Deleted files not purged by the system

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Level 1

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Deleted files not purged by the system

When I got notified by TechTool that my Flash Disk runs out of space I started to look what happens. First I moved big files to an external drive and deleted them on the Flash Disk. After doing so for some 10 GB the warning remained. I started to analyze if I can recuperate space using TechTool or CleanMyMac but the alert of TechTool remained.

I selected the Flash Disk and opened the information window that showed the low free space in the row for available. In parallel I launched „About this Mac“ and looked on the Volumes. The shown free space was the same as in the information window.

Only switching in „About this Mac“ to an other item and back to the Volumes the free space had increased by a big portion.

A few moments later in the information window the entry for available changed to the same high value as in „About this Mac“ but with an additional entry for space that is purgable. Subtracting this value delivered the old low value of available space.

Restarting „About this Mac“ delivered the forth view where „About this Mac“ shows the low available space and the information window the two values of available and purgable.

Now the questions:

- How can I purge the data that is shown as purgable?

- What can I do that the system will purge deleted files in the future?

- Since one of the last system updates the system generates an empty folder „#recovers file“ in the basked with each log off. Is this connected?

SetUp:

Mac mini 2018

FlashDisk 250 GB

macOS BigSur 11.6

TechTool Pro 14

CleanMyMac X V4.8.8

Mac mini 2018 or later

Posted on Sep 20, 2021 2:07 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

PRP_53

Level 10

91,705 points

Sep 20, 2021 2:12 AM in response to familie128

Are there any AntiVirus, Disk Cleaner, Optimizers, Un-installers, etc installed which should be removed as per Developers Instructions. They are useless, unneeded, cause havoc and interfere with the normal operation of the OS and may even Corrupt the OS requiring a Reinstallation.

CleanMyMac - definitely falls in this category Remove it asap. There are at least 600 posting on this Application and most if not All point to the disaster it causes https://discussions.apple.com/search?q=cleanmymac

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Answer 2

familie128 Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 25, 2021 3:35 AM in response to PRP_53

I deleted CleanMyMac and nothing happened. The disk space remained at the same level and the not purged amount as well. After two days at a certain moment the mouse and keyboards was frozen for about one minute, something I didn't saw before. afterwards I checked the disk space again and found the known situation with the same level of not purged data volume. The day after the mouse and keyboard get frozen again for about one minute. This time it ended that the space of the so far not purged files was freed.

Thanks for the information.

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Answer 3

PRP_53

Level 10

91,705 points

Sep 25, 2021 6:47 AM in response to familie128

If I am correct " Tech Tools " from Micromat also makes a Separate Volume on the computer. IMHO - this software should also be removed as per their Specific Instructions.

If / or when that is done - pretty sure the Empty Space will increase.

macOS Operating System is well equipped to manage the computer and any maintenance required to keep the computer running well.

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Answer 4

Sep 25, 2021 9:02 AM in response to familie128

Do you have TimeMachine enabled? If so, it maintains local snapshots on your machine. Deleting a file today may not be actually freed up for 24 hrs.

You can remove these local snapshots via terminal if needed.

To see if this is the case, open Terminal and cut and paste the following line into terminal and hit enter:

tmutil --listlocalsnapshots /

This will give you a list of all local snapshots.

If see a list, first, connect your Time Machine drive and do a "Backup Now", to insure you have a current backup on the drive. Then, to delete all local snapshots copy and paste this line intoTerminal and hit return:

tmutil deletelocalsnapshots /

This will free up all the snapshots and associated files.

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Deleted files not purged by the system

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