iTunes duplicates

Joined
Jan 29, 2012
Messages
104
Reaction score
0
Points
16
Location
Australia
Your Mac's Specs
MBA 13" 2012, 1.8GHz Core i5, 8GB RAM, OSX 10.10.5
Shoo Fly Marches On 3:17 Dr. John In the Right Place Rock 60 2
Shoo Fly Marches On 3:17 Dr. John In the Right Place Rock 60 2
Showdown 4:09 Electric Light Orchestra All Over the World: The Very Best of ELO Pop 60
Showdown 4:09 Electric Light Orchestra All Over the World: The Very Best of ELO Pop
Showdown 4:09 Electric Light Orchestra All Over the World: The Very Best of ELO Pop 60
Showdown 4:09 Electric Light Orchestra All Over the World: The Very Best of ELO Pop
(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay 2:42 Otis Redding (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay / Sweet Lorene [Digital 45] Pop 100 2
Six Months In a Leaky Boat 4:21 Split Enz Time and Tide Rock 100 2
Six Months In a Leaky Boat 4:21 Split Enz Time and Tide Rock 100 2

This list is a screenshot of my iTunes 'library' (I think it's called). As you see I have little-to-no idea of what I'm doing!
HOW do I get rid of the duplicates, or for that matter, know which is the Original and which are duplicate(s)?
I have read replies, about 3rd party software to do this bit it doesn't look too obvious or easy, to me.

I bought a program called "Gemini" which claims it finds duplicate FILES on the Mac but so far it has found.... NOTHING.
That includes iTunes (and other) files which I KNOW are duplicated. I use only my MacBook Air, no iPhone or iOS device.

Many times I have thought about giving up...... HELP!
 

chscag

Well-known member
Staff member
Admin
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
65,248
Reaction score
1,833
Points
113
Location
Keller, Texas
Your Mac's Specs
2017 27" iMac, 10.5" iPad Pro, iPhone 8, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 Mini, Numerous iPods, Monterey
Are you by chance converting the music you're copying to iTunes from audio to mp3? If you are, you'll see the result you posted. Gemini rightly does not recognize them as duplicates in that situation.
 
OP
D
Joined
Jan 29, 2012
Messages
104
Reaction score
0
Points
16
Location
Australia
Your Mac's Specs
MBA 13" 2012, 1.8GHz Core i5, 8GB RAM, OSX 10.10.5
Are you by chance converting the music you're copying to iTunes from audio to mp3? If you are, you'll see the result you posted. Gemini rightly does not recognize them as duplicates in that situation.

No, they are all mp4 files (Apple lossless, I think)
 
M

MacInWin

Guest
In iTunes, right click on one of the duplicated tracks and then Show in Finder. Note the location. Now repeat with the OTHER duplicate and look where THAT copy is located. If they are in two different locations, you'll need to decide which location is the one you want to keep and then delete the other. That gets rid of the duplicates. Now to get rid of them in iTunes, show the music in SONGS view and right click on the top bar. Add something to the view that you don't really use, like Beats per minute. Edit/Select All, then once they are all highlighted, right click in the highlight anywhere and then Get Info. Put some value in the BPM column (I use 999). You'll end up with half changed to 999, half not (the ones you deleted and it couldn't find. Click on the BPM header to sort by BPM, highlight all the ones with no value shown for BPM (they'll all be together so it's easier to select them all, then right click and choose Delete. Now repeat Select All and Get Info, then delete the value in BPM, let that update, get rid of the BPM column from the view and your dupes are all gone. Lots of steps but it's relatively easy to do and pretty quick, considering.

EDIT: Just for clarity, once you see the files in Finder, rather than dealing with one track at a time, look at the path to the files and delete the folder as high up as you can without deleting the one you want to keep.

Another EDIT: Backup first. You do that, right?
 
OP
D
Joined
Jan 29, 2012
Messages
104
Reaction score
0
Points
16
Location
Australia
Your Mac's Specs
MBA 13" 2012, 1.8GHz Core i5, 8GB RAM, OSX 10.10.5
Many thanks

HOW do you guys get to find out this stuff??

These manoeuvres are not exactly obvious are they?
 
M

MacInWin

Guest
I can't claim any brilliance, I had the same problem a few months ago and found that on some website somewhere that I don't remember now. I just remembered the trick. It worked well for me so it "stuck" in my memory. Glad to pass it on!
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top