How do I delete exact duplicates of songs? I need to clean up my Classic iPod as I am running out of space.
iPod classic, Windows 7
Do you use automatic syncing between the iPod and your computer's iTunes library? Or do you use the Manually manage music and videos setting to load your iPod (drag and drop).
I have been using automatic syncing.
If you use automatic syncing, the duplicates are on the iPod because the same duplicates exist in your iTunes library. iTunes is keeping the two libraries "in sync." So, the solution is to remove the duplicates in your iTunes library, then sync the iPod.
iTunes has a command to show duplicates. It is in the menu bar, under View. NOTE: Hold the Option (probably Alt for Windows) key down when selecting that command, it becomes Show Exact Duplicate Items. (Some duplicates are intentional, such as the same song on different albums.)
Thank you
Apple's advice on duplicates is here... HT2905: How to find and remove duplicate items in your iTunes library. It is a manual process and the article fails to explain some of the potential pitfalls such as lost ratings and playlist membership.
Use Shift > View > Show Exact Duplicate Items to display duplicates as this is normally a more useful selection. You need to manually select all but one of each group to remove. Sorting the list by Date Added may make it easier to select the appropriate tracks, however this works best when performed immediately after the dupes have been created. If you have multiple entries in iTunes connected to the same file on the hard drive then don't send to the recycle bin.
Use my DeDuper script if you're not sure, don't want to do it by hand, or want to preserve ratings, play counts and playlist membership. See this thread for background, this post for detailed instructions, and please take note of the warning
to backup your library before deduping.
(If you don't see the menu bar press ALT to show it temporarily or CTRL+B to keep it displayed.)
The most recent version of the script can tidy dead links as long as there is at least one live duplicate to merge stats and playlist membership to and should cope sensibly when the same file has been added via multiple paths.
tt2
how to delete exact duplicates iPod Classic
