How To Delete Duplicate Files On Mac For Free

Cleaner One Pro helps you visualize, manage, and free up storage space in just one click. This powerful Mac cleaner helps you find & clean temporary files and hidden leftover instantly. Working as a smart duplicate files finder for Mac, it helps you retrieve and delete duplicate files. This video shows an easy and a FREE way to clear all duplicate files on our Macs and Macbooks and free lots of space.NOTE- AUTOCHOOSE FOR AUTOMATICALLY SELEC.

Find and Remove Duplicate Files

This article will show you how to find and delete duplicate files on external hard drive on Mac easily and quickly.

External hard drives are often used for backup purposes such as Time Machine backups. They can also be used to transfer files from computer to computer. Duplicate files may slowly accumulate over time as you use your external hard drive. To make effective use of the storage space on your drive, it’s a good idea to find the duplicate files on it and get them deleted. The article talks about two ways for Mac users to remove duplicate files from external hard drive.

The Best External Hard Drive Duplicate File Finder

  • Support macOS 10.10 or later
  • Find and delete duplicate photos, audios, videos, docs, packages and more
  • Work with Mac’s internal drive, external HD, flash drive, etc.
  • Also find similar images
  • Remove duplicates from iTunes, Music, Photos & iPhoto
  • Make it easy, quick & customizable to scan for duplicates
  • Allow you to conveniently preview files within the app
  • Let you delete duplicate files with 1 click
  • Offer useful features like Ignore List and Auto-Select
Free Download

Find and delete duplicate files on external hard drive on Mac in 1 minute or less

How to find duplicate files on external hard drive on Mac? The best way is to use duplicate file finder software like Cisdem Duplicate Finder for Mac. It is compatible with macOS 10.10 or later, including macOS 10.15 Catalina.

Files

Delete duplicate files on external hard drive on Mac in 4 steps

Step 1. Add your hard drive(s) to scan

Download and install Cisdem Duplicate Finder. Open it.

Click the add icon and add hard drives or folders to scan. Click the Scan button.

  • To find duplicate files on an external hard drive, add the drive alone. Also, you can add specific folders from the drive.
  • To find duplicate files between two drives (internal or external), add these drives.
  • Likewise, you can use the app to easily scan for duplicate files across multiple drives or folders, external or internal.

Step 2. View and preview duplicate files

Once it finishes scanning, you will be presented with the results window. All the duplicate files are listed under the All tab. You can also view them by file type, such as Images, Music and Documents.

There are three preview modes (Thumbnail, List and Info), allowing you to preview pictures, media files and documents without leaving the app. The preview feature can be especially useful when it comes to deleting duplicate photos on external hard drive. You can also zoom in or out for better view.

Step 3. Select duplicates for removal

This duplicate file finder will automatically select duplicate copies for you to delete. Additionally, it provides four selection rules .

  • Smart Select
  • Select by Priority
  • Select Newest
  • Select Oldest

You can choose one of them based on your preference. Also, it allows you to select or deselect manually.

On a side note, when it comes to handling similar images, there are eight selection rules available.

Step 4. Delete duplicate file on external hard drive with 1 click

Make sure that you have selected the unwanted duplicates. Click the Delete button in the bottom right corner. A message will appear. Click Yes to confirm the deletion.

The duplicates will be permanently removed from your external HD. If it were an internal disk instead of an external one, there would be more removal options available such as Move to Trash.

Note: You can stop the scan process at any time, and real-time scan result will be provided. Don’t eject your external hard drive while the scan or removal is going on.

Cisdem Duplicate Finder main features:

  • Detect and delete duplicates on Mac, external SSD/HDD, USB flash drives, SD card, Google Drive and more
  • Find duplicate photos, videos, audios, Word documents, spreadsheets, PDFs, ebooks, packages, archives, etc.
  • Also find similar images
  • Remove dupes from Photos, iPhoto, iTunes & Music
  • Scan for one or multiple folders or drives simultaneously
  • Allow you to scan for duplicates by file content or filename
  • Automatically select files for you to eliminate with 1 click
  • Also provide multiple selection rules
  • Easy to use
  • Free up space on Mac, external hard drive, etc.
  • Help you better organize your files

Tip: How to reduce time to scan external hard drive for duplicate files

This Cisdem external hard drive duplicate file finder uses MD5 value checksum algorithm and does byte-by-byte comparison when scanning. It generally only takes seconds to scan thousands of files. For a significantly large amount of files, it will take more time.

Here’s the good news! You can exclude files and folders from the scan so as to lessen the time it will take.

  • Exclude folders Before you hit the Scan button, click the settings icon in the top right corner. Go to the Ignore List tab. Click the add icon to add specific folders or sub-folders for exclusion.
  • Exclude file types Go to the Ignore files of particular extensions section. Click the add icon to enter file extensions. If you enter MP3, it will skip all the MP3 audio files when scanning your external HD for duplicates.
  • Exclude files by size Switch to the General tab. There, you can set the minimum and maximum file size. For example, if you aim to get rid of large duplicate files and quickly free up space on your external hard disk, then you can set the scan to skip all small- and medium-sized files.

In addition to what has been mentioned in the tip above, there are also other options in settings . By customize settings options when needed, you will be rewarded with a more efficient duplicate removal.

Manually find and delete duplicate files on your external hard drive in Finder

How to delete duplicate files on external hard drive mac such as photos that are stored on them? I have over 15,000 duplicate photos on my Photos, half of it stored on the external HD. I tried to find these duplicates manually, but it was a waste of time and energy. Is there a duplicate file finder what could help me to find and remove these duplicate photos on Mac? Any help will be greatly appreciated. ― Asked by a Mac user

How do Mac users find and delete duplicate files on external hard drive? The best way is to use a duplicate file finder for Mac. You can also do it by hand. It's not as hard as it seems. However, it can be a waste of time and energy if there are a lot of duplicate files on your external hard drive. Anyway, here’s how.

Step 1. Plug your external hard drive into Mac. Go to Finder. In the Devices sidebar, select the external drive.

Step 2. Use shortcut Command-F. A search bar will appear.

Step 3. Select Kind among the available search parameters. Select the file kind of your choice in the second dropdown list. Also choose a specific file format if needed.

Step 4. Sort the listed files by name or other parameters, preview and compare, and find the duplicate files. You can move the unwanted ones to Trash.

Use Terminal

You can also identify duplicate files on external hard drive or Mac’s internal hard drive with Terminal. Note that it only identify duplicates. You still need to delete the files manually. Terminal comes with every Mac.

Step 1. Go to Finder > Applications > Utility. Find and open Terminal.

Step 2. If you want to find the duplicate files in a folder, say Downloads, you can use the cd command by typing cd ~/Downloads and press the return key.

Step 3. Enter the command: find . -size 20 ! -type d -exec cksum {} ; | sort | tee /tmp/f.tmp | cut -f 1,2 -d ' ' | uniq -d | grep -hif – /tmp/f.tmp > duplicates.txt. Press return.

How To Delete Duplicate Files On Mac For Free

Step 4. Open the file duplicates.txt and you will find a list of duplicate files. Now you can manually find and delete them.

Why there are so many duplicate files and how to avoid them

Why are there so many duplicate files on my Mac? It’s not uncommon to have duplicate files on your Mac and external hard drives. As a matter of fact, duplicate files are almost inevitable.

They can be there due to multiple imports of the same file, multiple copies of backup, app (such as iTunes) bugs, etc. They can occur when you unknowingly transfer files to your external hard disk where the same files already exist. Another cause is file compression. Sometimes we compress photos to make them smaller in size for emailing or uploading. In a case like this, there can be duplicate copies of the same photos. They are identical in content but different in size.

Whatever the cause is, it’s important to clean them up. By doing so, you can free up storage space and keep your files more organized. It will also help if you know how to prevent them from occurring.

  • Delete photos and videos from SD card after you transfer them to your Mac
  • Set your Mac to detect duplicate files while importing
  • Be aware that resizing or editing photos will lead to almost duplicate files
  • Avoid unnecessary backups
  • Use duplicate file finder software on a regular basis

In conclusion

Above are the two common ways on how to find duplicate files on external hard drive on Mac. Duplicate files can waste space your internal and external hard drives. By getting rid of useless duplicate files with the help of software like Cisdem Duplicate Finder, you can free up storage space on your external hard disk. Do you think this guide on how to identify and remove duplicate files helpful? Leave a comment and share your thoughts and opinions.

Duplicate File Finder is a great tool for dealing with low disk space issues, but there is more you can do to clear space and improve your PC's performance. Auslogics BoostSpeed is a powerful optimizer that lets you clean out junk files, resolve registry issues, eliminate slowdown causes, clear privacy traces to protect your confidential data and so much more. Duplicate Files Finder is another solid, if simplistic option. While it doesn’t have a ton of unique features (it’s not even the only app with this name), it’s easily one of the fastest.

Find Similar And Duplicate Files - Delete Repeating Documents

Duplicate File Finder Recover wasted disk space on your HDD, SSD, or in the Cloud Storage and speed up your computer by removing duplicate files. Duplicate File Finder™ is a powerful application that uses intelligent algorithms to identify all types of duplicate files. Easy Duplicate Finder 7 vs. Easy Duplicate Finder 5. We're excited to offer you EDF 7, a new version of Easy Duplicate Finder that uses a different technology that greatly improves speed and performance and offers OS Catalina and Big Sur support for our Mac users. Duplicate Finder is an open-source app that helps you identify all duplicate files beneath a certain folder. When duplicate files are found, Duplicate Finder visualises each one, and even allows you to delete the files you select.


Duplicate File Finder - About

The Free FastDuplicate File Finder will find duplicate files in a folder, computer or entire network. The application will compare the content of the files and will find duplicates even if they are using different file names.

The Professional version can find similar files regardless of their file types. It will analyze the file data in order to find duplicates and not just file attributes like name and size as the standard clone removers do. It uses advanced algorithms while searching for related files and provides accurate results, which is not true for the commonly advertised FUZZY search methods.
The duplicate remover uses fast binary comparison algorithm and has internal preview supporting a lot of image, video, music and text file formats. It can also preview the common file formats.

After the scan process is finished the program shows all the duplicated files in groups and can automatically mark the oldest for deleting. The auto-mark algorithm has advanced settings to exclude from auto mark files with user specified extensions, file sizes, file dates, and file names. A 'source' folder can also be excluded from the auto mark. There is an option to protect system files and folders which is enabled by default and guarantees that the application will not remove any critical system files.
Download the FREE duplicate finder and recover up to 50% free space.


Featured on:


How To Find Duplicate Files?

  • Start the Scan: Select computer, drive, folder or network location to scan and choose among the multiple detection modes - 100% equal files, similar files, similar file names and many more.
  • Review Results: The tool automatically selects true duplicates for removal, but the identified files can be previewed inside the application and the selection can be modified manually if needed.
  • Delete Duplicate Files: Duplicated files can be removed in one go or moved to a folder or backup drive. You can now enjoy a fast and organized computer.

How To Delete Duplicate Files On Mac For Free Windows 10

Duplicate File Finder - Features

Duplicate Finder Windows

The duplicate cleaner is a powerful utility for finding repeating files in a folder and all its sub folders. The duplicate remover has the following features:
  • Find duplicate files in user specified folders, hard drives, computers or entire networks
  • Find similar files - documents( word, excel, text files), archives, binary files. We have dedicated duplicate image finder to find similar images and duplicate MP3 finder to find similar songs. Read our article about Which Duplicate File Finder to Choose.
  • Fast binary comparison algorithm
  • Internal preview supporting images, videos, music, text and binary files
  • Older or smaller files can be automatically marked for deletion
  • Redundant files can be moved to Recycle Bin, custom folder or deleted permanently
  • Support for all kinds of removable media - usb drives, diskettes etc.
  • Has intuitive interface and rich documentation
  • Process priority settings that will let the application scan in your computers IDLE time
  • Protection for system files and folders that will prevent damages to your system files when removing redundant files
  • Automatically locate duplicated files in Windows Explorer
  • Open file with associated program
  • Powerful filter and exclude from auto-check options
  • Powerful Quick Check/Uncheck dialog
  • Multi-language file system support
  • Native support for 64 bit and 32 bit operating systems
  • Lifetime License!

Duplicate File Finder - Command Line Parameters

Command-Line Parameters Usage: (Available only in Pro version)

DupFileFinder.exe -run -s -exp <semicolon delimited list of export formats>

-run - performs a duplicate files scan immediately after the program is started

-exp <semicolon delimited list of export formats> - Export command line parameter. Depending on the file extension will export the corresponding file type. Multiple formats can be exported at once by separating the paths with semicolons. The variables {DATE} and {TIME} will be replaced with the current date and time.

-s – stands for SILENT. Using the option the GUI will not be displayed during the scan and the application will exit after the command line actions are processed.

Example: DupFileFinder.exe -run -s -exp 'c:result_{DATE} {TIME}.xml;c:result_{DATE} {TIME}.fdff;c:result_{DATE} {TIME}.csv'

Note: If some of the parameters contain spaces, you must enclose them in double quotes as displayed above.


System Requirements

  • Operating system: Windows 10/Windows 8.1/Windows 8/Windows 7/Windows Vista/Windows XP/Windows NT/Windows 2000/Windows 2003/All Windows Server operating systems
  • CPU: Pentium-233 MHz or higher
  • 128 MB RAM
  • 5 MB free hard disk space
  • True Color display and video card
  • Mouse or other pointing device

Duplicate File Finder - Testimonials

David Cardinal - PC Magazine
'If you suspect you've wound up with multiple copies of large files like photos, music, or videos, there are utilities that can help you locate and delete duplicates. One nice free one is Duplicate File Finder from MindGems'

Gavin Cooper, D&D Consulting - www.timesunion.com

'Duplicate files over time you often move files around especially music photos and video files leaving the originals to sit and gather dust - there are a few free applications out there that can help to de-duplicate files good free one is Fast Duplicate File Finder.'


Long time Mac users have one problem in common, that is duplicates files in the system that not only clutters the precious space but also colonize it unnecessarily. The situation is most common amongst the photographers and those people who love to keep memories intact in the system. If these photos are not sorted now or kept in an organized manner, there could take up your precious system space. And you don’t want that to happen, right? Now the question comes how should I delete photos from Mac and which is the best duplicate photo finder for Mac. Keep scrolling, and you will find your answer regarding duplicate photo finder for Mac soon.

Before we move ahead, let’s clear the concept of duplicate photos about why they are created and how they interrupt in the workflow.

How Are Duplicate Photos Created?

No one creates duplicate photos in their Mac unless needed, yet they show up in the system. How? Well, they could be because of:

  • Mistakenly downloaded multiple times from the browser.
  • You might have copied these photos from one location to another but forgot to delete from the original location.
  • If the photos are edited multiple times, they are created with different names and even extensions.
  • If you are not able to locate the downloaded initially photos and new photos are downloaded once again.

These are the most popular ways photos are duplicated, and the need for duplicate photo cleaner tools rises.

How To Remove Duplicate Photos From Mac?

Although you can go for the manual method to remove duplicate photos, it is always recommended to use one of the best duplicate photos finders for Mac to save time, energy and precious space instantly.

Manual Method: In the case of manual method to remove duplicate photos on Mac:

Step 1: You can open Finder > go to Apple menu from the top bar > select File > New Smart Folder.
Step 2: Click ‘+’ icon from the top right corner > select Kind > Any (Images). As the images are detected, you can pull them down in the Trash.

However, this method still may leave the traces of duplicate photos on the Mac, especially if they are available in different file formats, and there are similarities between the pictures. It is best to go on an excellent duplicate photo finder for Mac and get rid of unnecessary duplicates in a quick snap.

Best Duplicate Photo Finder Mac 2021

1. Duplicate Photos Fixer Pro

USP: Overall best duplicate photo cleaner tool

One of the best duplicate pictures cleaner, this product by Systweak is well-trusted and easy to use. It allows you to add individual photos, photos library or even a folder. It not only provides the result for duplicates but similar files (for example, clicking in burst mode, slightly photoshopped, identical with less than 100 meters, etc.)

Once you select the folder/photos, you can customize the search results as per your requirements. You are free to slide the bar for Matching Level, Bitmap Size, Time Interval in which the pictures were clicked and GPS to change the geolocation. All this in one tool merely is ecstatic. Scan for the duplicates and similar photos and get the results displayed in a very organized fashion to avoid any confusion.

ProsCons
● Finds duplicate as well as similar photos to save Mac’s space.

● Self-navigating interface

● Results are displayed in a group-wise manner.

● Cannot be used without paying $1.99

2. Gemini 2

USP: Cleans other duplicate files along with duplicate photos

Many Mac users choose Gemini 2 as smart duplicate photos cleaner. This laser-accurate tool helps in recovering a lot of space in the system when you add a folder or tons of images for the process. While scanning is done at lightning speed, all duplicate and similar photos are displayed on the screen in a few moments.

They say “Your photos matter, their copies don’t”, and it stands true when Gemini 2 is installed as one of the best duplicate photo finders for Mac. Gemini 2 is simple with a smart and robust algorithm, and this is why it is an excellent choice for many users.

ProsCons
● Compatible interface for newbies as well as experienced users.

●Image similarity detection

● Cleans duplicates from an external drive

● Consumed more system resources as compared to others.

3. Easy Duplicate Finder

USP: Capable of removing duplicates from cloud

Starting with a very simple and clean interface, these duplicate pictures cleaner can be comfortably used by newbie’s and experts alike. The backup of powerful technology allows you to search for any kind of duplicates from in or outside the system, be it HDD, SSD or Cloud. Interestingly, it works multi-platform like Windows and Mac and applies to emails, videos, music, Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.

If you talk about image formats, JPEG, TIFF, BMP, PNG and GIF are all supported. Once scanned, you have a plethora of options to sort the files. Advanced filters could be applied to find the duplicate photos with this best duplicate photo finder for Mac.

Duplicate Finder For Mac

ProsCons
● Cleans duplicate pictures, videos and music.

● More than 10 scan modes for file management

● Can find duplicates from iPhotos and Photos

● Quite slow and expensive when compared with others.

4. Duplicate File Finder Remover

USP: Preview, compare and merge duplicates

This duplicate photo finder for Mac by Nektony has a fast scanning algorithm that makes it stand out in the list. It can easily find duplicates in multiple folders and drivers simultaneously and even supports external drives. When the results are displayed after the scanning, they can be searched by file type, file list and even viewed in the form of chart reporting.

Files

Its Free version has options to view all the duplicate photos in the Mac, get a visual report, check the cleanup hints, and even delete the duplicate files in the Trash. When the Pro version is being discussed, this duplicate photo remover mac software offers to remove similar photos, merge folders and even restore the removed duplicates.

ProsCons
● Easy customization options

● Gives you an option to preview the files.

● Lively and navigable interface

● Advanced features can be used only after payment.

5. PhotoSweeper X

USP: Cleans duplicate videos and photos

How would you like to have a duplicate pictures cleaner that can sort the gallery and even auto-lock the sorted pictures? Interesting, right? PhotoSweeper X is indeed a fantastic duplicate photo finder for Mac that deletes duplicates and similar photos while also analyzing iPhoto.

Once the photos are scanned and displayed, you can bulk rename the files when moving to some other folder. As the personal customization options are vast, viewing of photos could be made according to ‘One by One’, ‘Face to Face’ and ‘All in One’. The removal of photos is also pretty safe as they can be restored from the Trash unless you have emptied the Trash all over.

ProsCons
● Supports a wide range of formats, including RAW, HEIC, PDF, DNG, etc.

● Flexible and multiple settings

● Cleans duplicate photos and videos from an external drive

● There have been reports of constant crashes.

6. Cisdem Duplicate Finder +

USP: Crystal clear representation with charts

If you wonder why this tool is one of the best duplicate photos finders for Mac, you should know that it helps in finding ‘real’ search results were not just the file names are compared but also the content within so that accuracy is maintained. Apart from finding duplicate photos in the library, it also scans all the internal and external hard drives.

It is wonderful to know that scanning speed is faster when compared to other tools, and all the scanningresults are displayed in real-time. When all the duplicates are mentioned in chart format, it becomes easier for user to understand which photos are taking so much space in the Mac.

ProsCons
● Very easy to use interface that entices the users

● Shows results for image similarity

● Fast scanning saves time

● One cannot exclude a folder from scanning.

7. Duplicate Photo Cleaner

USP: Simple to use for Newbies as well as Professionals

One would love to have this amazing duplicate photo remover for mac tool in their Mac, which by the way also supports Windows, for its image similarity finding function. The image comparison algorithm is super smart with special scan mode, flexible settings and much more options that it offers to its users.

In fact, professional photographers and other professionals alike keep trying their hands on this duplicate cleaner tool for their help and get the whole gallery sorted.

ProsCons
● Smart multi-platform utility

● Organises the pictures in different albums

● Easy to use interface

● Very less advanced features when compared.

8. Easy Duplicate Finder

USP: Capable of removing duplicates from cloud

Starting with a very simple and clean interface, these duplicate pictures cleaner can be comfortably used by newbie’s and experts alike. The backup of powerful technology allows you to search for any kind of duplicates from in or outside the system, be it HDD, SSD or Cloud. Interestingly, it works multi-platform like Windows and Mac and applies to emails, videos, music, Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.

If you talk about image formats, JPEG, TIFF, BMP, PNG and GIF are all supported. Once scanned, you have a plethora of options to sort the files. Advanced filters could be applied to find the duplicate photos with this best duplicate photo finder for Mac.

9. Disk Drill

USP: Add multiple locations and folders at a time

This duplicate photo finder for Mac is easy to install and understand to find duplicate photos and other files as may need to be removed. For your ease, you can quickly search the files with filters that mention ‘Auto’, ‘Old’ or ‘Newest’ files. If you select the ‘Oldest’ option here, all the oldest duplicates will be removed, and new ones will be kept intact.

Probably called the best free duplicate photo cleaner because of the free trial version that doesn’t ask you to invest first handedly and saves an optimum amount of space quickly.

ProsCons
● Easy to use

● Finds duplicate images, files, documents, videos and songs

● Gives you option for manual or automatic cleaning

● Functionality is a little complicated.

10. DupeGuru

USP: Highly customizable according to the needs of the user

If you are not looking for many advanced features but a simple duplicate photo finder for Mac that can find and delete duplicates, this tool is meant for you. You can place filters before scanning and later select any of the modes from three categories. As the scanning takes place, the real-time result is displayed alongside.

As the results are displayed, you just need to tick mark and delete them. Bravo! All the duplicates are landed in the Trash, and space is saved once again. A very simple and best duplicate photo cleaner it is!

Easyfind Mac Duplicates

ProsCons
● Free to use and known as best free duplicate photo cleaner

● Supports a plethora of file formats

● Multi-lingual support

● Doesn’t allow previewing of files.

FAQs: Duplicate Photo Finders For Mac
1. Can Mac Photos find duplicates?

Best Free Duplicate File Remover Windows 10

As Mac doesn’t hold a particular in-built feature to find duplicates, one needs to go through a manual method for finding and removing duplicates. The method needs you to open Finder > go to Apple menu from the top bar > select File > New Smart Folder. Now click the ‘+’ icon from the top right corner > select Kind > Any (Images). As the images are detected, you can pull them down in the Trash.

2. How do I quickly delete duplicate photos on my Mac?

Using any of the best duplicate photo finders for Mac like Duplicate Photo Finder by Systweak or Gemini 2, you can quickly delete duplicate photos on your Mac.

3. Why do I need a duplicate photo finder for Mac?

Duplicate photos clutter your system while covering a lot of precious space within it. It is highly recommended that you clean the system using a good photo finder that also helps in optimizing the working space.

4. What is the best duplicate photo finder for macOS?

The best duplicate photo finder could be termed as a tool which can speedily scan the system, find the duplicates and remove them very quickly. This duplicate photo finder must have various options to filter and customize it accordingly.

5. Why do I have so many duplicate photos on my Mac?

As you copy files from one location to another and forget to delete the originals, you can create duplicate photos on your Mac. Similarly, when the same photo is downloaded more than one time in the system, duplicates are automatically created.

Find Duplicate Files Windows 10

Conclusion

When we talk about the best duplicate photo finder on Mac, we liked Duplicate Photo Finder Pro by Systweak because of high customization, accuracy and finding of similar photos in an effortless way.

Remove Duplicate Files Windows 10

Duplicate Finder Free

How To Delete Duplicate Files On Mac For Free

How To Delete Duplicate Files On Mac For Free Without

Must Read:

Comments are closed.