how to delete itunes duplicates?

[kamikaze33]

id really like to clean up my itunes library, but ive got a stupid-huge amount of music. using the "display exact duplicates" option, i have in the thousands of duplicates. My total library is far too large to effectively "backup" as apple recommends, so im a little hesitant to use some of these scripts that are available. As for the physical music location, some of it is "track" duplicates from itunes, but others are actual file duplicates. All the duplicates seem to have been added at virtually the same time, so i cant sort the library by "date added" and simply delete half of it. Does anyone have an idea of how i can get rid of some of these other than doing it one by one?

EDIT: is there a way to maybe uninstall itunes for good and re-import everything? I did the simple uninstall method before, but when i reinstalled it itunes still had all the duplicates so somewhere it seems its saving its library information. i have far more "track" duplicates than file duplicates it seems

[truenorth]

If as you say you can bring up the list in a manner that allows a large sequential grouping, Can you not by holding your cursor over the 1st one to be deleted and while still holding your left mouse key down continue down the list as far as the consecutive individual items are until you reach the last one you wish deleted thereby highlighting them all? Then using you delete key on the keyboard delete them to your recycle bin (which you should then empty the recycle bin). Have you tried that method? If the desired to be deleted items are spread out you can use that process where they are grouped. truenorth

[hartbeatmr]

Good evening kamikaze33 and welcome to CH

What truenorth posted should work and maybe this might work for you also if you have say mutli lines of songs (in a row) etc to delete.
 
You click on one to highlight it and hold down the left shift button don't let go of the shift button and then click on the say 10 duplicate / consecutive songs down and all items will be blue / selected and then delete them?

If you need to skip ones in-between instead of using the shift button just use the control button (ctrl) and click on the ones that you want to get rid off.

This may help you http://windows.microsoft.com/is-IS/windows7/Select-multiple-files-or-folders Any of the methods from this post or truenorth should work for you. My self I do not use I-Tunes so I can't say these methods will work in it.

Hope these help you, Mike 

[kamikaze33]

hey guys thanks for the input! im aware of the CTRL+click method, problem is theres 2 of every song, and multiply that by 4500 songs haha (9000 total). so the CTRL+click method is incredibly tedious. Apple recommends sorting them by "date added," thereby effectively splitting the list in two, enabling one to SHIFT+CLICK and delete half the library. Unfortunately, these doubles were all added at the same time virtually so i cant really think of any other way to distinguish them to select half of them at once

[truenorth]

Unless you can by some parameter group the ones you want to delete (maybe in multiple smaller groups) i see no other way than the tedious route. You let things get out of hand and now you will have to pay the piper.Good luck,truenorth