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How to Compare Two Hard Drives and Detect Missing or Duplicate Files (Mac)

External hard drives and cables

Whether you’re backing up footage, syncing projects, or cleaning duplicates, comparing two hard drives on macOS is a chore. Doing it manually means hours of drag-and-drop checks and guesswork.

The Smarter Way to Compare Drives

DriveVault’s Drive Comparison feature scans two drives side by side, flagging missing files, duplicates, and mismatched folders. You’ll instantly see what’s safe, what’s redundant, and what’s missing.

  • Side-by-side view of two drive catalogs
  • Duplicate detection across drives
  • Missing file alerts so you know when a backup is incomplete
  • Sync analysis to keep mirrors consistent

Why It Matters

Redundant backups eat storage. Missing files risk projects. With DriveVault, you verify backups without plugging drives in and out endlessly, saving both time and data integrity.

Step-by-Step: Using DriveVault Compare

  1. Scan both drives once into DriveVault.
  2. Open the Compare tool and select your two drives.
  3. Review flagged duplicates, mismatches, and missing files.
  4. Decide whether to clean, copy, or leave as is.
Stop guessing what’s on your backup drives.

Compare, detect duplicates, and confirm backups in seconds.

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Pro Tips

  • Run Compare before archiving to guarantee your backup matches the original.
  • Delete duplicates smartly — confirm file size/date before removing.
  • Generate a report for peace of mind when handing projects to clients.
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