Best Way to Find Duplicate Files for All Windows Users

Why do you need to check and remove duplicate Files?

Duplicate files are more than just a nuisance; they can have a significant impact on your computer's performance and storage space. If you don’t regularly check and remove duplicate files, you may face some bad consequences:

Wasted storage space: Duplicate files occupy valuable storage space, which could be better utilized for important documents, photos, or applications. By removing duplicates, you can free up space for new files and ensure your hard drive remains efficient.

Slower performance: An abundance of duplicate files can slow down your computer. The system has to manage and index these redundant files, which can result in slower startup times and application performance.

Organizational chaos: Duplicate files can lead to confusion and disorganization. You may accidentally work on the wrong versions of a file or spend unnecessary time searching for the correct one.

Backup overhead: If you regularly back up your data, duplicate files can increase the size of your backups. This not only wastes backup storage space but also prolongs the backup process.

Duplicate files can accumulate on your computer over time, taking up valuable storage space and making it harder to locate important documents. To keep your system organized and efficient, it's essential to find and remove duplicate files periodically. So, in this article, we will explore the best ways to find duplicate files on your computer.

2 ways to find duplicate files on Windows

Duplicate files do nothing but clutter up your drive, make your Windows computer run slower, and increase the difficulty level significantly. Now, we’ll show you how to use Windows File Explorer and PowerShell to find duplicate files.

Way 1. Remove duplicate files using File Explorer

Step 1. On the lower-left corner beside the Windows icon, enter Indexing Options on the search bar, then click Indexing Options.

Step 2. Click Modify, and then select Show all locations. A pop-up will appear to ask for your login details. Make sure that you are using an administrator account when doing any modification using this setting.

Step 3. Check if all of the boxes are checked under the Changed Selected Locations section.

If yes, click OK, and then click the Close button. If not, check all the boxes.

Step 4. On your keyboard, press the Windows + E keys to open the File Explorer.

It is easier to find your files under your user account. To open your user account, go to Windows (C:), then select the Users folder.

Step 5. On the upper-right corner, click Search, and then enter the following extensions based on their format:

Step 6. Sort the search results by Name: Click the View tab > Under the Panes section, select Preview pane > Under the Layout section, select Details > Under the Current view section, click Group by, and then select Name.

To arrange the files in ascending order, click Group by, and then select Ascending.

Step 7. Check for the duplicate files that are saved in different locations and check the Date modified column to know which files you have the latest version.

Step 8. After checking the files, select the file you want to delete, and then press DELETE on your keyboard.

Way 2. Remove duplicate files using Windows PowerShell

Step 1. On the lower-left corner, right-click on the Windows icon, and then select Windows PowerShell (Admin). A pop-up confirmation window will appear. Click Yes to proceed.

Step 2. Enter this script: set-location –path C:\ in the Windows PowerShell window.

Step 3. Enter the script for the list of all duplicates and their location:

ls "(directory you want to search)" -recurse | get-filehash | group -property hash | where { $_.count -gt 1 } | % { $_.group } | Out-File -FilePath "(location where you want to export the result)"

In (directory you want to search), enter the folder location of your User Account.

In (location where you want to export the result), enter the folder location you want the result to be exported or saved (e.g. Documents or Desktop).

Step 4. Open the folder location you have exported or saved.

Step 5. Check for each location in the text file, and then delete the duplicate files.

The best way to find duplicate files and remove them

Although File Explorer and PowerShell can find duplicate files, they will waste much energy and time, not to mention the complex commands that can’t be typed incorrectly. You are tired of manual methods and complex scripts to find and remove duplicate files?

AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional offers a more convenient and efficient solution. This all-in-one partition management software is designed to make your life easier by streamlining various tasks, including duplicate file management.

With AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional, you can:
✍ Quickly and accurately scan your entire computer for duplicate files, regardless of their formats or locations.
✍ Easily select and remove duplicate files with just a few clicks.
✍ Free up valuable storage space and improve your computer's performance.
✍ Enjoy a user-friendly interface that doesn't require any technical expertise.

Quickly and accurately scan your entire computer for duplicate files, regardless of their formats or locations.

Step 1. Click the "Free up" on the main tab and select "Duplicate Files Finder".

Step 2. Here, all the partitions on the computer are displayed. Click on "Scan" to start scanning. Also, if the partition is locked, the program will still scan it and display duplicate files on the partition. However, it cannot delete duplicate files on locked drives.

Step 3. After the process is finished, all duplicate files that meet the conditions you set will be displayed. You can click the "Preview" to see the duplicate files.

Step 4. You can select the duplicate files you want to delete. Or, click "Smart Select" to automatically select duplicate files. Then, click "Move to folder".

Ending

The best way to find duplicate files on your Windows computer is to employ a third-party tool. Although Windows built-in tools can help you, they can't perform checking quickly, and you might confront failure. AOMEI Partition Assistant can help you easily free up space via not only deleting duplicate files but also "PC Cleaner", "App Mover", etc.

What's more, this tool has different advanced editions for various requirements. You can check the edition page to choose the best partner to manage your Windows conveniently.