File verification freeware generates MD5 manifest for files

I was also curious if there was a way to make the disk self-verifying – to be able to bring the disk to any other Windows computer and have it verify the MD5 checksums without having to install anything.

After a bit of searching, I came across and downloaded a piece of freeware that fit the bill: DVDsig. A tiny (a mere 10K), self-contained application from programmer Dariusz Stanislawek, DVDsig can generate an MD5 manifest for all the files in the directory where it currently resides, as well as any subdirectories. The generated checksums can then be checked against the files just as easily.

To use DVDsig with a set of files to be burned to CD or DVD, follow these steps:

The biggest drawback of DVDsig is that it only works with groups of files. It can't be comman

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ded to verify individual files or directories in the manifest; it's all or nothing, so if you're dealing with a lot of files in one place, it can be very slow. Nevertheless, it's still impressive for its small size and convenience.

About the author: Serdar Yegulalp is editor of the Windows Insight, (formerly the Windows Power Users Newsletter), a blog site devoted to hints, tips, tricks and news for users and administrators of Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and Vista. He has more than 12 years of Windows experience under his belt, and contributes regularly to SearchWinComputing.com and SearchSQLServer.com.

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  If you're burning data to DVD for archiving, and want to generate MD5 checksums for all the files, freeware called DVDsig can do this. It can even make the disk self-verifying.
  

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