What is the best FREE way to remove duplicate files from iTunes?

Question

I thought about using a file deduper but figured that would still show the dupes IN itunes. I really don't care about artwork or the likes. Is using the built in "show dupes" the best option?

The built in "Show Duplicates" feature fails because I have thousands of songs and hundreds of duplicates.

Solution 1

I find the easiest way to remove duplicate songs is to just wipe out your library and do a fresh import of all your music.

It's not the most efficient method but it gets the job done. However, if this is an ongoing problem for you, then this wouldn't be the best method to take.

Solution 2

In iTunes for Mac, if you hold the Option key down, Show Duplicates becomes Show Exact Duplicates. I think the equivalent on Windows is the Shift key. Might be worth a try.

Comments

[Admin]

I have hundreds of dupes and it's a real pain to have to manually remove them all

[Admin]

Are you using a Macintosh?

[Admin]

@Beska, yes, I imported the songs twice, and they both exist in the file system and in iTunes twice.

[Admin]

the show duplicates feature works only if you sync your PC library with your iPod library. useless for finding dups already on one's iPod

[detroitpro]

The Shift key did not seem to work; but I ended up just using the built in "Show Duplicates" feature. Very time consuming.