Delete duplicate files and photos to increase your harddrive space

_ylsen_ · 06-28-2008, 10:49 PM

When your hard drive's cluttered with hundreds of files in folders scattered everywhere, chances are you're using up disk space with multiple copies of the same data. Whether multiple memory card downloads have plagued your photo library, or swapping MP3s with friends who have similar tastes left you with double copies of the same songs, or you've saved and re-saved the same documents in different places, a good file de-duping can recover hard drive space and help you get organized. Here's a quick rundown so you can declutter your hard drive today.

Windows
All files—The open source [Only registered users can see links. ] can identify duplicate images, text, and office documents in an intuitive interface.

If WinMerge's "open source look" turns you off, there are several other arguably more user-friendly options. [Only registered users can see links. ] can scan more than two folders at once to identify duplicates based on criteria you set. Likewise, donationware [Only registered users can see links. ] can compare more than two folders as well. Donationware [Only registered users can see links. ] compares file checksums in multiple folders to id dupes.

Images— The free [Only registered users can see links. ] compares image files pixel by pixel and tells you if they're a match, perfect for cleaning up your photo library.

iTunes
iTunes comes with a hidden "Show Duplicates" feature (go ahead, choose it from the View menu), but frankly, it kind of sucks. It does indeed show duplicates that you can flag for deletion, but it does it based on artist and song name—so if you've got a live version of the same song that's a completely different length and different album, iTunes will flag it. Lame.

I've tried a couple other free iTunes de-duping utilities (like [Only registered users can see links. ]), and nothing's worked very well (Fixtunes hung for hours with no indication of progress before I quit it). Shout out your favorite iTunes de-duper in the comments. (Note you can always use a regular file-de-duper and point it at your iTunes library instead.)

Firefox
Bookmarks — If your bookmarks list is where your duplicate clutter is at, you want the [Only registered users can see links. ], which lets you search your existing bookmarks, ID and delete duplicates, and will warn you when you try to bookmark a URL already in your list. The Duplicate Detector is sadly not yet Firefox 3-compatible.

Got any other tips on how to clean up a big file mess of duplicate files? How do you declutter your hard drives? Let us know in the comments.

06-28-2008, 10:49 PM	#1 (permalink)
_ylsen_ ~~JhenNiMae~~ 0wnz™ Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: ̡̡h€®€-†h€®€-€v€®ýwh€®€ Posts: 8,981 Thanks: 272 Thanked 2,144 Times in 1,616 Posts Reputation: 100000	Delete duplicate files and photos to increase your harddrive space When your hard drive's cluttered with hundreds of files in folders scattered everywhere, chances are you're using up disk space with multiple copies of the same data. Whether multiple memory card downloads have plagued your photo library, or swapping MP3s with friends who have similar tastes left you with double copies of the same songs, or you've saved and re-saved the same documents in different places, a good file de-duping can recover hard drive space and help you get organized. Here's a quick rundown so you can declutter your hard drive today. Windows All files—The open source [Only registered users can see links. ] can identify duplicate images, text, and office documents in an intuitive interface. If WinMerge's "open source look" turns you off, there are several other arguably more user-friendly options. [Only registered users can see links. ] can scan more than two folders at once to identify duplicates based on criteria you set. Likewise, donationware [Only registered users can see links. ] can compare more than two folders as well. Donationware [Only registered users can see links. ] compares file checksums in multiple folders to id dupes. Images— The free [Only registered users can see links. ] compares image files pixel by pixel and tells you if they're a match, perfect for cleaning up your photo library. iTunes iTunes comes with a hidden "Show Duplicates" feature (go ahead, choose it from the View menu), but frankly, it kind of sucks. It does indeed show duplicates that you can flag for deletion, but it does it based on artist and song name—so if you've got a live version of the same song that's a completely different length and different album, iTunes will flag it. Lame. I've tried a couple other free iTunes de-duping utilities (like [Only registered users can see links. ]), and nothing's worked very well (Fixtunes hung for hours with no indication of progress before I quit it). Shout out your favorite iTunes de-duper in the comments. (Note you can always use a regular file-de-duper and point it at your iTunes library instead.) Firefox Bookmarks — If your bookmarks list is where your duplicate clutter is at, you want the [Only registered users can see links. ], which lets you search your existing bookmarks, ID and delete duplicates, and will warn you when you try to bookmark a URL already in your list. The Duplicate Detector is sadly not yet Firefox 3-compatible. Got any other tips on how to clean up a big file mess of duplicate files? How do you declutter your hard drives? Let us know in the comments.

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Duplicate File Detector 4.0	Web-Zone-Attack	Software related	6	10-15-2008 07:53 PM
help me delete some files VIT & unban my shoutbox	t2_dennis	VipraSys Lab	12	06-17-2008 05:57 PM
How To Delete Undeletable Files:yo1:	DIRTY<>THIRTY	How To...	1	06-13-2008 10:52 AM
duplicate remover	if_u_only_knew	Yahoo! Issues	1	03-24-2008 01:02 PM
Merging Duplicate Remover	~~ViT~~	Yahoo! Tools	0	12-13-2007 03:21 AM