How in the Tech

Create dummy files of any size easily

By Adam Myers ⋅ September 17, 2009 ⋅ Tags: File Management

A dummy file is just like any other file, except it’s contents are random bits of garbage or noise. Dummy files have a number of legitimate uses and a few that are somewhat questionable. For example, if you are testing a network for throughput or similar benchmarks, it would be quite handy to have some large files to stress test with. The easiest way to assemble a large chunk of data is to create a few dummy files in the 10+GB range. This is a pretty common and practical situation that network administrators go through at one time or another. Additionally, before computers, many a student may have resorted to the cliche the dog ate my homework if they had forgotten an assignment. Nowadays, dogs don’t eat computers so this excuse doesn’t carry nearly as much weight. By creating a smaller dummy file and passing it off to your teacher as your latest assignment may buy you an extra day past the due date. File corruption through email can happen right?

Dummy File Generator is a free  Windows application that can be used to generate files for any desired motive. This is not a unique piece of software but it’s one of the better ones because of it’s simplicity. As there is no installer, all that is necessary is to download and run, provide the file size in question, and the size format. Save the resulting file and you are finished.

Know of any other uses for this type of application? Let me know in the comments!