(Quick Fixes) How to Delete Double Files on PC?
4 quick ways are here for how to delete double files on PC. By using Windows built-in tools and a powerful duplicate remover, it is easy to keep computer organized and clean.
By Irene / Updated on July 8, 2025
Double files, also called duplicate files, generally scattered on every corner in your computer. You're likely aware that cleaning these duplicates can save significant storage space and enhance system responsiveness.
But how to delete double files on PC to free up space? Suggestions can vary from Windows built-in tools to a professional duplicate remover. This post will provide these options to you, making it easy for you to efficiently remove the accumulated duplicates in a short amount of time.
How to delete double files on PC?
About how to find double files on PC, ways like using Windows built-in tools and a duplicate remover can both be helpful. Follow the stepwise guidance to learn how to delete same files in PC.
Way 1. Find and delete double files on PC by File Explorer
Step 1. Go to the bottom-left corner near the Windows icon. Type "Indexing Options" in the search bar and then click on the matched option.
Step 2. Click "Modify" and select "Show all locations". A window will appear, asking for your login info. Make sure you're using an administrator account when making changes here.
Step 3. Check if all the boxes are marked under the "Changed selected locations" section. If they are, click "OK", and then press the "Close" button. If not, be sure to mark all the boxes.
Step 4. Press the Windows key and the E key at the same time on your keyboard to open File Explorer. It's easier to find your files under your user account. To get to your user account, go to Windows (C:), and then select the Users folder.
Step 5. Click on "Search" in the upper-right corner, and enter the extensions below based on their format.
Step 6. Organize the search results by Name:
• Under the "Panes" section, choose "Preview pane".
• Under the "Layout" section, select "Details".
• In the "Current view" section, click "Group by," and then pick "Name".
• To arrange the files in ascending order, click "Group by," and select "Ascending".
Step 7. Examine the files to find duplicates saved in different locations. Check the "Date modified" column to identify the latest version of each file.
Step 8. After reviewing the files, select the one you want to delete, and then press the Delete key on your keyboard.
Way 2. Delete same files in PC with Windows Search
Step 1. Run the Search box. Then enter the folder name where your music collection is stored.
Step 2. Inside the folder, choose the View option and switch to Detail View. This will display the complete list of your audio files.
Step 3. Go to the Sort By option and choose the Name column. This will arrange your audio files alphabetically, making them easier to review.
Step 4. Examine each file closely to determine if they are true duplicates or if they just share a name but have different content. Once you've identified these inconsistent duplicates, delete them by selecting the Delete option.
Way 3. Delete double files on PC via Command Prompt
If you are a Windows user familiar with commands, Command Prompt can be an easy way for you. However, since it can be somewhat risky and error-prone, it is not recommended for computer novices.
Step 1. Open CMD as an administrator. To do this, click on Start, then type "cmd" into the search bar, and choose “Run as administrator”.
Step 2. Type this command into CMD: "dir /s /b *.extension". Replace ".extension" with the type of files you want to find duplicates of. For example, if you're looking for duplicate JPG files, type "dir /s /b *.jpg".
Step 3. Press Enter. CMD will begin scanning for duplicate files, and it will display the results with duplicated files in a list.
- You can also find duplicate files using the “WMIC FINDSTR” command:
- 1. Open CMD and type "FINDSTR /?" to see all options for the "FINDSTR" command.
- 2. Type "FINDSTR /I /C:WINDOWS *.jpg" to search for all JPEG images in the WINDOWS folder.
- 3. The results will show all the JPEG images in the WINDOWS folder, with duplicates highlighted in red.
▌To remove duplicate files in a specific folder, follow these steps:
Step 1. Open the folder using File Explorer.
Step 2. Right-click on the folder you want and select "Copy as path".
Step 3. Open Command Prompt. Type "del /s /f *.duplicate" and hit Enter. This command will remove all duplicate files in the current folder and its subfolders.
For a more advanced file deletion, you can use wildcard characters with this command. Just type "rmdir /s /q DirName", and it will delete all folders in "DirName" and its subfolders.
Way 4. Try a reliable duplicates cleaner
A reliable duplicate cleaner like AOMEI Partition Assistant for Cleanup should be the best choice when removing a substantial number of duplicate files. The methods mentioned earlier can be time-consuming and get limited results, while a duplicate remover can bypass the downsides of these methods, such as the error-prone nature of manual checking and the need to identify files based on their extensions.
It can meet all your customization requirements, offer various drive scanning methods, and allow you to employ multiple strategies for managing duplicates. Through a thorough drive scan, it quickly identifies and removes duplicates, including hidden files. Within a matter of minutes, you can effortlessly free up several gigabytes of space, especially if you haven't performed a thorough PC cleanup previously.
AOMEI Partition Assistant for CleanupThe Best Windows Disk Partition Manager and PC Optimizer
Step 1. Install and launch AOMEI Partition Assistant for Cleanup. Click the "Find Duplicate Files" tab. You can either click "Scan Now" to start the scan of your system C: drive. Or, click "Custom Scan" to manually select paths to be scanned. (Here, we take the "Custom Scan" as an example.)
Step 2. After clicking "Custom Scan", all local and external drives on your PC will be displayed. You can also click the "Add Path" button, and then a browse folder window will pop up. So you can add more paths on this PC, like Desktop, Downloads, and other folder paths.
Step 3. Once necessary paths are added, you can click the "Scan Now" button to start the scan process.
Step 4. The scan process might take time. After the scan is complete, all duplicate files will be listed. You can click the button behind to locate them.
Step 5. You can either manually select duplicate files, or click the "Smart Select" button to automatically select unnecessary duplicate files to delete.
Tips: If the "Smart Select" is ticked, only the oldest duplicate file will be unticked. It means that all duplicate files except the oldest one will be ticked to delete. (The oldest file means the file that was created first. This file will not be deleted. All other duplicate files are conside red copies of the oldest file. )
If you manually select all copies of duplicate files, you will get a pop-up warning window to keep at least one copy of the duplicate files. If you indeed want to delete all copies of duplicate files, you can click "OK" so all copies of duplicate files will be selected to delete.
After unnecessary duplicate files are selected, please click the "Clean Now" button to start the deletion.
Step 6. The deletion might take time. After the process is finished, the selected files will be deleted, and you will get a cleaning completed window displaying how much data you deleted in total.
Summary
The methods on how to delete double files on PC are proven easily and quickly, especially with the help of the robust duplicate remover AOMEI Partition Assistant for Cleanup. To free up more space, App Mover, Allocate Free Space, Merge Partitions, and Delete Large Files are all advanced functions that recommended by many users.
