Is there a free/cheap program to eliminate all duplicate songs in iTunes at one go?
July 21, 2009 8:55 AM   Subscribe

Is there a free/cheap program to eliminate all duplicate songs in iTunes at one go?

I've found plenty of Mac scripts for this, but I'm on Windows XP. I need to run something which can eliminate dupes in batches, as using the inbuilt iTunes function is too clunky.
posted by friedbeef to Technology (15 answers total) 6 users marked this as a favorite
 
What's clunky about the inbuilt one? What sorts of improvements over it are you looking for?
posted by Inspector.Gadget at 8:56 AM on July 21, 2009


"Clunky" is just as useless as "bloated" as a term to describe software. You need to tell us what it does specifically that you don't like, or what it doesn't do that you want.
posted by secret about box at 9:01 AM on July 21, 2009


I'm guessing the problem is that iTunes built-in function can display duplicate songs, but it won't delete them. Which means you have to get the list, right click one of the duplicates, choosing "Show in Windows Explorer", deleting the track there, going back to iTunes, deleting the track there and then repeat that whole process for each duplicate.
posted by bjrn at 9:06 AM on July 21, 2009


Sorry, I forgot to add that I don't know of any Windows XP application that automates this.
posted by bjrn at 9:07 AM on July 21, 2009


For dupes, I use the inbuilt dupe functionality and mass tag the duplicates with something like "delete". Then, I sort via the browser, mass select and delete. No more dupes. I don't trust fully automated duplicate removers and neither should you.
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 9:17 AM on July 21, 2009 [2 favorites]


Taking a stab at what might be "clunky" about iTunes's function for those asking:

On mine, it will list lots of songs that aren't duplicates; songs on different albums with the same title, things like that. Very frustrating to wade through.

That being said, I'm on a Mac and don't know of a program for this on XP. Sorry, and feel free to delete this if too chatty.
posted by reductiondesign at 9:20 AM on July 21, 2009


On the Mac you can delete a track and its file by pressing option-delete. Does this not work on Windows?
posted by fightorflight at 9:58 AM on July 21, 2009


i think beatunes has a free trial that will let you do this.
posted by anthropomorphic at 10:04 AM on July 21, 2009


I have heard good things about TuneUp and they have an XP version. There is a limited free version, a $19.95 yearly version, and a $29.95 lifetime version. It claims to fill in the missing metadata on your songs which should make the built in iTunes function better. Unfortunately they have not yet put out a powerPC version, so I have not personally used it but will try it eventually.
posted by TedW at 10:04 AM on July 21, 2009


I used Dupe Eliminator successfully. The program is kind of weird looking, but it was a lot easier than manually cleaning up in iTunes.

Meta-iPod was in Lifehacker recently; looks cool but I haven't tried it.
posted by for_serious at 10:11 AM on July 21, 2009


When I've wanted to delete large numbers of unrelated songs in one swell foop, I've changed the artist on the songs I wanted to get rid of to "The Deletions". Obviously you'll want to pick something else if you actually have music by The Deletions in your library. Do this in the in-built dupe check or wherever.

Go back to the regular library view and sort by artist. Select everything by The Deletions and hit the delete key. It'll ask if you want to delete them from your library, and then it'll ask if you want to delete them from disk.

If you've chosen enough files, you'll want to go to lunch now.
posted by chazlarson at 10:15 AM on July 21, 2009


I used Meta-iPod after the Lifehacker story came out. Worked wonders. Recommend.
posted by ab3 at 12:25 PM on July 21, 2009


I used Easy Duplicate Finder ( http://www.easyduplicatefinder.com/ ) a while back to find and get rid of duplicate files. It was free worked well but I didn't try anything else so I can't make a comparison
posted by metadave at 12:31 PM on July 21, 2009


Install the free audio manager Media Jukebox (it's a limited version of the multimedia Media Center). Import your iTunes library. Use its more robust duplicate find/delete function (can try pseudo-fingerprinting). As above, the safer option is to move all to a "Delete" playlist or to add a custom "DUPE" tag. This is a good use for a dynamic Smartlist that updates nightly/weekly on a batch basis. When satisfied, re-import into iTunes (if desired).
posted by meehawl at 2:45 PM on July 21, 2009


Response by poster: Thanks all

@inspector.Gadget @Mikey @bjrn : Clunky as in it's a very manual process by default. I have to ask iTunes to show me the dupes, (I have thousands in my collection), and I have to delete one by one.
posted by friedbeef at 5:30 PM on July 21, 2009


« Older More bounce for the ounce: Any suggestions for a...   |   Do I pay for mosquito spraying even though I think... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.