fc to compare files

Don't miss out on the fact that you can use the Windows command fc to compare two different files on the binary level.

Just follow these steps:

1. Copy the two files that you want to compare into the same folder. In this example we are using sedona1.txt and sedona1a.txt

2. Hold down SHIFT + CTRL and right click. Select 'Open command window here'.

3. Enter this code:

fc /B sedona1.txt sedona1a.txt

4. Press enter, and Windows confirms that these two files are the same on the binary level - byte for byte. The message, 'no differences encountered' is displayed.

5. If two files are not the same on the binary level Windows will show the differences between the two files. The hexadecimal address for each pair of mismatched bytes in the file will be displayed, followed by the mismatched byte for the first file and then the second file.