How can I -really- delete video files?

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Level 1

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How can I -really- delete video files?

Hello!

I really hope somebody is going to be able to help me understand this issue...

Ok, so let me start by saying that I have a tini tiny macbook air with about 120gb of total storage space. I import and work with lots of mp4, so SPACE IS A CONSTANT BATTLE FOR ME! I have tried everything to clean up space, I have nothing in my laptop more than a couple of softwares (removed everything, even my email accounts from Mail...).

so here is the issue:

last week I was able to clean enough space to have 26gb free, which is a miracle to me. Then I imported a bunch of videos from my phone to Photos, moved them to my external hard drive, DELETED all the videos from Photos, and deleted all videos from "Show recently Deleted". Also, just for good measure deleted everything from my trash. Nothing else changed but this transaction of videos. After this operation I had 15gb free..... WHERE DID THOSE 10GB GO??

did same thing today. started having 15gb, imported photos, moved to hard drive, deleted them from Photos, and now I have 9gb free.

so it seems clear to me that some of these videos are somehow saved somewhere where I can't see them.... WHERE ARE THEY SAVED?

can you please help me find this stuff so I can completely - once and for all - delete it?

thank you!!!

MacBook Air (11-inch Mid 2012), iOS 9.1, iOS 10.10.5

Posted on Nov 4, 2015 5:38 PM

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Answer 1

a brody

Level 10

85,366 points

Nov 4, 2015 6:02 PM in response to @_@space

Use one of the tools at the bottom of this tip to locate the files just by the suffix in their name, or part of their name:

My data has become inaccessible, and I don't have a backup!

And remember, you want to keep at least 15% of the hard drive free at all times. You can check the storage of the videos on your phone by looking at your Settings information in the phone App.

And once you have determined the data from your phone is on your computer, back that data up to two other locations before erasing it from your computer, unless you need instant access to it on your computer. Anything you don't, you'll want two archival backup locations. You should never have less than two separate copies of your essential data at anytime.

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