Windows 10: Removing duplicate files

I don't trust free duplicate file finders. Is there a way to find and delete duplicate files easily from a folder in Windows 10 that does not require using another program?

:)

 

duplicate file removal

It would be good if when posting you were to add some white space (use paragraphs) because not doing so makes it harder to read. Also, the first picture below is a CPU and the second is a computer. A computer is not a CPU and a CPU is not a computer.









As to your issue, I would be wary of any duplicate-file finder when it appears that you might have quite a mess on your hands. If a program is reporting in excess of 100,000 potential duplicates, there's no way anyone can evaluate that and decide which
are safe to delete. You would probably benefit from backing up your data and doing a clean installation of the operating system.

 

duplicate file removal

Hi Robert,

I realize that you want a recommendation for a safe free duplicate file remover. I will try to help you with this issue.

You may want to search the Windows Store for any such app which might help you in this matter. You may also use your favorite search engine to search for any 3rd party software which might help you.

Important: This response contains a reference to a third party World Wide Web site. Microsoft is providing this information as a convenience to you. Microsoft does not control these sites and has not tested any software or information
found on these sites; therefore, Microsoft cannot make any representations regarding the quality, safety, or suitability of any software or information found there. There are inherent dangers in the use of any software found on the Internet, and Microsoft
cautions you to make sure that you completely understand the risk before retrieving any software from the Internet.

If you feel that there might be some virus infection in your computer, then
I suggest you to run a full computer virus scan to ensure the computer is free from virus. It is not advisable to access the registry before the virus scan is done. Ensure to install any pending updates on the computer and remember to restart the system.

A fast way to check whether your PC has a virus is to use Windows Defender. This malware protection is included with Windows and helps identify and remove viruses, spyware, and other malicious software. Once this is done you may also check for any
pending updates and install the same to see if that helps.

How do I find and remove a virus?:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-in/windows-10/getstarted-protect-your-pc

Note: There could be a loss of data while performing a scan using Microsoft safety scanner to eliminate virus if any.

For issues related to your Microsoft account you may run the Microsoft account troubleshooter and check if that helps. The Microsoft Account Troubleshooter scans the Windows 10 system for issues and repairs problems that are found
in relation to your Microsoft Account.

How to Troubleshoot Microsoft Account Issues: http://social.technet.microsoft.com...to-troubleshoot-microsoft-account-issues.aspx

Keep us informed to help you further.

 

Well, you could upload files and have their hash computed and do it that way, but that would be gloriously inefficient...*chuckle
MD5 File - HTML5 File Hash Online Calculator - MD5, SHA1, SHA2 (SHA-256), SHA-384, SHA-512

Then you've got music file matching- and specialised programs - just an example where similar (not identical) files might be identified..

Additional columns in explorer offer nothing useful in this regard.

 

If I May you could use ccleaner's duplicate finder i use it on my external drive (not C drive) just to weed out most of my junk (my C is only for programs and OS)

 

Hashing is a good idea since hash algorthims look at file data and not the meta data. Here is a powershell script I put together which should move all duplicates to a folder called "Duplicates" then you can just delete the folder.
Code: path = "C:\Path\Root\Seach" $duplicates = "$path\Duplicates" New-Item $duplicates -ItemType Directory $files = Get-ChildItem -Path $path -File $fileHashes = @() foreach($file in $files) { $thisFileHash = Get-FileHash -Algorithm SHA256 -Path $file.FullName if ($fileHashes.Count -eq 0) { $fileHashes += @($thisFileHash.Hash) } else { $isDuplicate = $false foreach ($fileHash in $fileHashes) { if($fileHash -eq $thisFileHash.Hash) { $isDuplicate = $true break } } if($isDuplicate) { Move-Item -Path $file.FullName -Destination "$($duplicates)\$($file.Name)" } else { $fileHashes += @($thisFileHash.Hash) } } }[/quote]