I have done a search for *.jpg and windows xp pro explorer gives a list with many double entries for the exactly the same files.
How do I get rid of this problem?
try it again with the advanced options panel on the screen.
could you be a bit more specific as to what I must do? cheers 
Odd. I had the same thing happen with Windows XP Home, when doing a search this weekend for Word files. Double entries (exact same file name and location). When I deleted “one”, “both” disappeared. It’s never happened before. It confused me.
i assumed you used the default search, where you picked the type of file you want to search and entered the name in a box. there is another choice below the box: “Use advanced search options”. Simply clicking on that and then searching as usual (without needing to actually choose any of the advanced options) should fix the problem.