home Safety Programs for finding duplicate files (or how to find the same pictures, photos, documents, audio and video in different folders). Programs for finding identical photos on a computer

Programs for finding duplicate files (or how to find the same pictures, photos, documents, audio and video in different folders). Programs for finding identical photos on a computer

Good day.

Statistics is an inexorable thing - many users have dozens of copies of the same file (for example, a picture or a music track) on their hard drives. Each of these copies, of course, takes up space on the hard drive. And if your disk is already “full” to the eyeballs, then there can be quite a lot of such copies!

Cleaning duplicate files manually is not a thankful thing, which is why I want to collect in this article programs for finding and deleting duplicate files (moreover, even those that differ both in file format and in size from each other - and this is quite difficult task!). So…

List of programs for finding duplicates

1. Universal (for any files)

They search for identical files by their size (checksums).

Under universal programs, I understand, those that are suitable for searching and deleting duplicates of any type of files: music, movies, pictures, etc. (below in the article for each type will be given “own” more accurate utilities). Most of them work according to the same type: they simply compare the file sizes (and their checksum), if among all the files there are the same in this characteristic, they show you!

Those. thanks to them, you can quickly find full copies (i.e. one to one) of files on the disk. By the way, I also note that these utilities work faster than those that are specialized for a particular type of file (for example, image search).

DupKiller

I put this program in first place for a number of reasons:

supports just a huge number of different formats in which it can search;
high speed of work;
free and with support for the Russian language;
very flexible duplicate search settings (search by name, size, type, date, content (limited)).

Duplicate Finder

This utility, in addition to searching for copies, also sorts them as you like (which is very convenient when there are an incredible number of copies!). Also, add byte-by-byte comparison, checksum verification, deletion of files with zero size (and empty folders too) to the search capabilities. In general, this program copes quite well with the search for duplicates (both quickly and efficiently!).

Those users who are not familiar with English will feel a little uncomfortable: there is no Russian in the program (perhaps it will be added later).

Glary Utilities

In general, this is not one utility, but a whole collection: it will help you remove junk files, set optimal settings in Windows, defragment and clean up your hard drive, etc. Including, in this collection there is a utility for finding duplicates. It works relatively well, so I will recommend this collection (as one of the most convenient and versatile - what is called for all occasions!) Once again on the pages of the site.

2. Programs for finding duplicate music

These utilities will be useful to all music lovers who have accumulated a decent collection of music on the disk. I draw a fairly typical situation: you download various collections of music (100 best songs October, November, etc.), some of the compositions are repeated in them. Not surprisingly, having accumulated 100 GB of music (for example), 10-20 GB can be copies. Moreover, if the size of these files in different collections were the same, then they could be deleted by the first category of programs (see above in the article), but since this is not the case, these duplicates are nothing but your "hearing" and special utilities (which are presented below).

Music Duplicate Remover

The result of the utility.

This program differs from the others, first of all, its fast search. She searches for duplicate tracks by their ID3 tags and by sound. Those. she will listen to the song for you, memorize it, and then compare it with others (thus doing a huge amount of work!).

The screenshot above shows the result of her work. She will present her found copies in front of you in the form of a small tablet, in which a number in percent similarity will be assigned to each track. In general, quite convenient!

Found repeated MP3 files...

This utility is similar to the one above, but it has one undoubted plus: the presence of the most convenient wizard that will guide you through the steps! Those. the person who first launched this program will easily figure out where to click and what to do.

For example, in my 5000 tracks in a couple of hours, I managed to find and delete several hundred copies. An example of the utility is shown in the screenshot above.

3. To search for copies of pictures, images

If we analyze the popularity of certain files, then the pictures, perhaps, will not lag behind the music (and for some users they will overtake!). It’s hard to imagine working on a PC (and other devices) without pictures! But finding pictures with the same image on them is quite difficult (and long). And, I must admit, there are relatively few programs of this kind ...

ImageDupeless

A relatively small utility with pretty good performance in finding and eliminating duplicate images. The program scans all the images in the folder and then compares them with each other. As a result, you will see a list of pictures that are similar to each other and you can decide which one to keep and which one to delete. It is very useful, sometimes, to thin out your photo archives.

Example of how ImageDupeless works

By the way, here is a small example of a personal test:

test files: 8997 files in 95 directories, 785MB (archive of pictures on a flash drive (USB 2.0) - gif and jpg formats)
gallery occupied: 71.4Mb
creation time: 26 min. 54 sec.
time for comparison and output of results: 6 min. 31 sec.
result: 961 similar images in 219 groups.

Image Comparer

I have already mentioned this program on the pages of the site. Represents the same small program, but with pretty good image scanning algorithms. There is a step-by-step wizard that starts when you first open the utility, which will guide you through all the "thorns" of the first setup of the program to search for duplicates.

By the way, below is a screenshot of the utility: in the reports you can view even small details, where the pictures are slightly different. In general, it's convenient!

4. To search for duplicate films, video clips

Well, the last popular file type that I would like to dwell on is video (movies, videos, etc.). If once before, having a 30-50 GB disk, I knew in which folder where and which movie how much it takes (and they were all innumerable), then, for example, now (when the disks have become 2000-3000 and more GB) - often the same videos and movies, but in different quality (which can take up quite a lot of hard drive space).

Most users (yes, in general, me too 🙂) do not need this state of affairs: it just takes up space on the hard drive. Thanks to a couple of utilities below, you can clean the disk of duplicate videos…

Most programs for cleaning and Windows optimizations have built-in modules for finding and removing duplicates.

True, their effectiveness seems somewhat doubtful, since the search for duplicate files is performed not by their content, but by metadata.

Therefore, for these purposes it is better to use specialized utilities.

There are programs that look for duplicates only among text documents, there are programs designed to find duplicate photos, audio and even video. Today we would like to bring to your attention five applications whose main task is to find the same and similar images.

Dup Detector

A simple and effective utility for finding duplicate images. Supports work with JPG formats, BMP, PNG, TIF, PCX, TGA, WMF, EMF and PSP. Dup Detector features include pixel-by-pixel comparison of images within one or more galleries (folders). Distinctive feature program is the option to set the percentage range of matching when searching.

Of the shortcomings, the relatively slow speed of operation should be noted. In addition, when outputting results, the utility only shows two images at a time. Interface language - English.

DupliFinder

A simple and convenient program for finding and removing duplicate photos and other images. The search is performed by comparing MD5 checksums. The rest of the program is similar to Dup Detector. It supports working with subdirectories, displaying the percentage of similarity, previewing the results of the comparison. Selected duplicates can be deleted. The disadvantages include somewhat slow speed, as well as the need to install the Java package. Interface language - English.

Similar Image Finder

Easy program to find the same and similar images in various formats. SimilarImages supports about 30 formats, including JPG, JPEG, BMP, PNG, ICO, CUR, as well as the lesser known RAS, PGX, WBMP, MNG, PCX, DCX, and a few others. It is possible to automatically and manually remove duplicates.

VisiPics

Another good tool for finding the same or similar pictures. Allows you to find images even with minor changes. Works with both individual directories and entire sections. It is possible to filter by degree of similarity. Supported formats are JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, PCX, TIFF, TGA, and RAW. The main disadvantage is somewhat inconvenient user interface and the absence of the Russian language.

Image Comparer

Perhaps, the best program to find and remove duplicate images. Image Comparer has a convenient and simple interface in Russian, supports all popular graphic formats. The comparison is based on the content of the image itself, the so-called digital fingerprint. This indicates the degree of similarity in percent. Found duplicates can be moved, copied or deleted.

What a pity that hard drives not rubber! I wanted to download a couple of movies for the weekend and install on a PC new game, but here's the annoyance - the free space is almost over. And you can’t free it, because only important and necessary things are stored on the disk.

Chin up! You can increase the volume free space by 5-50% without the risk of losing valuable information. How? By deleting identical copies of documents, photographs, audio recordings, videos and other goodness, which accumulates several hundred in a year of computer operation. So, how to search and remove duplicate files in Windows

Unfortunately, the disk cleanup tool built into the system is not trained to look for identical copies of data, and we will have to turn our eyes to third party applications. In today's review - 5 free utilities that do this job quickly, clearly and cleanly.

Auslogics Duplicate File Finder

The only thing that declares a certain level of quality and claims the trust of users. The program supports all editions of Windows, is regularly updated, has a Russian language and is very easy to learn. To search for duplicates, it uses a special intelligent algorithm - it compares not only the names, but also the internal contents of the files, which guarantees high accuracy of the results.

Functions and Features of Auslogics Duplicate File Finder

Setting the filter by object type: all or only images, audio, video, archives and applications.
Exclude from search for files smaller and larger than the specified size.
Exclusion from the search criteria of names, dates of creation/modification of files and "hidden" attributes.
Finding duplicates with certain names or a given fragment in a name.
3 ways to delete duplicates: to the trash, permanently and by saving to the archive.
Restoring data from an archive.
Preview objects before deleting.
Support for custom exclusion lists from scanning files and folders.
Reverting the system to a restore point from the program interface.

Using Auslogics Duplicate File Finder is easy and convenient. In addition, you can not be afraid that the program will destroy any data without your knowledge and the possibility of recovery (only if you yourself have not chosen the option to delete by the trash). The impression is spoiled only by an "unobtrusive" offer to install other products of the developer, which sometimes appears at startup.

CloneSpy

The utility is designed to search for duplicate files not only on the hard drive, but also on portable drives. It is slightly more difficult to use than Auslogics Duplicate File Finder, but more functional and able to work without installation on a computer - when starting the installer, the user can choose its standard or portable version.

Functions and features of CloneSpy

Support for any file types.
Search for duplicates by identical content or the same name in conjunction with another criterion - extension, name, size.
Finding objects of zero length.
Many options for operations with file copies: deletion manually or automatically (you can choose in advance which object to delete - new or old), placing it in a specific folder, creating a list of duplicates without deleting, and so on.
Any operations with found duplicates (including pending ones) using batch batch files.
Replacing deleted copies with shortcuts or hard links.
Calculation of checksums for the possibility of checking objects for identity.
Support custom filters search.

CloneSpy functions quickly and smoothly, supports all versions of Windows, receives regular updates, but does not have a Russian language, which makes it somewhat difficult to master. In addition, some users are put off by the Windows 98-style interface.

Soft4Boost Dup File Finder

The developers of the utility took care not only about the functionality, but also about the beauty of their product: at your service are 11 stylish design options (skins). In addition, the application has been translated into 9 languages, including Russian, and has intuitive controls.

Soft4Boost Dup File Finder gets down to business right away - when you first start it, a wizard window opens in the background of the main window, which will guide you step by step through all the setup steps. You can't get confused and make a mistake.

Functions and Features of Soft4Boost Dup File Finder

Finding copies of objects by content.
Select a search category: among all files or only images, audio, video, archives or applications.
Option to ignore object names.
Scanning local and network folders, as well as removable media(you can choose more than one).
2 ways to delete: to the trash and permanently.

Unlike many “free” applications that try to recoup their freeness by installing junk along the way or intrusive display of ads, Soft4Boost Dup File Finder only modestly offers to buy products from the same developer in bulk for 1399 rubles. If you don't need them, just don't click on the banner.

Like the rest of the programs of today's review, Soft4Boost Dup File Finder supports all versions of Windows and is regularly updated.

AllDup

The utility is not as intuitive as the previous one, but rich in features. Without the Russian language in it, not everyone could master all the possibilities in 5 minutes. Although there is nothing complicated in this program. At the first start, along with the main window, a small prompt opens - the "Quick Start" window with three buttons: "Select source folder", "Select search method" and "Start search". Pressing these buttons in turn opens areas where you need to select or configure something.

Users who speak English can explore AllDup using the built-in help, which opens in the right place when you click on the question icons.

Features and functionality of AllDup

A large list of search criteria: name, extension, size, content, creation and modification dates, file attributes, hard links, similar images. Search by a combination of several criteria.
Scanning the contents of archives (finding individual duplicates in archives).
Customizable way to compare object names: by complete match, by initial characters in the name, by a specified number of matching characters, etc.
Finding files with similar names.
File content comparison.
Flexible search options with the ability to select additional actions before and after it.
Scan logging.
A highly customizable filter for ignoring objects.
Creating a hard link or shortcut to a saved file in place of a deleted duplicate.
No limits on the number of scanned directories.
Removable media scanning.
Preview of the found files with display of various options - in case of difficulty in making a decision to delete.
Compilation of convenient lists of search results. Export lists to txt or csv format.
Saving the scan result. Allows you to close the program without waiting for the end of the scan. And after a restart, start not from the beginning, but from the moment it stopped.
Create and save multiple settings profiles.

AllDup is different from many competitors high speed scanning and completeness of detection of duplicated objects. By the way, thanks to the function of searching for similar files, the program can be used to find any data on the hard drive without deleting it.

Another nice feature of the AllDup utility is complete absence advertising. Instead of her top panel the button "Support the author" has been made with any acceptable amount, if you want it yourself.

DiskBoss

It cannot be fully attributed to the class of programs for removing duplicate files. This is just one of the functions, in addition to which the utility can do very, very much. DiskBoss is an optimizer disk space and advanced file manager. It is designed to analyze the use of drives and manage all the objects that are on them.

DiskBoss features and capabilities

Exploration of disk space with display on pie chart How much space do certain objects take up?
Classify, sort and group files and folders according to a variety of criteria, including user rules.
Finding and cleaning duplicates on workstations and servers under Windows control. Flexible search criteria.
Several options for dealing with duplicates found - deletion, archiving, moving to another location, etc.
Replacing deleted duplicates with links.
Saving reports of scanning and cleaning disks from duplicate data in html, excel, pdf, txt, csv and xml formats.
Displaying the result of the search for duplicates on pie charts.
Creation and execution of automatic disk cleanup scripts.
Improved disk search system.
Synchronization of data in the specified directories.
Delete groups of files based on specified criteria.
Monitoring changes in file system drives in real time.
Integrity analysis and other operations with files.
Much more.

The DiskBoss utility will good choice for those who need a complete picture of the contents and status of disks, as well as the ability to manage all the data on them using manual and automatic methods. The app comes in a free and several paid versions, with the former containing almost everything the paid pro version has, except for a few automation tools.

Perhaps the only drawback of DiskBoss is the lack of a Russian language, but for the sake of such a wealth of functions, you can put up with it. Otherwise, the utility is very good, and for some tasks it is indispensable.

Of course, this is not an exhaustive list of programs designed to remove identical copies of files. There are dozens, maybe hundreds. However, this modest set is enough to satisfy the needs of 90% Windows users. I hope that some of them will be useful to you as well.

Search for identical photos: programs and their comparison

There may be several reasons for the demand for programs to search for identical photos on a computer, for example:

Your collection may have grown so large that duplicates are already taking up a lot of space;
You need a tool that will find the same or similar photos, saving you the trouble of looking through those images yourself.

In our selection, there was a place for six interesting programs, four of which are distributed free of charge. Below we are:

Let's talk about each of these search programs and help you quickly navigate their interface;
Let's compare all programs, in which we'll see how they cope with the search for identical images with their slight modification;
Let's check how well the programs can cope with big set photo weighing several gigabytes.

Find duplicate photos with Image Comparer

The first program in our review that looks for duplicate photos is called Image Comparer. Her strengths: good functionality and interface translated into Russian, including detailed help information.

Now for the disadvantages. First, the program is not free. However, the cost of the license is a humane 350 rubles (although for some reason the site indicates the number 500). In addition, you can use Image Comparer for free for the first 30 days.

Second negative point is a slight confusion that can confuse an inexperienced user. For example, in order to search within one folder (in which others can be nested), you need to click on the "create gallery" button and select the desired directory in which the scan will be performed.

Next, you will immediately be prompted to give a name and save the file of the created gallery to any convenient place (this file will be needed by the program itself). Once this is done, you will see a list of all the images in the specified folder and its subfolders in the form of a list or thumbnails:

The buttons marked with arrows start the search for duplicates. The first button is a search within one gallery (the folder you have chosen), the second button is a little to the right - within several galleries. We went with the first option.

Next, the program offered to create another service file in which the results will be saved for further convenient access to them. Actually, creating a file for the gallery and this file with search results can just confuse an inexperienced user a little. However, then everything is already simple. The found duplicates will appear in front of you:

They can be viewed as thumbnails, or by clicking on the “image pairs” tab, go to the view where the photos will already be compared with each other:

The slider in the center allows you to adjust the image similarity threshold. Set to 100% and you will only have a list of identical pictures that are perfectly similar to each other. More low values only similar photos will be displayed.

In the settings you can see a huge list of formats from basic JPG and PNG to more exotic ones that the program works with. Formats can be added and excluded from the search. You can also configure the accounting of reflected and inverted images.

Image Comparer. Official site ;
Russian language;

Finding identical photos in three clicks with VisiPics

The next program is VisiPics. Unlike the Image Comparer discussed above, VisiPics is free application, also specializing in photo duplicates. Alas, there is no localization into Russian here, but you definitely shouldn’t get upset about this: everything is very simple and extremely clear.

Using the side navigation bar (we circled it in a box), select the desired directory. Next, click the arrow with the "+" sign to add this folder to the list that will be searched. You can select more folders in the same way if you wish. Finally, in the third step, click the Play button to start the process of finding duplicates.

To the right of it is a special slider where you can adjust the level of "attentiveness" of the program. In the case of the default baseline, VisiPics found only two groups of duplicates for us, one of which consisted of three images, and the other of two:

These are the images that the program considers almost identical duplicates. However, if you lower the slider to Loose, then there will be images that simply look alike. In our case, when installing Loose instead of Basic, the application found four more (in the final test below - 5) groups of duplicates, and added one more picture to one of the two already found:

There are relatively few additional options for the program. Here you can configure search in subfolders (it is enabled by default), display hidden folders, accounting for photos rotated by 90 degrees. On the loader tab, you can ask VisiPics to ignore small files or, conversely, pictures that are too large. high resolution. The latter is important for speed.

VisiPics program. Official site ;
English language;
Distribution: free.

Awesome Duplicate Photo Finder

If you are looking for the ultimate a simple program for a quality search for duplicate photos and images, which would be easy to figure out, then pay attention to the Awesome Duplicate Photo Finder. The interface is in English, but it is so simple that everyone will understand it.

Using the “+” button, specify the directory or several directories you need to search, then click Start Search and the search will begin on them. The Scan Subdirectories option is enabled by default and is responsible for searching subfolders. The program copes with its tasks, finding both very similar:

Here are some slightly different pictures:

In the program settings, you can set the match to 100% if you only need exactly the same photos.

The settings themselves, as you can see, are few. Perhaps the saddest thing is that the program works with only five main formats: BMP, JPG, PNG, GIF and TIFF. Moreover, the latter is not taken into account by default.

There are also options to ensure that duplicates are deleted directly to the trash and to disable the confirmation popup. The program can also be updated automatically.

English language;
Distribution: free.

The Similar Images Finder application greets us with an unkind message in English that you need to pay $34 for it. Nevertheless, for 30 days the program is ready to work for free. Next, a window appears prompting you to select directories to search for duplicates:

From it, we learn that Similar Images Finder supports 29 image formats, and the user can select specific formats for searching or exclude unnecessary ones. In the list, among other things, you can see ico and wbmp.

Clicking Next will start the search for duplicates, and when it is finished, click Next again to see additional settings. By adjusting them, you can fine-tune what appears in the results list. Finally, by clicking Next a third time, you will see the result itself:

You can go to the next found picture by pressing the miniature arrow in the upper right corner. The entire list of found duplicates is opened by clicking on the big button at the top with the addresses of the current files.

In turn, pressing the Next button at the bottom will lead to the final stage of work. There, the program will display a list of what, in its opinion, are definitely duplicates and offer to delete them. In the screenshot above, the Similar Images Finder has dealt with the image where a watermark has been added and the histogram contrast has been changed.

Distinguishing between the pictures, the program calculated at the level of 5.5%. At the same time, in another example, where we added a strong blur effect to the second picture, the differences, according to the application version, for some reason amounted to only 1.2%:

Alas, the program, finding real duplicates, by default also shows many images that are completely different from each other, as if they have something in common:

Similar Images Finder. Official site ;
English language;
Distribution: paid, 30 days free use.

Universal Duplicate Finder with Duplicate Remover Free

Duplicate Remover Free is the only program in our review that focuses not specifically on duplicate photos, but on finding duplicates in general.

As practice shows, such universal solutions do not perform very well in tasks related to some narrower area.

However, today we are giving one such program a chance. As the word Free suggests, it is distributed free of charge. The second advantage of the application is the Russian language, and the third is the relative modernity against the background of other programs in this collection, many of which, unfortunately, have not been updated for many years.

You should click on the "add directory" button and select desired folders. By default, the program in the specified directory did not find anything for us at all, however, when we selected the item “similar images” instead of “exact duplicates” at the top, four groups of duplicates were immediately found, one of which consisted of three files at once:

The application has very few additional features. In particular, you can exclude files before and after a certain size from the search.

Duplicate Remover Free. Official site ;
Russian language;
Distribution: free.

Search for matching photos using various algorithms with AntiDupl

The final participant in our review - the AntiDupl program may appeal to you for several reasons at once. First, it's free. Secondly, it has a Russian interface. The latter, however, is not obvious. In order to enable Russian, open the View menu and in the Language section select the appropriate item:

Unlike others, this program is not installed, but is located in a self-extracting archive, which extracts it, along with the necessary files, into a separate folder.

To prepare the search for duplicates, click on the button labeled Open and add the necessary directories in the window that appears:

Next, you can click OK, and then activate the green “start search” button on the toolbar. Using a basic algorithm, the program found several groups of duplicates for us:

Switching the algorithm to a more free SSIM at the top, we already got two more groups of duplicates, and after increasing the “freedom” of the search from 20 to 35%, the program gave us an even more detailed list:

At the same time, in all cases, images were found that were at least noticeably similar to each other. So feel free to experiment with the settings.

The program has a lot of additional options:

On the "search" tab, you can find out that AntiDupl supports 13 formats, among which, in addition to traditional JPG / PNG, there are ICON, PSD and EXIF. Of course, formats can be chosen. There is also a check for defects, blockiness and blurring in the options, and in the last two cases, you can set a threshold. It is possible to search in hidden and system directories.

Anti Dupl program. ;
Russian language;
Distribution: free.

When searching for duplicates, some users are interested in 100% matching in order to get rid of duplicates in their collection. However, the task often arises to find just similar pictures.

And here is a huge scope for possible differences. This can be different formats, resolutions, cropped versions of the same image, adding frames and watermarks, changed colors and captions on pictures.

We tried to take into account most of these factors, and after all the tests, we ended up with a small set with more than six dozen pictures. In them, we created nine groups of duplicates. To be honest, our experience does not exactly claim to be the ultimate truth, but it was interesting to try. The results are as follows:

Duplicator Remover Free: found only 3 groups of duplicates;
Similar Images Finder: found 4 groups, but inconvenient interface, many false results and at the same time, the paid application greatly spoiled the overall impression;
AntiDupl found 3 types of duplicates by default, setting the SSIM algorithm increased the search result to 5 groups;
VisiPics at the basic search level found only 2 groups of duplicates, however, setting the slider to the Loose level allowed us to find 7 groups already;
Awesome Duplicate Photo Finder found 7 groups of duplicates;
Image Comparer was also able to detect 7 groups.

In doing so, Image Comparer was able to find images that were missed by Awesome Duplicate Photo Finder and VisiPics, which, in turn, filled in the gaps of Image Comparer.

The fastest program to find duplicate photos

At the same time, the quality of the program also depends on its speed. 60+ pictures is, of course, not something that users can work with. So we did another test. This time for speed. To do this, we took a selection of 4450 of the most different images, the total weight of which exceeded 2.1 GB.

Two programs from this review, alas, did not take any place in the test. As it turns out, Similar Images Finder, which costs $34, is free version ready to process no more than 200 images at a time.

In turn, the universal search engine for duplicates Duplicate Remover Free, faced with a catalog of a serious size, worked intensively for more than five minutes, and then thoroughly froze. The rest of the programs showed the following times:

AntiDupl: 0:39;
Image Comparer: 1:02 (35 seconds to create a gallery and 27 seconds to search);
VisiPics: 2:37;
Awesome Duplicate Photo Finder: 3:17.

As a result, Image Comparer and AntiDupl clearly took the lead in the speed test. It took them about or, in the case of AntiDupl, less than a minute to process our archive.

Conclusion

Let's summarize. If you need to find not the same, but exactly similar photos that differ, for example, by a signature or a watermark, then Image Comparer, Awesome Duplicate Photo Finder and VisiPics in Loose mode will do the job better than others.

In terms of the speed of processing a large collection of images, the undisputed leaders are AntiDupl and Image Comparer.

Finally, in terms of the convenience of the interface, we liked Image Comparer and VisiPics, which allow you to visually evaluate all groups of duplicates on the go. In turn, for the clarity of comparing the characteristics of individual duplicates, we also note AntiDupl.

Good day!

I think that many users have dozens (or even hundreds) gigabytes of pictures, wallpapers, videos, music, and other files on their disk. And I should note that in different directories (in wallpaper collections, for example) there can be quite a lot of copies (doubles). Often, after removing them, it is possible to free up several gigabytes of space on the HDD!

To find duplicates there are special programs and utilities. They are ways to scan your hard drive(s) in a relatively short time and present you with all the same. Then, as a rule, all you have to do is tick off what to delete - and voila, the place is cleared!

In this article, I will give a few of these "cleaners" that will help you free up space on your hard drive. So...

Addition!

Universal (search for any files)

Universal programs for finding duplicates are suitable for working with any files: documents, photos, videos, etc. As a rule, their work is based on finding files of the same size and checksum. Those. these programs look for exact copies that match 100%!

Due to this, their speed of work is quite high. However, they cannot find, for example, almost same pictures, which are saved in different formats and excellent resolution. To do this, you need to use special The software I recommend below...

CCleaner

One of the most famous PC cleaning utilities. However, not many users know that it has a function to search for duplicates in its arsenal (moreover, a very good function!).

To open this option: you need to download latest version programs in the menu "Service" choose "Search for duplicates" , specify the settings and click the button "Find" .

I note that the search is fast enough, you can filter files by their size, name date. You can also manually set specific drives(folders) to search. In general, quite convenient!

Glary Utilities (Glary Duplicate Cleaner)

Glary Utilities is an excellent set of utilities for all occasions. Contains all the most necessary tools to clean, maintain and optimize Windows. I have repeatedly recommended this complex on the pages of my blog ...

There is one small utility in its firmware arsenal Glary Duplicate Cleaner. It allows you to quickly find duplicates of a wide variety of file formats: TXT, RAR, ZIP, MP3, WAV, AVI, JPG, BMP, etc. (in general, all the most popular ones are definitely there, see the screen below).

Configuring Scan Options / Glary Duplicate Cleaner

There is also a small filter with search criteria: by name, size, time. There is an option to skip files of a certain size (for example, you can skip files that weigh less than 100 KB).

Note that the package Glary Utilities free, and fully translated into Russian. In general, rating 5 on a 5 point scale!

AllDup

This is a small free utility way to very quickly scan all your drives and remove all duplicate files. The developers note that their search algorithm is 10-30% faster than other similar products.

Personally, I did not check the speed, but I would note the following: the utility works in all Windows 2000, XP, 7, 8, 10 (this is some kind of advantage!).

After the search, the AllDup utility will present you with the results: you can familiarize yourself with each duplicate and delete it directly from the program interface. Comfortable!

Duplicate File Finder

A free tool for cleaning disks from duplicate files. The program compares files on the specified disk (directory) byte by byte. There are standard filters: file extension, name, creation date, and size.

With the search result (an example is shown in the screenshot above), you can either familiarize yourself with the program itself (and make a decision), or export it to HTML files, CSV and TXT. By the way, I would note that the program has a fairly convenient viewer that allows you to view a picture, text, video.

Total Commander

This famous Commander (a good replacement for Explorer) also has a file search function. To open it, click on the magnifying glass icon in top menu programs (see screen above).

Of course, there are not so many opportunities here, but nevertheless ...

To search for photos, pictures, graphics

These programs can search not only by the size (checksum) of the file, but also by the content of the picture. For example, you have several identical desktop wallpapers located in two different folders (but these pictures have different sizes and resolutions).

So, the programs above would not have found these duplicates, because they "can't" appreciate what is shown in the pictures. In this case, you must use the special tools (about them below) ...

Image Comparer

This is a very small utility that specializes in finding similar images. I note that it compares not just the size, but what is shown in the picture (see the screen above). All popular image and photo formats are supported: RAW, JPEG, J2K, BMP, GIF, PNG, TIFF, TGA, etc.

After the search, you will see a list of duplicates: by going through it, you can view all copies and delete those that you do not need. What is interesting: the program shows you the percentage of similarity of certain pictures (the difference between them is highlighted when viewed with squares).

Of the minuses: if you specify a large disk (several terabytes) - the program will take a very long time to scan. I recommend going through the pictures with coarser tools before using it. (for example, CCleaner, AllDup, etc., see above).

Dupe Guru Picture Edition

A very simple utility that is designed to quickly search for identical pictures. I note that similar pictures will be found even if they have a different format (for example, JPG and Tiff as in the screenshot above).

Of the benefits of the utility:

visual comparison of pictures;
the program is completely free;
simple interface, made in the style of minimalism;
Russian language support;
the ability to export search results;
support for all the most popular Windows versions XP, 7, 8, 10.

ImageDupeless

Program ImageDupeless allows you to find duplicate images regardless of the size of the files, their format, resolution, etc. characteristics (it will, as it were, "look" for you all the pictures and find similar ones).

The program also has a very interesting function of recording images on CDs (creating original CD galleries).

Note: to save time, compare newly arriving pictures with an existing gallery (this way you will save a lot of time, because a full scan of all the pictures on the disk is much longer than already searching in the created gallery).

Comparison result: Please note that the resolution and size of the pictures are different!

Visual Similarity Duplicate Image Finder

The program uses advanced algorithms to compare graphic images available in pictures and photographs. Thanks to this, it is possible to find similar and identical pictures, even if they have a different format (GIF, PNG, JPG, etc.) and resolution.

I note that the user has the option to specify a sign of similarity (i.e. you can set, say, to find only those pictures that are 95% similar to each other).

After the search: you can view all found duplicates and manually delete everything you don't need. By the way, the program places 2 identical images next to each other (see the example above) so that you can visually see the difference. Very convenient!

To search for audio and video files

Audio Comparer (Electronic ear)

Audio Comparer - the program will listen to almost 300 tracks in 10 minutes.

Audio Comparer is not as simple an application for finding duplicates among music files (MP3, MP2, MP1, WMA, AIF, WAV, WavPack, FLAC, APE, AAC and OGG) as it might seem at first glance... It " listens" to music and compares the tracks with each other according to a special algorithm: the comparison is based on the audio track, and not on the size or file name (as is done in many other analogues).

Thanks to this, the same tracks can be found even if they are saved in different formats. Audio Comparer is a kind of electronic ear that can listen to all your music very quickly.

I note that there are quite a few such programs, so each deserves special attention! I recommend to get acquainted!

Dupe Guru Music Edition

A very interesting dupeGuru Music Edition program for finding the same and similar music tracks. There are search filters available: by bitrate, information in tags, duration, size, etc.

All the most popular formats are supported: MP3, WMA, AAC, WMA, OGG, FLAC. After the search, the found duplicates can either be deleted or transferred to other directories.

I would also note the presence of the Russian language and support for modern OS Windows 7, 8, 10 (including 64 bits).

Music Duplicate Remover

Music Duplicate Remover - the utility allows you to easily and quickly find copies of audio files located in different folders (disks) and saved in various formats. Thanks to the "electronic ear" technology, it is able to listen to all your songs on the disk, analyze them and provide you with a report with all similar tracks (an example of such a report is shown in the screenshot above).

I note that the utility works fine with standard presets (i.e. after downloading and running it - there is no need to delve into the settings for a long time, you can immediately start scanning).

Note! Music Duplicate Remover supports the following audio formats: MP3, WMA, OGG, FLAC, APE, WAV.

Duplicate Video Search

Enough powerful program to delete the same videos saved in different folders (suitable for those who have a lot of all sorts of videos, music videos, top 100 collections, etc.). It will help you "scroll" your collection of files and remove all duplicates.

I note that the program uses a unique "cast" technology (i.e. a kind of "electronic eye"), which allows you to find similar videos, even if they are saved in a different format, they have a different resolution and they are compressed with a different codec.

Peculiarities:

the following video formats are supported: AVI, MKV, 3GP, MPG, SWF, MP4, WMV, WTV and FLV (see screenshot above);
search for full copies of videos and similar ones (where there is an excellent resolution, bitrate, format, codec);
the program automatically selects the video with the worst quality among all takes (however, you can manually specify which copy to delete);
convenient and visual presentation of search results: thumbnails for each video and the path to the directory where it is stored;
right from the program window, you can either view the video or delete it.

Video Comparer

Video Comparer - a program designed to search and compare videos on your hard drive. In a relatively short period of time, it can view all your videos and show you in a convenient table all the files that repeat each other (full duplicates, similar videos, videos with the same content but different quality, etc.).

I note that the program has various filters that will allow, for example, to search for videos only of a certain format (or set the duration of the video).