USB drive "Trash" folder

Question

Level 1

6 points

USB drive "Trash" folder

Hi,

I've just moved to a Mac from PC so apologies if this is a dumb question..

When I delete a docment from my USB drive it leaves a "hidden" folder which keeps a trashed copy of the file.

I can't see it browsing trhough "finder" but it quickly fills up the drive so it is unusable.

I am having to transfer the USB drive back to a PC and delete the "Trashes" folder from there.

How do I delete the ".Trashes" folder on the Mac? I'd like to ditch the PC dependancy.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Powerbook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.4)

Powerbook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.4)

Powerbook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.4)

Posted on Jan 24, 2006 2:50 PM

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Answer 1

baltwo

Level 9

62,386 points

Jan 24, 2006 3:24 PM in response to driver bob

Every mounted volume has a hidden .Trashes folder. BTW, did you reformat the USB HD after moving it from your PC? That folder should always be there; however, when you empty the trash from your boot volume, any file/folder located on the USB HD that you placed in the trash should delete. If it isn't, then I suspect that the HD isn't properly formatted for OS X. If you want to to delete it using Mac OS X's Terminal.app, then launch it, type this in:

sudo rm -R /Volumes/name of your USB HD/.Trashes/501/.

hit the return key, type in your admin password (it won't display, so be careful), and hit the return key again.

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Answer 2

isteveus

Level 5

4,340 points

Jan 25, 2006 9:58 AM in response to driver bob

Simply dragging the files into the trash will not remove the file from your usb drive. As you found the file is just hidden in a .trashes, you must empty the Trash before unmounting the drive.

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Answer 3

driver bob Author

Level 1

6 points

Jan 25, 2006 7:10 AM in response to baltwo

No, I didn't re-format the usb drive. I just plugged it in and started moving files in and out.

I'll try formating it.

Thanks for the advice.

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