How to delete /.Trashes, but do I want to?

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How to delete /.Trashes, but do I want to?

As I was backing up a system with Carbon Copy Cloner, I noticed it was spending a lot of time archiving files with the name ".Trashes/501/Previous Systems.localized/Previous System 1/..." There are hundreds of megabytes there.

It seems to me these are files left over from an archive and install that should have been deleted, but for some reason haven't been. I don't want them taking up the considerable amount of space they seem to occupy.

I tried logging in as root, but I can't find these files - of course, the directory is invisible.

Am I right? Should these files / directories be deleted? How?

Powerbooks  iMacs  iPods  Airports  Appletalk printers , Mac OS X (10.4.11),  25 years Apple!  "it's" means "it is"  "lose" is a verb  "loose" isn't

Posted on Feb 26, 2010 1:23 PM

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Answer 1

Niel

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Level 10

741,251 points

Feb 26, 2010 1:27 PM in response to John Galt

It seems to me these are files left over from an archive and install that should have been deleted, but for some reason haven't been.

Those items are only deleted if the Trash is manually emptied.

I tried logging in as root, but I can't find these files - of course, the directory is invisible.

Choose Go to Folder from the Finder's Go menu, enter /.Trashes/ as the path, and delete the folder, or log in with the first account created on that computer and empty the Trash; if the first account doesn't have that UID, try them all until you find the correct one or follow the first option.

Should these files / directories be deleted?

Yes.

(50526)

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Answer 2

John Galt Author

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155,258 points

Feb 26, 2010 1:46 PM in response to Niel

Choose Go to Folder from the Finder's Go menu, enter /.Trashes/ as the path, and delete the folder, or log in with the first account created on that computer and empty the Trash; if the first account doesn't have that UID, try them all until you find the correct one or follow the first option.

"The folder cannot be found" on the only user account that exists at present. I have created other "test" accounts in the past, but I've deleted them.

I will try logging in as root (as soon as CCC is finished), but I have a feeling the folder won't be found under root either.

What if this directory was created by an account that no longer exists...? Obviously I can wipe the disk (already did that) but reinstalling from the backup also reinstalled the unwanted .Trashes directories.

Over 3 GB and counting...

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Answer 3

John Galt Author

Level 10

155,258 points

Feb 26, 2010 3:35 PM in response to Niel

Niel, I think I've fixed this. First I had to make the invisible files visible:

defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -bool true

Now, I'm able to see the .Trashes folder. Sure enough, it contains two folders with copies of previous systems from accounts I'd since deleted. Several GB worth of useless junk, occupying space and being dutifully archived every time I backed up.

.Trashes is a "drop box" i.e. write-only, so I had to change ownership of it and its contents temporarily, then I was able to delete the contents. Hopefully that will be that.

What if this directory was created by an account that no longer exists...?

That appeared to have been the case, but wasn't as scary a possibility as I had thought.

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