Deleting Cloned Music Files Using Duplicate Cleaner

As you build up your music library, it's common for multiple copies of the same song to appear from time to time. We show you how to reduce clutter and free up hard drive space using a duplicate file finding software tool for Windows.

Use Duplicate Cleaner for Audio Files

As well as using this special software for streamlining your music library, you can remove multiple copies of photos, videos, and other types of files. In this tutorial, we're going to use the free version of Duplicate Cleaner (Windows), which has a special mode just for audio files.

If you use a different operating system, such as macOS or Linux, try Duplicate Files Searcher.

Follow these steps to use the program and clear those duplicate files.

1. Click Search Criteria.

2. Switch Duplicate Cleaner to audio mode. This setup specifically searches the metadata in audio files to try and find duplicate songs or pieces of music. To switch to this mode, select the Audio Mode tab via the main Search Criteria menu screen.

   To filter out specific audio formats, use the exclude search function. For example, type *.flac to filter out any files in this format.

3. Before you start to scan for duplicates you need to tell the program where to look. Select Scan Location from the menu near the top of the screen.

4. Use the folder list in the left pane to navigate to where your song library is stored. Highlight a folder (or entire disk volume) that you want to add and then select the Arrow icon (white right-arrow). You can also double-click folders to select sub-folders if necessary.

   If you have music stored in more than one location, add more folders in the same way.

5. Select Start Scan to begin searching for duplicates.

6. When the process has finished, a statistics screen will appear with a detailed report on the duplicates that the program turned up. Select Close to proceed.

7. Click the box to the left of the duplicate items you want to delete.

8. If the duplicate list is large, select Selection Assistant. Hover your mouse pointer over the Mark sub-menu and then choose an option. Examples include file size, modified date/time, auto tags, and more.

9. Once you have marked the duplicates you want to remove, select File Removal near the top of the screen.

10. To send the files to the Windows recycle bin rather than deleting them directly, make sure the Delete to Recycle Bin option is enabled.

11. To also remove folders that don't have anything inside them, ensure the Remove Empty Folders option is checked.

12. When you are happy with the way the duplicates will be removed, select Delete Files.