By Michael | Last Updated
Sometimes, duplicate files are created in different drives or folders due to duplicate backups or other reasons, which takes up a lot of storage space. So, how to find duplicate files across multiple drives or folders to free up space? Here, this article will lead you to the answer.
To find duplicate files in multiple drives and folders, you can use Windows File Explorer to manually search for duplicate files.
Step 1: Use WIN+E to open File Explorer, then open the drive or folder you want to check for duplicate files.
Step 2: In the top ribbon, click on the View tab and select Details. Then click on Sort by and select Name. After setting the Windows view, enter a file extension such as png, mp4, txt, doc, etc. in the search window at the top right to find duplicate files by comparing file information.
Step 3: Once you have finished comparing, you can press Ctrl in order to select multiple duplicate files, then move to the Home tab and click on the Delete button, where you can choose to put these duplicate files in the recycle bin or delete them permanently.
Pros:
If you know where the duplicate files are, a manual search is a good option. You simply open a file and if the duplicate is there, delete it.
If it's not where you want it to be, you can also just type in the name of the file you saved and your computer will find it for you.
Cons:
Going through everything on your computer can be tiring and inefficient if you don't know where to search or what name to save a file under.
iSunshare DupFiles Genius is one of the best professional software on the market that can help you deal with many of the drives and folders you need. It is fast, efficient and precise. Once you activate it, it will scan all the folders and directories on your PC and list all the duplicate files, then you will be able to decide if you want to delete or keep them.
Step 1: Launch this software after installing it on your PC.
Step 2: Here, you need to add the folders to the scan list by clicking on "Add" at the bottom-right corner. To compare several drives or folders at the same time, just select them in File Explorer. Then click the "Next" button to go on.
Step 3: In this page, it provides several options for more accurate scanning. For example, you can click on "+" to add folders to Do Not Scan list. Later, select which file types to scan, set the file size range, and chose to skip specific files or directories. Finally, hit "Start Scanning" button to begin.
Step 4: You will now see a report of scanning result, with duplicate files from different folders or drives grouped together using the same color. Right-click on a document, select "Open file location" to view the file details.
Step 5: To delete multiple duplicate files while keep one original file, check the box underneath "All Types", then click on "Delete". Click "Yes" when prompted. Note that free version users can only remove one duplicate file at a time.
Step 6: Wait until the target duplicate files have been successfully removed. Click on "OK" to close Tips window. Note that these duplicate files will be permanently deleted and cannot be recovered from the recycle bin.
Pros:
There is no need to take into account the name or location of the files.
With just one click, it will find all your duplicate files and you will be able to delete them and free up space on your computer.
Cons:
You need to pay for good and useful software.
That’s all about how to easily find duplicate files across multiple drives or folders. If you already have a large number of duplicate files on your PC, it is more recommended to use iSunshare DupFiles Genuis to find duplicate files quickly instead of searching manually.
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