i would like to scan for duplicate photo's and songs collected over the years and get rid of duplicates. I worry about deleting. What is a safe way to do that?

I am not sure what your concern is focused on. As long as you do not delete DLLs and/or executables you should have no problems deleting any data files. One alternative would be to copy these duplicate files to a CD before deleting. Just make sure that you delete from the right folder so that you do not have to search for these files when you need them.

i should have been more specific. do you have a recommendation on the utility i could run to find these duplicaates.

A1Click has a duplicate file finder in it, but it is slow.  I would suggest going to http://www.download.com and see if they have one there.  I am sure they have many.