How to find and delete duplicate files on your computer

Turning through the thousands of folders saved on your computer scattered throughout the desktop and on the hard drive, you noticed that there are many duplicates or rather duplicate files that take up so much useless space that could be freed. But how to find and delete duplicate files on your computer without having to look inside each folder?

How to find and delete duplicate files on your computer without having to go through folder by folder

To be able to delete duplicates on your computer such as photos, videos, documents, images and other types of files from Windows and macOS, there are several free programs that allow you to quickly locate and delete duplicates , thus freeing up very useful space on your hard drive.

The operation of duplicate file finders is very simple after starting them they scan your hard drive for duplicate files that are not needed and help you to remove them very quickly. Through this guide I have chosen for you the best programs that search for duplicate files automatically through very advanced search filters.

Before starting I wanted to give you a very important advice which is to not use these tools to remove duplicate files that you find in the Windows and macOS system folders or in the programs folder because they may need these files to work properly, so be careful and tries to delete from the computer only duplicate files that are not needed.

How to delete duplicate files on Windows

The software to find and delete duplicate files on your PC that you can use is Auslogics Duplicate File Finder compatible with Windows 10 and all other versions of Microsoft operating systems.

Auslogics Duplicate File Finder is free and is one of the best tools of its kind very simple to use as it is different from most double file finders, usually very complex, thanks to its minimal interface that guides you through the various steps.

In order to use and delete double files with Auslogics Duplicate File Finder as a first step, start the browser connected to the main page and click on the Download now button to download the duplicate-file-finder-setup.exe installation file to your PC .

At the end of the download click twice consecutively with the left mouse button on the executable file you have just downloaded then from the first window that opens press the Yes button > Custom installation> Accept and Install . In the next two screens, remove the tick twice not to install additional third-party software, then continue by pressing the Reject button > Reject and Finish to finish the installation and start the main program screen.

At this point, with the program open, check that there is a tick on the disk drive in which you intend to delete the duplicate files (you can see it in the central window), while in the right section check which type of file you want to search, then hit the Search button to start scanning.

As you can see by default it will search for non-system folders on all connected drives such as images, audio files, video files, archives and applications. At the end of the search a list of duplicate files is displayed where you can also see the previews, so to finish select the files you want to delete and click the Delete selected files button to send them directly to the Windows Recycle Bin .

How to delete duplicate files on macOS

If you have a Mac computer, you should know that even with the macOS system there are applications that allow you to delete duplicate files. Also from this operating system I advise you to delete only those files in which you are sure you can delete them, in case of doubt it is better to give up.

On macOS the program to delete duplicate files that I recommend is dupeGuru a completely free software thanks to which you can delete duplicate files based on different criteria. In order to use the program as a first step, start the browser connected to the main page of the official website and click on the OS X (10.10+) button located at the top of the page to start downloading the installation file.

At the end of the download, open the package you have just downloaded dupeguru_osx_xx.dmg and drag it to the MacOS Applications folder to start the program (if an error message appears, click with the right mouse button on the dupeGuru icon and from the menu that appears select the Open item ).

Then select the Standard tab and drag the folders you want to scan into the main program window, checking that Contents is selected in the drop-down menu named Scan type, then press the Scan button to start the search for duplicate files.

Once the search is finished put a check next to the names of the files you want to delete and click on the gear icon located at the top left, then select the item Move the marked items to the trash and press the Proceed button to proceed with elimination.

 

by Abdullah Sam
I’m a teacher, researcher and writer. I write about study subjects to improve the learning of college and university students. I write top Quality study notes Mostly, Tech, Games, Education, And Solutions/Tips and Tricks. I am a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence or virtue.

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