How to Find Duplicate Files on Windows 10?

If you’ve ever been searching through your computer only to find multiple copies of the same file, you know how annoying it can be. It’s a waste of your time and can take up a lot of unnecessary space. Fortunately, with Windows 10, there is an easy way to find and delete these duplicate files. In this article, we’ll show you how to quickly and easily find and delete duplicate files on Windows 10.

Finding Duplicate Files on Windows 10: Open File Explorer and select the folder containing the files you want to search. On the Home tab, click the arrow under the Search box and select More Advanced Options. Check the box next to “Search System Folders” and check the box next to “Search Hidden Files and Folders.” Click Search. Once the search is complete, you can use the “Group by” feature to group the results by size, type, or other criteria. Then, review the list to identify duplicate files.

Using Windows 10 to Find Duplicate Files

Duplicate files can be a nuisance on your computer, taking up space and cluttering your hard drive. Fortunately, Windows 10 offers several options to help you identify and delete duplicate files. This article will help you to understand how to use Windows 10 to find duplicate files.

Using the Search Function

The simplest way to find duplicate files on Windows 10 is to use the built-in search function. To do this, open the File Explorer and enter a search term in the search bar. You can either enter the name of a specific file type or a keyword related to the type of file you are looking for. For example, you can search for “.mp3” to find all MP3 files on your computer, or you can search for “images” to find all images. You can also use the “Size” filter to narrow down your search results.

Once you have entered a search term, the search results will be displayed. You can then check the search results for duplicate files. To do this, open the folder containing the search results and scroll through the list of files. If you see two or more files with the same name, then these are likely to be duplicate files.

Using a Duplicate File Finder

If you don’t want to manually search for duplicate files, then you can use a dedicated duplicate file finder. There are several free and paid duplicate file finders available for Windows 10, such as Duplicate Cleaner and Easy Duplicate Finder. These programs can quickly scan your computer for duplicate files and display the results in an easy to read format.

When using a duplicate file finder, you can specify certain criteria to narrow down the search results. For example, you can specify the types of files you want to search for, or you can set a minimum and maximum file size. You can also exclude certain folders from the search. Once the scan is complete, you can browse through the list of duplicate files and select which ones you want to delete.

Using a Third-Party Program

If you don’t want to use a duplicate file finder, then you can also use third-party programs to find duplicate files. There are several programs available for Windows 10, such as CCleaner and Auslogics Duplicate File Finder. These programs can scan your computer for duplicate files and display the results in an easy to read format.

When using a third-party program, you can specify certain criteria to narrow down the search results. For example, you can specify the types of files you want to search for, or you can set a minimum and maximum file size. You can also exclude certain folders from the search. Once the scan is complete, you can browse through the list of duplicate files and select which ones you want to delete.

Using the Command Prompt

If you are an advanced user, then you can also use the command prompt to find duplicate files. To do this, open the command prompt and enter the following command:

find /c /i “*.*”

This command will search your computer for duplicate files and display the results in the command prompt window. You can then use the “del” command to delete the duplicate files.

Using PowerShell

If you are an advanced user, then you can also use PowerShell to find duplicate files. To do this, open PowerShell and enter the following command:

Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Filter *.ext | Group-Object Name | Where {$_.Count -gt 1}

This command will search your computer for duplicate files and display the results in the PowerShell window. You can then use the “Remove-Item” command to delete the duplicate files.

Using Third-Party Software

If you don’t want to use the built-in search function, command prompt, or PowerShell to find duplicate files, then you can also use third-party software. There are several programs available for Windows 10, such as Duplicate File Remover and CCleaner. These programs can quickly scan your computer for duplicate files and display the results in an easy to read format.

When using third-party software, you can specify certain criteria to narrow down the search results. For example, you can specify the types of files you want to search for, or you can set a minimum and maximum file size. You can also exclude certain folders from the search. Once the scan is complete, you can browse through the list of duplicate files and select which ones you want to delete.