how do i find the largest file on machine

amit_joshi · 10-08-2007, 07:51 AM

Hi,

How can I find the largest file on the machine.
Please suggest me different options to do this.
Have a nice day !

Thanks,
Amit.

anon237 · 10-08-2007, 08:05 AM

Hi,

This does look like homework...... Ok, without giving the complete answer, this should get you going.

Take a look at the following commands:
- du
- ls
- find (with sort)

Hope this helps.

matthewg42 · 10-08-2007, 09:18 AM

One hint - searching the whole filesystem on Unix-like OSes takes quite a long time. You should try to eliminate any parts of the filesystem which you do not wish to search first, and try to avoid multiple scans.

Kahless · 10-08-2007, 03:45 PM

Another hint: If you find yourself searching the filesystem often, the find command can be worth setting up

chrism01 · 10-08-2007, 07:09 PM

Actually, the 'find' cmd is std Unix ie it's always there. Perhaps you mean 'locate', which requires you to run a script regularly to keep it's db updated.