Empty Trash

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Level 1

0 points

Empty Trash

Hi Everyone,

I am trying to empty my trash (66items ~280mb) and when I click empty trash my computer partially freezes and starts emptying trash starting at ~3000 items and proceeds to take forever, I left it on overnight and only 80 items emptied overnight.

I have googled and trawled the forums for answers and the only ones I have seen posted it to click off the secure empty trash option, which I have done with any relief. I have also updated my software to the latest version of Mac OS v 10.6

I am new to the world of Apple and any help with this issue would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
J

MacBook Pro 15, Mac OS X (10.6.3)

Posted on Jun 4, 2010 3:59 PM

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Answer 1

CMCSK

Level 6

11,452 points

Jun 4, 2010 4:06 PM in response to JHPRO

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Answer 2

JHPRO Author

Level 1

0 points

Jun 4, 2010 4:08 PM in response to CMCSK

Sorry for my ignorance but what or how do I 'repair permissions'?

Thank you for your help!

Cheers

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Answer 3

baltwo

Level 9

62,362 points

Jun 4, 2010 4:12 PM in response to JHPRO

See http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/trash.html and once you solve that issue, see:

Switching from Windows to Mac OS X,
Basic Tutorials on using a Mac,
Mac 101: Mac Essentials,
Anatomy of a Mac,
MacTips, and
Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual, Snow Leopard Edition.

Additionally, *Texas Mac Man* recommends:

Quick Assist.
Welcome to the Switch To A Mac Guides,
Take Control E-books, and
A guide for switching to a Mac.

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Answer 4

JHPRO Author

Level 1

0 points

Jun 4, 2010 4:13 PM in response to JHPRO

I tried using option when trying to delete the trash but it did the same thing - opened the deleting window and started deleting ~3000 items and taking forever.

I also do not seem to be able to delete i ndividual items from the trash folder, even when one particular item is highlighted and I hit empty trash it starts deleting the whole folder.

Aaahhh

Cheers

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Answer 5

CMCSK

Level 6

11,452 points

Jun 4, 2010 4:17 PM in response to JHPRO

Go to Applications>Utilities>Disk Utility and select your volume and then select Repair Permissions.

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25751

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Answer 6

baltwo

Level 9

62,362 points

Jun 4, 2010 4:31 PM in response to JHPRO

You cannot selectively empty things in the trash using the GUI tools.

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Answer 7

JHPRO Author

Level 1

0 points

Jun 4, 2010 4:43 PM in response to baltwo

I all - thank you for help thus far. I will definitely read those links in detail and get more familiar with the world of Apple!

I have repaired permissions and yet I still seem to have the same issue...

When I click empty trash the -'mac loading - spinning wheel' comes up for about 10min and then a trash bar comes up showing progress over deleting item. The items are deleted very slowly ~about 1 per 30min and there is ~3000.

Also will it is doing this deleting I am unable to use safari or word, they are incredibly slow.

Sorry this is such an annoying issue!

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Answer 8

jsd2

Level 5

6,245 points

Jun 4, 2010 4:51 PM in response to JHPRO

There are 3rd-party freeware utilities available which can sometimes be helpful - take a look at [Trash It!|http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/8214/trash-it!].

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Answer 9

Jun 26, 2010 2:35 AM in response to JHPRO

I recently updated to 10.6.4 and it's also taking an age to delete even one small file, securely emptying the trash with 10.5.8 took seconds to a few minutes no matter what the file size was. It's also making my MacBook's fan kick into overdrive which seems unnecessary, i'm just deleting a few files not trying to render a film :/

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Answer 10

macjack

Level 10

111,168 points

Jun 26, 2010 3:43 AM in response to JHPRO

Go to /Applications /Utilities/Terminal and launch it.
At the prompt, copy & paste this command

sudo rm -rf ~/.Trash

Press Return.
You will be asked to enter your admin password. It will be invisible.
Enter it and press Return.
Log out and back in or restart.

Let us know.

-mj

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Answer 11

putnik

Level 4

1,179 points

Jun 26, 2010 10:18 AM in response to JHPRO

May I suggest that you de-activate "secure delete trash" in Finder>Preferences>Advanced until the present problem is solved.

If you are really worried about security you can later use the Utilities>Disk Utility>Erase and choose "Erase Free Space". This will wipe all previously deleted data on the disk.

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