Duplicate files are more common than you can think. As your system ages, it inevitably accumulates older versions of files such as documents, photos, videos, and software. Not only do these consume the precious storage space, but they can even make the system slower. The question comes up quite often as to whether or not Windows can find duplicate files. The quick answer is not directly, but with the right approach and tools, it’s totally feasible.
Today, we break down various ways to discover and delete duplicate files on a Windows based computer before introducing SysTools Duplicate File Finder as a potential solution.
Can Windows Find Duplicate Files Natively?
Windows doesn’t have a tool to search for duplicate files by default. Previous File Explorer features provide ways to filter or sort files by date, name, or size, but it doesn’t provide you with a side-by-side option for comparing files or seeing their differences in any way.
For those of you still asking yourself can Windows find duplicate files without any 3rd party tools: yes, only by your own hands and that’s neither convenient, nor even possible without living hell of work. Having said that, however, there are manual and more efficient software workarounds to this.
Method 1: Manually Using File Explorer
You can manually attempt to locate any duplicates using the following steps:
- Open File Explorer and navigate to the directory that you believe duplicates are in.
- Name or Size Sorting—This can provide you with a visual comparison of files and folders.
- Allow Details View – Go to “View”>”Details” to view file size, type, and date modified.
- Visually Compare Files – Compare file names, extensions and file sizes with your own eyes.
- Utilize the Preview Pane – I use this for documents and images to quickly review what the file contains.
That’s fine if your folder is small, but is a pain if you have a larger directory structure. But back to the question if “can Windows find duplicate files?” — not effectively.
Method 2: Using Command Prompt
Command Prompt is a simple way for some advanced users:
- Run cmd from the start menu to open Command Prompt.
- Run the following command:
- dir /S /A:-D /O:GN > filelist. txt
- This generates a list of files with their sizes and name; you may want to look at the file yourself.
- Open filelist.txt in Notepad and let’s begin comparing file names and sizes.
This method is great, but it is not fast and doesn’t show you exact duplicates unless you are obsessive about it.
Method 3: Alternative to Find and Delete Duplicates – The Smart Solution
First, let’s answer the question once more: can Windows find duplicate files? Yes – With SysTools Duplicates Finder, the process is made easy and convenient.
Why Choose this Automated Duplicate File Finder?
This professional tool provides knowledge of where you have to click and find to reproduce contacts. Here’s how to use it:
Step-by-Step Guide:
- Download and Install Specialized Duplicate File Finder on your Computer.
- Start the Software and navigate to the drive or folder you want to scan.
- Set filters – Filter files by type (images, videos, documents, etc.), size, or date.
- Browse Directory -Click “Scan” and find duplicate files in seconds.
- Preview & Delete – Results are displayed in a clear manner. Pick all or any duplicates to delete them safely.
Benefits:
- High Quality – It is designed to find files that have duplicate content, regardless of name.
- Secure Deletion – Your original files are not altered in any way and the gutmann deletion is not performed until you say so.
- Bulk Clean – Delete duplicates thousands at a time
- Time Saving – It saves hours of work to do address search manually.
- If you are yet thinking can windows find duplicate files easily, then, SysTools is there with its testing Yes.
Method 4: Use Windows PowerShell
A more advanced way of achieving this than by Command Prompt involves using PowerShell scripts:
- Launch PowerShell as an Administrator.
- Run a script like:
- Get-ChildItem -Recurse | Group-Object -Property Length | Where-Object { $. Count -gt 1 } | ForEach-Object { $. Group }
- This chunks files of the same size into a list of potentially duplicated files.
Final Thoughts
So, does Windows search for duplicate files? Aside from some manual-port and command-line options (for which there are no real user-friendly and consistent ways for regular users), there is no good way. The best, easiest and reliable method to find these duplicates is by using an external software solution, run by professionals to make the process smooth, accurate and quick i.e SysTools Duplicate File Finder.
Let duplicate files take over your PC – get serious and do something about it today!