Managing photo files in OneDrive - the 'Settings' option isn't anything like what instructions say to do

Your OneDrive files are also located locally on your computer at C:\Users\YourUsername\OneDrive. You can work with them more easily there. Go to the Windows Start menu, type "OneDrive," and start OneDrive to have the files synced to your computer.

Hello Mark Walker,

You are right that the current OneDrive Settings page does not match those instructions. OneDrive does not currently provide a general Find duplicate photos tool there.

The practical option is to manage the synced files through Windows File Explorer:

1. Open File Explorer, then select OneDrive and open your Photos or Pictures folder.
2. Change the view to Details, then sort by Name or Size.
3. Search for common duplicate names such as (1), (2), or copy.
4. Test by deleting only a few obvious duplicates first and confirm the correct copies remain.

Please be careful: deleting a file from the synced OneDrive folder also removes it from OneDrive online. I recommend keeping a separate backup before deleting thousands of files.

If the duplicate filenames include your computer’s name, Microsoft documents this as a possible OneDrive credentials issue. In that case:

1. Open Credential Manager from the Start menu.
2. Select Windows Credentials.
3. Under Generic Credentials, remove entries containing MicrosoftAccount and your username.
4. Restart OneDrive.

Microsoft’s guidance:

• Duplicate files in OneDrive
• Delete files or folders in OneDrive

Unfortunately, if the files are identical but have unrelated names, OneDrive does not provide a documented automatic cleanup feature, so they must be reviewed locally or with a carefully chosen duplicate-file utility.