Secure Trash Deletion

Choose Finder -> Secure Empty Trash. Or click on the trash icon on the Dock while holding down control and command, and choose Secure Empty Trash.

Supplementary:

OSX 10.6.8 only has the secure empty option and I have had it running very nearly 24 hours and still 58,000 files to go! (started at 330,000)

The files I am deleting are actually on the Formac 320GB external hard-drive I use for Super-duper back up & got there because I had to copy them from an older Hard Drive (LaCie 160 GB) which only has a Firewire 400 port; they are the Super-duper back up from a G4 powerbook on its last legs. The computer I have transferred them to (MacBook pro 2009) only has a Firewire 800 port.

Maybe I should have tried an ethernet network, but hadn't realised how long doing it what seemed the quick way would take.

Or is there something else I am not seeing?

MacBook pro 15" 2008 & 2009 models OS10.6.8 & G4 PowerBook OS10.4.8 (needed torun Classic)

10.6.8 does not only have a secure delete option. It has to be manually selected by default, but there's a check box in Finder Preferences to make secure empty the default -

Uncheck that and it should empty normally.

The bit about FW400 & 800 - you do realise you can get an adapter cable from just about any computer shop, don't you?

As for the external, unless there's something on there which you absolutely have to keep, it would be far quicker erasing it with Disk Utility.

thank you Witch - 2 good tips there I was not aware of. The whole thing came upon me a bit suddedly with a hinge breaking on the G4 which contains all my work records prior to retirement & having to replace it sharpish to keep my wife off my current one. 20 miles from nearest shop good or bad & 10.6.8 still hardly out of test period after having previously had to revert from 10.6.3 to 10.5.8 & arrived 'secure' by default.

There certainly is something on the external: back up of all my approx 40,000 images for starters & it would be a pity if internal HD failed before new back-up

If one is really concerned (or paranoid) you have these options in Disk Utility:

Ciao.

abderite wrote:

thank you Witch - 2 good tips there I was not aware of. The whole thing came upon me a bit suddedly with a hinge breaking on the G4 which contains all my work records prior to retirement & having to replace it sharpish to keep my wife off my current one. 20 miles from nearest shop good or bad & 10.6.8 still hardly out of test period after having previously had to revert from 10.6.3 to 10.5.8 & arrived 'secure' by default.

There certainly is something on the external: back up of all my approx 40,000 images for starters & it would be a pity if internal HD failed before new back-up

Nairy Fuff. Ethernet would work for transfer, but obviously more slowly than FW.

Hope the emptying is going a bit faster! 😎

Only 16000 to go! It occurs to me that it may be SuperDuper that sets the default to secure empty to ensure one can't pox the previous back up

Hi Ogelthorpe, how do you bring up that menu?

When I go Finder->Applications->utilities->disk utility, then highlight my disk (only one), "Erase" tab, the "security option" and "erase" buttons are greyed out and not active.

If I click on "Erase free space", it gives me a sliding bar to choose between "fastest" to "most secure". However this is not the same thing as secure empty trash.

The reason I'm asking is that when I choose Finder->Secure empty trash (only choice), my macbook seems to go into hyperventilation. In the 6mths I've been using this macbook I've rarely seen this kind of fan activity. And after a long time it still was stuck at 2,800+ files to delete having started from 3,300+ or something.

Thanks.

I have a suspicion that you have Lion as your OS. When I go to 'Erase Free Space' I get this menu:

I am still using Snow Leopard.

You got the correct location for that menu that I showed in the prior post. Why the those two fields are grayed out on your MBP is a puzzle to me. Perhaps some one will read this post and give you an explanation. You could also post this question on the Lion forum (presuming I made the correct about your OS).

Ciao.

If you just trying to get the trash emptied fast, you are going too far! Just get into finder and the menu below FINDER itself > preferences. In 'general' pane there, uncheck the box next to 'empty trash securely' - see noondaywitch above

It then empties in seconds what takes hours (and generates a lot of heat) with the box checked. I think Oglethorpe thought I was trying to be secure & I wasn't; just the computer came with that obscure box checked as I suspect yours has.

Secure empty trash writes zeroes over all the locations of the trashed files. That takes time - giving it that many to do at once, you may as well go out for the night.

Erase free space does the same for all the free space on the disc, so obviously will take even longer. And it won't touch the files in the trash unless the trash has been emptied (because their locations aren't 'free' until the trash is emptied).

As for the other erase options - you can't access those while booted from the internal disc. You need to boot from the installation DVD and use Disk Utility from there. Those other options however will wipe the whole disc, not just the unused bits.

Thanks, Folks, for the quick responses.

Yes, I'm running lion 10.7.3.

And I have now unchecked that "empty securely" from finder preferences.

Will save "empty securely" for that special occasion!

Thanks!