What Are Duplicate Files, and Why Should You Remove Them on Windows?

Duplicate files can sneak onto your system in a multitude of ways, and they do nothing but gum up your system. Here's how to find them.

Having dozens of duplicate files hanging around on every other folder makes it difficult to choose the right one at crucial times. You might not have gauged properly; these duplicates you just created subconsciously can eat up a large portion of your disk space and bog down your computer.

If you are also tired of duplicate files and folders messing up the organization of files and folders, we'll show you how to identify and delete the safe-to-delete duplicate files.

What Files Are Considered Duplicate?

Generally speaking, two files containing the same data are duplicates, even if they are named differently. The duplicate file will usually have the same name as the original file but with numerals (1,2,3) enclosed in parentheses at the end.

If you modify a particular file and instead of overwriting the file, you save it again, it won't be considered a duplicate since some parts of the contents differ between the two.

How Do Duplicate Files Sneak Into Your Computer?

Have you ever wondered how so many duplicate files sneak into your computer? The answer is straightforward - not paying attention when downloading or relocating files on your computer. Here are the most common ways duplicate files creep into your computer:

1. Downloading the Same File Twice

Downloading files multiple times is the most common reason you end up having duplicates on your computer. In many cases, we unknowingly download files twice from email attachments, websites, and social media apps, which accumulate over time and make matters worse.

Thus, you should be careful when clicking the download button to avoid downloading duplicate files.

2. Backing Up the Same Files Twice

The likelihood of finding duplicates in your backup folders is not surprising if you create local backups frequently.

To prevent such an occurrence, either use the Windows built-in backup that diligently only backs up the modified files during every scan or find a reliable backup provider that does not duplicate data during the backup process.

You can also use cloud backups or external storage devices as backup destinations to avoid duplicating your files on the computer.

3. Relocating the Files With Copy and Paste Process

Moving files around with a copy-and-paste method is a common way duplicates are accumulated on your computer. While it is an excellent way to avoid losing files if the process is interrupted (as happens during cut-and-paste), we forget to delete the files from the original folder in most cases.

As such, if you frequently copy-and-paste files on your computer to relocate them, you should always delete the copied files from their original folders.

Now that you know how duplicate files show up uninvited on your computer, let's look at some common reasons you should delete them.

Duplicate Files: Why Should You Remove Them?

The following are some common reasons why you should remove duplicates whenever you spot them:

1. Duplicate Files Are Big Disk Space Hogs

One obvious reason to remove duplicate files is to avoid letting them take up extra space. Having a few duplicates won't be noticeable, but accumulating them over time can occupy considerable storage space.

Thus, if you don't want to have low storage space at crucial times, you should regularly scan and remove duplicate files. Likewise, our article covers different Windows files that you should periodically remove to help free up disk space.

2. Duplicate Files Demand More Backup Space

Not only do duplicates consume space on your storage device, but they also take up space in your backup destination. Duplicate files can make a big difference when creating regular data backups, primarily if the data comprises hundreds of GBs.

Additionally, they will make the backup process as slow as a tortoise, taking hours to complete. To avoid wasting the backup resource you've paid for and keep things fast, it makes sense to delete duplicates beforehand.

3. Duplicate Files Mess Up Your File Organization

If you are one of those people who are obsessed with the organization of their storage drives, duplicate files will be enough to cause chaos for you. Moreover, duplicate files will make finding the file you are trying to access more challenging.

So, to keep everything organized and find the correct file quickly, you should stop duplicate files from lingering on your device.

Which Duplicate Files Are Safe to Delete?

Duplicates are generally created in three ways; you download them, third-party apps create them during installation, or the operating system makes a duplicate system file to keep things running smoothly.

Depending on how both apps and the OS create duplicates, they may or may not be safe to delete. Therefore, it is best to stay away from them to avoid causing more harm. Conversely, you do not need to worry about deleting self-created duplicate files created while relocating files in your system or downloading the same file twice.

In general, if you are deleting the correct duplicate file and are confident that it will not affect your apps or operating system, you can safely delete it. Whenever you're unsure whether to delete a file or not, it might be one you shouldn't.

What's the Right Way to Delete Duplicate Files in Windows?

In Windows, you can delete duplicate files in two ways: manually or using duplicate file removal software.

Even though Windows offers tools to locate duplicate files manually, such as the search box, you'll need to examine every file and folder separately on every partition, making this method impractical.

On the other hand, duplicate file removal tools allow you to remove duplicate files quickly, but the chances of removing the original file rather than the duplicate are always there.

So, the best way to remove duplicate files is to take the help of software to only scan and locate the duplicates while manually deleting the duplicate files after a thorough inspection.

Remove Duplicate Files With Ease

Hopefully, you've figured out how duplicates can creep into your computer and why you should delete them. Furthermore, you can filter out the duplicates you can safely delete and use your preferred method to remove them from your computer's vicinity.

How well organized is your computer? If you keep files and folders scattered across your computer, it gets easier for duplicate files to find their way in. Thus, make a habit of keeping your drives organized, so you can spot duplicates and eliminate them quickly.