Windows Media Player Doubled All My Songs! How to Remove Them?

Windows Media Player doubled all my songs is a common issue. This tutorial will guide you to quickly remove duplicate songs and other files on Windows computers.

Posted by @Irene July 17, 2025 Updated By @Irene July 8, 2025

User case: How do I remove duplicate songs from Windows Media Player?

 

Windows Media Player doubled all my songs! I would like to know if there's any easy way to delete those files without having to manually delete them for the more than 800 albums that I have. Or if there's some sort of software that can do that.

- Question from Windows 11 Forum

Windows Media Player (WMP) is a program that helps you play, organize, and manage your music collection. It's easy to store and play media files in Windows Media Player. Windows Media Player stores music files wherever you save them, such as on your system drive or an external drive, and organizes them using a library database located on your system drive. That is to say, if there are many duplicate songs in this utility, they will take up extra space on your hard drive. Why duplicates occur in WMP? There are some major factors:

Multiple Library Folders Added: If you've added the same music folder to your library more than once (e.g., from C:\Music and a backup drive D:\Music), WMP might index the same songs from both locations.
File Copies on Your System: Sometimes, you may have accidentally duplicated files in different folders (such as Downloads, Desktop, or a backup drive), and WMP detects them as separate entries.
Metadata Differences: If the same song has different metadata (like varying album names, track numbers, or artist spellings), WMP might treat them as separate tracks.
Cloud Sync Conflicts: If you use cloud services like OneDrive, they might sync or duplicate files across devices, which can lead to WMP detecting duplicates.

Manually removing thousands of duplicates isn’t the most efficient approach. Using a dedicated tool to clean up your music library is a smarter and hassle-free way to get rid of duplicates quickly.

The best app to remove duplicate songs from WMP

Using a reliable third-party tool can be a smarter way to deal with the issue of duplicate files, especially when manual deletion isn’t efficient. AOMEI Partition Assistant is a great choice for this purpose. This tool thoroughly scans your computer, identifies duplicate files, and manages them effectively while automatically excluding important files to reduce any risks.

It’s particularly useful for fixing the "Windows Media Player doubled all my songs" issue. Compatible with Windows and various Windows-based devices, including USB drives, SD cards, and external drives, AOMEI Partition Assistant for Cleanup uses an advanced MD5 algorithm to detect duplicate songs with high accuracy.

AOMEI Partition Assistant for Cleanup

The Best Windows Disk Partition Manager and PC Optimizer

To further free up space, you can choose AOMEI Partition Assistant. This all-in-one software is perfect for tidying up your system and optimizing your computer’s performance. In addition to removing duplicates, it offers features like Allocate Free Space, PC Cleaner, and App Mover, making it an excellent tool for maintaining an organized system. Give it a try to experience a cleaner, faster, and more efficient computer.

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. 

How to remove duplicate songs from Windows Media Player

While Windows Media Player doesn't have an automatic feature to remove duplicates, you can manually find and delete them by following a few simple steps. This process involves searching your music folders, identifying duplicate files, and removing them to keep your library organized. Here’s how you can remove duplicate songs from Windows Media Player. If you're willing to invest a bit of time and effort, this method can help you remove duplicate songs from Windows Media Player.

Step 1. Open Windows Media Player by selecting it from the "Programs" menu in the "Start" menu or double-click its icon on the screen. If you can’t find it, go to the "Program Files" folder on your drive to open it.

Step 2. Press F3 on your keyboard or select "Add to Library via searching computer" from the File menu. A new window will pop up. Click "Browse" and choose the folder where your music is stored. If your songs are in different folders, repeat this step for each one.

Step 3. The folder path will show in the "Look In" box. Click "Search" to continue. Windows Media Player will search the folders and find any duplicate files in your library.

Step 4. After the search, you can delete one copy of each duplicate, leaving the other one intact.

To sum up

This passage shares comprehensive solutions for the issue "Windows Media Player doubled all my songs". Removing duplicate songs from Windows Media Player can be a tedious task, but it can be made easier with the help of a reliable third-party tool like AOMEI Partition Assistant for Cleanup.

By following the simple steps outlined, users can quickly and efficiently remove duplicate files, free up space on their hard drive, and keep their music library organized. Whether you choose to manually remove duplicates or use a dedicated tool, taking the time to clean up your library will help improve your overall music listening experience and optimize your computer's performance.