If you’re here, you have probably noticed your computer is running out of space and are looking for ways to free the hard drive. One of the quickest ways to do so is to delete duplicate files.

However, many Windows users don’t know how to go about it. Luckily, this article will show you how to find duplicate files on Windows 10 and 11 PCs.

Let’s dive right in! 

How to Find and Remove Duplicate Files Windows 10

If you want the best ways to find duplicate files Windows 10 and delete them, check the following methods: 

Method 1: Use the Windows File Explorer

You can use the built-in File Explorer to sort your files to help find duplicates and delete them from your computer.

Here’s how:

  1. Press the Windows logo key + S keyboard combination to open the Windows search bar.
  2. Type in “indexing options” (without quotes). Then click “Open” on the right-side menu.

Use the Windows File Explorer

  1. Click on the Modify button.
  2. When a new window opens, select “Show all locations”.

When a new window opens, select “Show all locations”

    1. Go to the “Change selected locations” section and select every checkbox. Then click on the OK button.
    2. Use the “Windows + E keyboard” shortcut to bring up the File Explorer.
    3. Select This PC on the left menu pane and then go to Local Disk C.
    4. Choose “Users” and then open the “User” folder.
    5. Open the View tab at the top of the window and select “Preview pane”. Also, go to the Layout section and select Details.

Open the View tab at the top of the window and select “Preview pane”

  1. Open the “Current view” tab and click on the “Group by” dropdown arrow. Choose “Name” from the menu and then select “Ascending”.
  2. Now go to the search bar in the top-right corner of the screen and type in the extension for the files you want to delete. For instance, if you want to find duplicate images, type in “.jpg” (without quotes) and press Enter.

If you want to find duplicate images, type in “.jpg” (without quotes)

  1. Here is a list of file extensions that you could use to help simplify the process:
  • Images: .gif, .jpeg, .png, .jpg
  • Videos: .mp4, .mov, .avi, .flv, .3gp, .wmv
  • Mp3: .wma, .mp3, .wav
  • Documents: .pdf, .txt, .docx, .doc
  • Programs: .exe
  • Presentations: .pptx, .ppt
  • Excel files: .xls, .xlsx

Also Read: How to enable dark theme in File Explorer on Windows 10?


Method 2: Use Command Prompt to Remove Duplicate Files

It can be time-consuming to find duplicate files Windows 10 with the suffix “- Copy”  and delete them if they are all in the same folder. You can save time and work using the command prompt to remove duplicate files Windows 10.

Here’s how to find and delete duplicates using the command prompt. 

  • First, use File Explorer and navigate to the folders where all the duplicates are stored.
  • Right-click the directory and choose “Copy as path” to save the location. The address bar also displays the file path, which you can easily copy. 

 

Use Command Prompt to Remove Duplicate Files

Method 3: Use Command Prompt to Remove Duplicate Files

It can be time-consuming to find duplicate files Windows 10 with the suffix “- Copy”  and delete them if they are all in the same folder. You can save time and work using the command prompt to remove duplicate files Windows 10.

Here’s how to find and delete duplicates using the command prompt. 

  • First, use File Explorer and navigate to the folders where all the duplicates are stored.
  • Right-click the directory and choose “Copy as path” to save the location. The address bar also displays the file path, which you can easily copy. 

Use Command Prompt Delete Duplicate Files

  • Type “cmd” or “command prompt” in the Windows search box
  • Right-click on the command prompt and select “Run as administrator.” You can also right-click the “Start” button and select “Terminal (Admin)” from the menu that appears. 

Run Command Prompt as Administrator to delete duplicate files

  • Open a command prompt window and enter “cd /d ‘folder location’” (replace ‘folder location’ with the full path of the folder you copied before). Using this command will move the current prompt to the specified directory.
  • Type “del ‘* – Copy.txt‘” and hit “Enter.” That will delete all files with the word “Copy” in their names. Remember that you’ll need to change “txt” in the command to the proper file extension if your duplicates aren’t in text formats.

How to run Command Prompt as Administrator to remove duplicate files

However, you can use a duplicate file finder Windows 10 to fast-track the process and save you time. 

Method 4: Use an Automatic Duplicate File Finder

Even though you can find and remove duplicate files manually, it’s time-consuming. And it can be quite daunting, especially if you must search for different file types. The easiest way to avoid this problem is to use Auslogics Duplicate File Finder. 

Delete duplicate files with Auslogics BoostSpeed

The Duplicate File Finder is an excellent tool in Auslogics BoostSpeed. Its purpose is to help you search specific folders or the entire computer for duplicate photos and delete them automatically. 

Auslogics Duplicate File Finder will scan the folders and delete duplicate files

Just click on the “Search” button, and the Auslogics Duplicate File Finder will scan the folders you select. After the scan is complete, it’ll provide a detailed report of found duplicate photos, which you can view based on date and size. 

Then, select the duplicates you want to delete and click the “Delete Selected Files” button. 

By the way, if you’re low on storage space and your computer is underperforming for several reasons, try BoostSpeed’s other features to give your PC performance a good kick

Auslogics BoostSpeed 13 has excellent tools to clean out unnecessary files, optimize your HDD, recover lost files, and more! 


Also Read: Speed Up Slow Computer: Introducing Auslogics BoostSpeed 13


Conclusion

Duplicate files are pretty useless as they fill up valuable space. Removing them would enable you to save space and boost your computer’s performance. Fortunately, now you know how to remove them from your Windows PC.

Following the methods discussed in this article, you can delete duplicate files Windows 10. However, Using command prompt and Windows Explorer is tedious and time-consuming.

That’s why we recommend to use a third-party software to fully automate this process and safe you some time. Move forward and give it a try to Auslogics BoostSpeed with its Duplicate File Finder Feature to make your overall cleaning up process easier and faster

FAQs

How to Find And Remove Duplicate Photos in Windows 10?

You can use a few different tools to locate and delete duplicate photos. File Explorer’s built-in search function can be used to search similar images. You can also use a free duplicate file finder, such as Auslogics Duplicate File Finder.

This duplicate cleaner has scanning options for locating duplicate images and a user-friendly interface for deleting them.

What Is the Best Duplicate File Finder Windows 10?

There are numerous duplicate cleaner software you can use, such as CCleaner, Wise Duplicate Finder, Duplicate File Fixer, etc. But we recommend Auslogics Duplicate File Finder since many users have testified of its incredible features. Also, this fast duplicate file finder provides fast scanning algorithms, flexible search settings, and reliable duplicate file deletion alternatives.

Is It Safe to Delete Duplicate Files?

Yes. You can safely delete duplicates. Keeping many copies of the same file on your computer is wasteful. However, you should take caution when deleting the files. So before erasing any files, double-check that they are indeed duplicates and not needed by any running programs or system functions.

How Do I Delete Duplicate Files in Windows 10?

Windows 10 provides multiple options for removing duplicate files. Using File Explorer’s built-in search function is one option. Another option is to use a third-party free duplicate file finder to search for duplicates. These programs make locating and erasing duplicates in Windows 10 much easier and more automatic.

How Do I Find Duplicate Files in Different Folders?

You can use duplicate file finder software to locate identical files across many directories. Most of these programs let you choose many locations to scan at once. Such applications include Auslogics Duplicate File Finder.

Select the folders you want to scan, start the scan, and the program will locate duplicates in all the specified directories. You can then review the duplicates and delete them if necessary.