Troubleshooting Duplicate Detective 2

Fix common issues with Duplicate Detective 2.

Scan Not Finding Duplicates

Make sure you have granted Full Disk Access if scanning system folders. Also check your scan filters -- if you have excluded certain file types or size ranges, duplicates matching those criteria will be skipped.

Scan Is Very Slow

Scanning speed depends on the number of files and your disk speed. External drives and network drives are slower. For the first scan, Duplicate Detective 2 needs to hash every file. Subsequent scans are faster.

Can't Delete Some Files

Some files are protected by macOS (system files, apps). Duplicate Detective 2 will show an error for these. You can also check if the file is locked by right-clicking the file, selecting Get Info, and unchecking the Locked checkbox.

Photos Library Duplicates

Duplicate Detective 2 can scan inside Photos Libraries, but removing duplicates from within a Photos Library should be done carefully. Consider using the Photos app's built-in duplicate detection (macOS Ventura and later) for photos.

Accidentally Deleted a File

Duplicate Detective 2 moves files to Trash by default (check Settings). Open Trash and restore the file. If you chose permanent deletion, the file cannot be recovered.

Results Show Files with Different Names as Duplicates

Duplicate Detective 2 compares file content (hash), not names. Two files with different names but identical content are genuine duplicates.