Top Solutions to Find & Delete Duplicate Files on Windows 10/11

Significance of Finding Duplicate Files in Windows

Besides wasting your storage space, duplicates slow down:

• Indexing
• Backups
• Restoration and responsiveness of systems, and
• Create version control difficulties and a lot of expenses for businesses with more storage.

For individuals, having more duplicate files creates more clutter and increases the risk of editing the incorrect version of a file. Doing something about duplicate files isn’t just for saving space; it is to support your decision-making and regain control in the digital sphere. But one question that everyone here wonders about is, where are duplicates present?

Where are Duplicate Files Stored on Windows 10/11?

Not all duplicates on your Windows are the accidental result of copy and paste; some might occur from:

• Sync Conflicts: Failures of services like OneDrive and Google Drive to sync create conflict copies of the document or media.
• Application Features: Some editing applications (like Photoshop) automatically generate multiple saved versions.
• Shared Systems: If you are a team member in a shared group, the same files may have been uploaded or emailed several times.
• System Restores & Backups: The same document or media may be repeatedly restored from many backup points.

How to Delete Duplicate Files on Windows?

Finding duplicates and eliminating them is for sure a hard task, but if you have the right ways, then everything gets easy. In this section, we will go through a few free manual solutions and an automated approach that makes the file duplicate removal convenient.

Free Remove Duplicate Files Windows 10

If you are someone interested in removing duplicates manually and can put in some effort and time, then go through the methods below.

Method 1: Eliminate Duplicates Through File Explorer

1. First, type Indexing Options in the Search bar, and a window opens.
2. Then, press Modify >> Show All Locations, and a pop-up appears for login credentials.
3. Ensure you are using the administrator account and also that all boxes are checked in the Change Selected Locations.
4. Further, click OK >> Close and open File Explorer on your Windows PC (10 or 11).
5. Then, go to the folder where you need to search for duplicate files.
6. After that, with the Search Bar, try to find the duplicate files and filter them by name, file size, etc.

You may find the following types to delete duplicate files on Windows:

• Images: .jpg,.jpeg, .png, or .gif
• Videos: .flv,.mov,.avi,.wmv, .mp4, or .3gp
• Music: .mp3,.wav, or .wma
• Microsoft Word: .doc or .docx
• MS PowerPoint: .ppt or .pptx
• Microsoft Excel: .xls or .xlsx
• PDF file: .pdf
• Text file: .txt
• Executable programs: .exe
7. Later, compare them manually, find and Delete the same ones.

Note: Always once check before finally hitting the Delete button, as once they are gone, there’s no option to undo it.

Method 2: Remove Duplicate Files Windows 11 with Commands

1. Initially, from the Search menu, start Windows PowerShell (a command-line scripting tool).
2. Next, once it opens, type set-location –path C:\ and press Enter.
3. Afterward, enter the following script to list the duplicates alongwith their location:

ls “(file directory to search:User Account)” -recurse | get-filehash | group -property hash | where { $_.count -gt 1 } | % { $_.group } | Out-File -DuplicateFilePath “(ourtput location for unique files)”

4. PowerShell automatically creates a list of duplicate files with their location and displays it if no error occurs.
5. Later, to delete the duplicates, use the following command script:

ls “(file directory to search:User Account)” -recurse | get-filehash | group -property hash | where { $_.count -gt 1 } | % { $_.group | select -skip 1 } | del

Note: Only those with technical expertise may try out this method.

Conventional Way to Delete Duplicate Files on Windows

SysInfo Duplicate File Finder and Remover Tool is one of the most trusted and verified solutions. It helps identify and remove duplicates from Windows 10/11 and all other earlier versions with ease. Whether you are a tech-savvy or a non-techie user, this tool is simple to use, and you can also use it to delete duplicate photos on Mac. Moreover, it has so many filters to find duplicates and also enables saving them at a different location.

For those who are interested in the free conversions may know that this excellent tool has a trial version. For the first 50 files, download it to delete repeated files Windows at no cost.

Do You Know?

John’s team eventually adopted this Duplicate Finder Tool to automate the delete duplicate files on Windows 10/11 process in a single sweep. What took them hours manually was greatly minimized with zero risk of loss.

How to Remove Duplicate Files Windows 10?

1. Install and start the Duplicate Remover Tool and use the Add buttons.
2. After that, browse your duplicates and click Open to upload them.
3. Next, preview the file details and check for the Folder Depth filter.
4. Further, check other duplicate filters too and press Next to proceed.
5. Now, pick the file extensions you need to eliminate duplicates from.
6. At last, use the Single or Batch Mode and finalize the duplicate handling option to complete the process.

Manual vs Automated: Key Differences

Below are the common pointers that state why users prefer an expert tool over manual effort to remove duplicate files Windows 11:

• Manual ways are suited only for small-scale cleanups and need time.
• The tool can handle large datasets and is secure, unlike the freeways.
• Moreover, you do not require technical expertise for the tool.
• Also, the manual process is too lengthy, whereas the tool takes just a few minutes for cleanup.

So, in all, with advanced filters and elimination of human errors, the dedicated Duplicate File Remover Tool marks the best.

Conclusion

Delete duplicate files on Windows 10/11 is essential as similar files may seem harmless at the beginning. But they drain the storage and reduce the system performance. For a few file cleanup tasks, manual ways can suffice, but for professional datasets and large volumes, use the expert tool. It is ideal for long-term efficiency and ideal management of your data folders on Windows.

FAQs

About The Author:

Suman Rawat

Suman Rawat is a technical content writer and expert in the fields of email migration, data recovery, and email backup. Her passion for helping people has led her to resolve many user queries related to data conversion and cloud backup.