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aaronjmatteson's avatar
aaronjmatteson
Copper Contributor
Jan 02, 2026

Duplicates In My Photo Gallery (OH MY!)

I'm new to this and somehow uploaded hundreds of duplicate photos that I'm seeing in the Gallery.  I'd just as soon delete everything and start over, but don't see a mass deletion option.  I have almost 3,000 photos in the Gallery and want to just start over.

 

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1 Reply

  • NikolinoDE's avatar
    NikolinoDE
    Platinum Contributor
    Jan 03, 2026

    Don’t worry, there is a way to start over cleanly in OneDrive, but it’s not obvious because OneDrive’s web Photos Gallery doesn’t have a “select all” button directly in the Gallery.

    Here’s the safest approach:

    Option 1: Delete Everything via the Files View (Recommended)

    1. Go to OneDrive in a browser: https://onedrive.live.com
    2. Click “My files” (not Photos). This shows your folders and all files.
    3. Navigate to the folder where your photos are stored (or the root folder if you want to remove everything).
    4. Select all files:
    • Click the circle checkbox at the top of the file list — this selects everything in that folder.
    • Or press Ctrl + A (Cmd + A on Mac) to select all files in that folder.

         5. Click Delete (trash can icon).

    This removes the files from OneDrive. They go to the Recycle Bin, so you have a safety net if you delete something by accident.

         6. Empty the Recycle Bin if you want a true clean start:

    • On the left menu, click Recycle Bin → Empty recycle bin.

    Option 2: Delete Everything Using the OneDrive App (Windows/Mac)

    If you’ve synced OneDrive to your computer:

    1. Open your OneDrive folder in File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac).
    2. Select the folders or files you want to delete.
    3. Press Delete.
    4. Empty your computer’s Recycle Bin/Trash, then sync OneDrive so it updates online.

    This is often faster than trying to delete thousands of photos in the browser.

    After Deleting Everything

    • Now your Photos Gallery should be empty.
    • You can start fresh by uploading only the images you really want.
    • If you have ZIP files again, extract them first so you don’t accidentally create another set of duplicates.

    Tip: OneDrive will treat each uploaded file as new, even if it’s a duplicate of one already uploaded. So to avoid duplicates in the future:

    • Check your files before uploading.
    • Delete unwanted photos locally first.
    • Use folders to organize batches before uploading.

    My answers are voluntary and without guarantee!

    Hope this will help you.

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