How to properly delete duplicate files. Find and remove duplicate files with CCleaner. Finding Duplicate Files Using CCleaner

Helper utility CCleaner is a fairly popular application that helps clean your device from various unnecessary files. It can be downloaded completely free of charge from the official resource. Using this program is very easy and even an inexperienced user can do it.

A separate advantage I would like to highlight is that starting from the fourth version, this program can search for duplicate files. The function is very useful, since removing duplicate information can help clean up the system disk and speed up the operation of the device as a whole. Therefore, pay attention to which version of the program is downloaded to your PC; if it is older, then simply update it to the latest one.

Is it possible to delete duplicate files in CCleaner, and how to do it

• Download and install the application. It is best to download from an official resource, as this is the most reliable way to avoid viruses and suspicious software from entering your PC.
• We launch the program and go to the menu "Service".
  
• Select a line "Search for Duplicates".
  
• In the main window you can set various search criteria. This is done by checking the boxes next to the section items Match, Skip, and Inclusions/Exclusions.
  
• Button "Add" will help you search in a specific directory (folder) on the disk. After clicking it, a window will open where you can select a folder using the button "Review". In the same window, you can specify a specific type of extension for files.
  
• On the tab "Exceptions" You can specify those folders that in no case should be touched when searching for duplicates.
  
• After the parameters have been viewed and set, click on the button "Find".
  
• After the automatic search, you will be able to see the results in the main window.
• In the report you can read the file names and addresses where they are located on the device.
• The report can be saved in text format to any convenient folder. This can be done by pressing a button “Save report...”
  
• The files are arranged in pairs (original and duplicate). Select those that need to be deleted. To highlight, place a checkmark next to the name. If you are not sure that the file does not contain any important information and can be deleted, then it is better not to touch it. In this case, you need to save the report and view suspicious files separately.
• Then, click on the button “Delete selected.”
  

After automatic deletion, you can make sure that duplicate files really no longer exist and there is more disk space.

A very convenient feature in the CCleaner application is the search for duplicate files. Very often, there are files on your computer that are identical in date, size and name. Of course, some of them are needed, and some may have been created accidentally or downloaded several times from the Internet. All these files eventually accumulate, the free space becomes less and less, and, as a result, the computer begins to slow down. Therefore, from time to time, you need to get rid of such files. If you are an advanced PC user, then it will not be difficult for you to find CCleaner duplicate files which to delete, but if you are new to this matter, then we will help you figure it out.

What files should not be deleted

Before we start searching for duplicates and deleting them, let's look at whether it is possible to delete duplicate files using Cyclener? To begin with, I would like to note that the program will not allow you to delete absolutely all copies of a file. One of them must remain untouched. Further, we do not recommend deleting system files. It is quite normal for them to have duplicates. Typically, system files are located on drive C in the Windows folder.

Files that can be deleted

Typically, a computer consists of several partitions (disks). The amount of information that is stored on each of them is most likely impressive. There are pictures, music, videos, photographs, and much more. Some of the duplicate files could have been duplicated by the user by mistake, for example, due to forgetfulness, the file was saved in different sections. Some files may have been downloaded from the Internet several times, etc. And when the program finds such files, you can safely delete them from your computer.

Find duplicates

In the " Service"there is a section" Search for duplicates».

In this section, at the user's discretion, you can set search criteria. You can search for duplicates by any one search parameter: by size, by date, by name and by content, or by several parameters at the same time, marking them with checkboxes.

You can also define the files that need to be skipped. There are several options here:

• Zero size files;
• Files that are read-only;
• Hidden files;
• System files;
• Files whose size does not exceed the megabyte size you specify;
• Files larger than the specified megabyte size.

In the " Inclusions» you can specify the places where the search will be carried out. To scan a specific folder, you must select " Add" The following window will appear

Click on the button " Review" and select the desired folder, indicating the path to it.

In the " Exceptions» you can specify those folders that should not be affected during the search.

You can add them similarly to the “ Inclusions" Click " Review" and select this folder.

After setting all search parameters, click on the button “ Find».

Duplicate search results

After searching, the results will be shown in table form.

It will indicate the file names, locations where they are located, their sizes and creation dates.

To remove duplicates, check the boxes next to them. If you right-click on any file, a context menu will appear.

Select all	Possibility to mark all found duplicates. All files will have only one copy - the bottom one.
Remove selection	The ability to uncheck all found duplicates if they are selected.
Select type/Remove type	Ability to check (uncheck) all files of the same type.
Exclude/Limit/Select Duplicates	The ability to perform the selected action in relation to one of the folders in which the file is located.
Save report...	Ability to save the report in a text document.
Open folder	Allows you to open the folder in which this file is located.

After you have selected all the duplicates that you want to delete, click on the “ Delete».

Hello dear readers. Today we will talk about duplicate files, as well as methods to deal with them.

Based on the name itself, you probably already guessed what these files are. Such duplicate files are very dirty on the hard drive, so you need to get rid of them periodically.

Duplicates appear on the computer arbitrarily and due to user inattention. Although we are all human and we tend to accumulate all sorts of things. No matter how large the amount of memory your hard drive has, after removing duplicates it will become much freer than it was before this process.

Unfortunately, deleting duplicate files cannot be done without third-party programs. For some reason, the Windows developers missed this point, but people found a way out. There are a lot of free programs on the Internet for getting rid of duplicate files. Below I will list three of the best ones and also give you the opportunity to download them.

CloneSpy

A very simple and convenient utility for cleaning your computer from duplicate files. After launching, CloneSpy searches the checksums of files, ignoring the date and time of their creation, size, etc. This method of searching for duplicate files allows you to make a more accurate and detailed search.

But CloneSpy also has a disadvantage, because in the search results, in addition to copies, it can display files with the same name.

Download CloneSpy utility for free

Auslogics Duplicate File Finder

A more powerful duplicate file search program. Performs a detailed analysis of the hard drive for the presence of identical files, at the end of which you will receive a list with all duplicates found.

I noticed that Auslogics Duplicate File Finder specializes in finding duplicate multimedia files, which are gigabytes of identical music tracks, movies, pictures, etc.

Download Auslogics Duplicate File Finder for free

DupKiller

Also a very good program for finding and removing duplicate files. I really liked the feature of setting the percentage of acceptable matches, which you can set manually before starting the analysis of the hard drive.

Duplicate files take up gigabytes of your hard drive and slow down Windows. To remove duplicate files in CCleaner, go to the “Tools” section, select “Search for duplicates”, set search criteria and click on the “Find” button.

Due to the lack of a standard Windows utility, the user sorts through tens of thousands of files manually. There is a risk of deleting important information or system files. Search for duplicates in CCleaner and clean your hard drive of unnecessary information.

You need to download CCleaner for free in Russian. Launch the utility. In the “Service” section, select the “Search for duplicates” tab.

Set duplicate criteria. The program searches for documents with the same names, sizes, creation dates and contents. The settings are presented in the “Search Criteria” block. Checking the boxes increases the search time and improves the accuracy of the result.

In the “Ignore files” block, documents are ignored by default:

• zero size;
• only for reading;
• systemic;
• hidden;
• less than 1 MB.

Change settings wisely. When you uncheck “System” and find duplicate system files, think about the advisability of deleting them.

In the “Inclusions-Exclusions” block, by default all local drives are available for search.

Inclusions Tab

Selects specific directories to scan.

Select the “Inclusions” tab and click the “Add” button. A dialog box will appear. In the “Inclusions” block, click “Browse”. Select a folder or drive, click OK.

The path to the selected directory will be displayed to the left of the Browse button.

If necessary, specify the file name and resolution. It is acceptable to use the * symbol.

In the “Options” group, select the second list item “Consider files and subfolders” to search for duplicates in the root folder and subdirectories.

Click OK.

The selected directories appeared in the “Inclusions” tab.

Exceptions Tab

Follow the same steps to exclude a folder or drive from the search scope.

Select the “Exceptions” tab and click the “Add” button. The Exceptions dialog box appears.

Click Browse, select a directory or drive.

Click OK.

Paths to folders prohibited from scanning have appeared in the “Exceptions” tab.

Change or delete directories in the Inclusions-Exclusions block. Select a line with the mouse and click the “Change” or “Delete” button.

Click the Reset button to return to default settings.

Finding and removing duplicates

After setting the search parameters, click the “Find” button.

A dialog box will indicate completion.

CCleaner duplicate file search results are presented as list items. There is no way to sort by name or size. Save the report as a text file.

To remove duplicates in CCleaner:

1. make sure the detected copies are useless. Pay attention to the name, size, directory;
2. tick the files to be deleted;
3. Click the Remove Selected button.

In the " Service"CCleaner has a tool " Search for duplicates", which can find identical files in different folders on your computer.

Why is this necessary? Well, first and foremost, this is necessary to delete these same duplicates and free up space on the hard drive (or SSD, depending on what you have installed) on your PC.

Where can duplicates come from? For example, you copied a photo from your phone to your desktop. A week later they copied it into a folder with photographs. A month later, we copied it to a folder on drive “C” so as not to forget to transfer it from there along with other files to a flash drive. As a result, you have 3 identical files in different folders on your computer and instead of, say, 5 megabytes, one photo takes up all 15. It would be logical to delete 2 copies, leaving the only one, for example, in the folder with other photos.

As an example, I copied the same file (picture) into several folders and analyzed it using the “Search for Duplicates” tool in CCleaner.

The program found all instances of this file. In the search results window, I can mark unnecessary copies of files and delete them. I will leave only the one that is in the “Pictures” folder, and delete it from the desktop and the root of the “C” drive.

* in this case, you cannot mark all copies; one must remain unmarked so that you do not accidentally delete the last copy.

You can read more about which duplicate files in CCleaner can be deleted and which cannot.

Before you start searching for duplicates, you can set up the criteria by which the program will compare the found files. You can select Name, Size, Date and Content.

You can also configure which files should be skipped, which folders to search in, and which to exclude from it.