Finding Large Files via PowerShell

Summary:

File System backups with Carbonite Safe Server Backup (CSSB) are "file level." If a file changes, the entire file is backed up next time CSSB performs a backup that includes that file.

As a result, Incremental and/or Differential backups can be larger than expected.

Unfortunately, CSSB does not have a way to check the size of the files included in any given backup, so we must turn to Windows PowerShell to determine which files have changed.

This article applies to:

Carbonite Plans	Products	Platforms
Power and Ultimate plans (Not sure?)	Carbonite Safe Server Backup (Not sure?)	Windows

Solution:

Find the Large Files via Windows PowerShell

1. Open Windows PowerShell by any means.
• Example: Open your Start Menu and type "PowerShell".
2. Paste the following command and then press Enter:
   

   Get-ChildItem -Path (Read-Host -Prompt 'Enter path') -Recurse -Force | Where-Object{$_.LastWriteTime -gt (Get-Date).AddDays(-3)} | sort -Descending -Property length | select -First 100 | Format-Table -Wrap -Property length, lastwritetime, fullname

3. This command will prompt you to enter a drive or path to scan:
• You must end this path with a \ character.
• Example 1: C:\
• Example 2: \\Some\Network\Folder\
• Example 3: D:\Some\Folder\

Command Details

• The command will scan all sub-folders within the path you provide and return the 100 largest files modified in the last 3 days.
• Please be patient. There is no progress bar or other display of progress.
• Paths that contain many files/folders will take longer to scan.
• Results will be displayed within the PowerShell window once the scan is complete.
• If you wish to output to a file instead, please see the modified command below.
• This command assumes you have permission to access the folder, drive, or network location you choose.
• It will not prompt you for credentials. Instead, errors will be displayed if a path cannot be scanned for any reason.
• It is normal for some paths to be inaccessible.
• Certain system folders, such as C:\Windows\, are most likely to throw access errors.
• Use Run As Administrator when opening PowerShell to reduce the number of access issues.
• File size is returned in bytes.
• You may download this command in .ps1 script format here. (Unzip the downloaded file for the .ps1 file)

Modifying the Command

• You can change many things about this command, such as the number of items to return or how far back to look.
• The number of files returned is controlled in the "select -First" part of the command. Change the number to change the number of files returned.
• Example: Enter 200 to return the 200 largest files.
• The timeframe is controlled in the "(Get-Date).AddDays" command. Change the number to change the number of days. This number must be negative.
• Examples: Enter -3 for the last three days. Enter -7 for the last week. And so on.
• You may also change the command to output to a file instead of within the PowerShell Window. For convenience, here is the modified command:
  

  Get-ChildItem -Path (Read-Host -Prompt 'Enter path') -Recurse -Force | Where-Object{$_.LastWriteTime -gt (Get-Date).AddDays(-3)} | sort -Descending -Property length | select -First 100 | Format-Table -Wrap -Property length, lastwritetime, fullname | Out-File C:\Some\Folder\SomeName.txt

• You must supply a valid path for the output file at the end of the command.