.

Enter the locations of the files you want to compare and the copy you want to compare them with. You can do this either by entering a path into the text boxes provided or by clicking the small button to the right of each box.

Once the paths have been entered, simply click the Start button.

If you wish to abort the compare at any time, simply click the Stop button.

Example - Verifying a data CD

This is the most common use of MultiComp, to verify a CD you have burnt.

1. place all the files you want to burn into a folder. Make sure the folder contains no files other than the ones you wish to burn. For this example, lets call the folder C:\To Burn\disc 1\

2. Use your favourite CD burning software to burn the CD.

3. Start MultiComp

4. Enter the path to the original files ( C:\To Burn\disc 1\ ) into the Source box.

5. Enter the path to you CD drive ( D:\ ) into the Compare With box.

6. Press Start

MultiComp will then read the CD and compare it to the original files. Any mismatches will be shown in the output box. If all went well, there should be no messages in the box and MultiComp will report Compare Complete

Interpreting the results

While the compare is running, various summaries will be updated. Any errors will be shown in the large white box - so if the box is empty, all is good.

The various other fields show the following information:

Making sure you have an up to date copy of Multicomp

If you click on the icon in the top left corner of the MultiComp window, a menu will appear.

Choose "Check for updates". If you have a working internet connection it will open your browser which will then check your copy of MultiComp against the latest release. If there is any updated version, follow the instructions on the web page to download it.