How to Search Windows 10 Explorer to Find and Remove Duplicate Files

Do you feel that the performance of your PC is becoming slower?

Having too little storage space is among the top reasons for slow PC performance. Often, it’s caused by having too many files in your computer’s storage. If you like to save your files on your local drive, there’s a chance you have more than one copy of them.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to search Windows 10 for duplicate files. We’ll also give instructions on a quick and easy way to remove duplicate files and photos. Keep reading to learn how.

How to Find Duplicate Files in Windows 10

Unless you know what you’re looking for, it’s difficult to find and delete duplicate files in Windows 10. You can try to search for duplicate files of every other file you have. However, searching and deleting file duplicates one at a time a grueling process.

Remember, we live in a time when you can find anything on the app store for everything. Thus, your solution lies in the Windows 10 App store. Getting an app is one way to find and remove duplicate files on Windows 10.

Auslogics Duplicate File Finder

One of the best ones for finding duplicate files on your PC is the Auslogics Duplicate File Finder app. It’s simple, efficient, and easy to use. This is the best choice for those who aren’t too tech-savvy or want a simple duplicate finder app.

When you install the app, make sure you uncheck the extra software it offers. You won’t need a driver updater for your other apps. If you’re clearing out space for faster PC performance, failing to uncheck the boxes defeats the point.

CCleaner

If the software name is familiar, you may already have this cleaning tool on your PC. The CCleaner is also a popular junk file remover and disk cleaner. If you already have it, you only need to peruse its Tools menu to find the function you need.

Look for the Duplicate Finder feature. From there, you can customize your search to match them by name, content, or modified date. You can also have the app look through your local disk drives.

Remove Duplicate Files in Windows 10

Now, let’s talk about how you remove duplicate files you find on your computer. Again, if you want to do it by yourself, there’s nothing wrong with that. However, if your duplicate finder found a ton of duplicate files, the task will take time.

Yet again, your best bet is to use an app. Below, we’ll talk about some of the best apps for the task.

Duplicate Cleaner Pro

With a simple interface and various features, Duplicate Cleaner Pro is a great tool. It doesn’t only look for duplicate files, but it also gives you the choice to delete them. 

How to Search Windows 10 for Duplicate Photos 

Files aren’t the only things that take up space on your computer. If you like to save your photos on your computer, images are common files that get unnecessary copies as well. Let’s discuss how to search Windows 10 for duplicate photos you don’t need.

Again, apps and programs are your friends here. Doing the checking yourself won’t do much but waste your time and effort. Let’s not forget about how images often get saved in filenames according to the date they got taken.

Below, we’ll have a few programs that make the job easy. Remember, when you find duplicate photos on Windows 10, delete them right away.

dupeGuru

This app has three versions. Those are the Standard Edition, Music Edition, and Picture Edition. For now, we’ll talk about dupeGuru’s Pictures edition. 

As its name suggested, the Picture Edition can help you find duplicates of image files. This includes image files in the JPG/JPEG, PNG, TIFF, GIF, and BMP formats. dupeGuru helps you find the source of an edited image.

The great thing about dupeGuru Picture Edition is that it looks at the content of the file. That means it can identify copies of saved pictures even if they have different filenames. It even matches files that have slight edits.

You can download and install any edition of dupeGuru for free from its official website. It’s also open-source software. That means it’s always improving, and you can adjust it to suit your needs.

SearchMyFiles

Windows Explorer’s search feature lets you look for files and images through folders. However, the search function of the built-in file explorer is too simple. If you want an advanced duplicate search tool, use the SearchMyFiles app.

It has a lot of customizable filters, so you can find specific files and photos. You can even exclude certain folders, a range of file sizes, and file extensions. You can even look for specific files you accessed on specific dates.

It’s perfect for when you only have a rough idea of when you last took or edited a photo. It’s great for photographers who want to work on shots from an old pet project. 

Tips on Organizing Files and Photos on Your PC

A lot of people put things on the Desktop first when they’re making space on their flash drives or memory cards. Don’t let your files and photos sit in the Desktop and clutter the area. There’s no better time to organize your files than as soon as you can. 

The same goes for your Downloads. When you download photos or files, save them where they belong right away. Every week, sort everything out and put your files in order.

Avoid organizing your files in too many folders and subfolders. Unnecessary file duplication is a common cause of having too many folders. As much as possible, place everything in a single location.

You can always organize them by name, date modified, or other. Also, putting everything in one folder makes searching for files much easier.

Keep Your PC Clutter-Free

Clutter puts everything out of order and reduces your efficiency. Thus, you want to keep everything organized and sorted well. You don’t need to be too technical about how you organize things, but you need to know where everything is. 

Now you know how to search Windows 10 and how to remove duplicate files. We hope these detailed instructions helped you figure out how to remove them as well.

Why stop here? Check out our other posts if you want to see more guides that can help speed up your computer’s performance.