When I securely empty the trash bin, suddenly there are over 26 thousand items to delete.

Do you have folders in the trash?

Rebecca_Ashely wrote:

No folders, just specific items, I am thinking it is maybe a virus hidden in the things I am deleting that are full if things

No, there is not a virus involved.

Many things found on a Mac that look like simple files (applications, for example) are actually a special kind of folder, and may contain many items. What are you trying to delete? You aren't trying to delete anything from a Time Machine backup, are you?

Open the Terminal app (found in the Utilities folder in your Applications folder) and run the following command:

ls -al ~/.Trash

(Copy that line and paste it into the Terminal, then press return.)

What is the output? Assuming there aren't thousands of lines dumped into the Terminal as a result, choose Select All from the Edit menu to select the entire Terminal window contents, then copy it and paste into a reply here.

I just dragged an empty folder into an empty trash can and performed a secure delete

It says it had 3 items to delete.

Is it maybe because (in my case at least) it deletes the folder 3 times (to securely delete)?

26000 for 18 files seems an awful lot though, so maybe not that...

Try this key combination:

SHIFT + COMMAND + U

That should display the Utilities folder. (When in Finder)

Ciao.

Try searching for the Terminal app using Spotlight (the magnifying glass icon near the right side of the menu bar). If it cannot be found, based on what you say happened when you tried OGELTHORPE's suggestion, you have somehow deleted this Utilities folder from your computer. In that case, you will need to reinstall the system. (Unless the Utilities folder is one of the things that's in your trash... if so, move it back inside the Applications folder!)

Hi Rebecca.....!!

This happened because you followed “Empty trash securely” procedure. Open finder>finder preferences>advanced tab>uncheck "Empty trash securely".

I am pretty sure, after doing it you will be able to empty up your trash without any hassle. The reason thousands of files are preparing to trash is because when you use "Empty trash securely”, you are not just emptying the trash but you are completely and permanently emptying the trash to the point where it is impossible to retrieve the deleted files even with the help of "Data recovery software". e.g; deletion of extremely confidential files which are not supposed to be seen by others even with the help of data recovery software.

That 18 files which you discovered and as you mentioned are your old photos and assignments must be a pretty big data thats been emptied securely, which is why its showing 26 thousand items to be deleted. I have gone through the same situation before and "Unchecking Empty trash securely solved my problem". Please reply back and let me know the results.

Regards,

Granel.

You can also try searching for Utilities folder by going to finder, then on the left hand side column under Devices select your primary hard drive, then select the Applications folder and you may find it in the Applications folder. Hope that helps.

Grane Duke wrote:

That 18 files which you discovered and as you mentioned are your old photos and assignments must be a pretty big data thats been emptied securely, which is why its showing 26 thousand items to be deleted.

No, that's absolutely not correct. It doesn't matter whether you're doing a normal empty or a secure empty, the same number of items will still be reported.