Finding PhotoSweeper Trash to Delete Duplicate Photos

Where is the PhotoSweeper trash folder? I cannot find it in neither the Photos app nor the iPhoto app.


I have a mid-2012 Macbook Pro with a 500gb SSD. Suddenly the disk space was reduced to practically zero. I researched online and found that somehow the new Photos app had duplicated all my pictures and videos. I deleted some miscellaneous things and now I am currently at 28.86gb free. I should, however, have over 100gb free. In my research, I learned I could purchase PhotoSweeper, which would located all duplicates. I purchased it and sure enough the duplicate photos/videos were found--well over 100gb worth. I then used the same PhotoSweeper app to send them to the trash. I went to the bottom of the screen to empty the trash but couldn't find the photos/videos there. So, I did more research and learned that the trash is actually to be found in the Photos app. Here's the problem--it is not there. I then went to the iPhoto app and could not find the trash there either. Finally, I wrote PhotoSweeper and they simply copy and pasted a basic answer that told me to do what I had already done.


I am quite new to macbooks. I am used to the world of Windows where you just find the file and delete it. Can somebody show me how to get to those duplicate files and delete them, so I can free up the space on my computer?


Thank you in advance!


PS: This problem occurred just before I installed the SSD, but thinking it would be an easy fix, and being in a rush, I just cloned the old drive to the new SSD. I say that to say that the SSD had nothing to do with this issue.

MacBook Pro (13-inch Mid 2012), OS X El Capitan (10.11.2)

Posted on Dec 21, 2015 7:38 AM

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5 replies

Dec 21, 2015 8:49 AM in response to Novato36

Assuming you migrated from iPhoto and that you still have the iPhoto library archive it and then delete it - that is my best guess - copying the library brok the hard links and actually duplcated the photos rather than using hard links as was done in the initial migration



Photos does not have a trash can - it has a recently deleted album which is access either =under the file menu or in the album section depending on the undisclosed version of Photos and of the OS


LN

Dec 21, 2015 9:08 AM in response to Novato36

I did more research and learned that the trash is actually to be found in the Photos app. Here's the problem--it is not there. I then went to the iPhoto app and could not find the trash there either

Did you look for the Recently Deleted Album in Photos? If you're running the early Photos app, use the File ➙ Show Recently Deleted menu option. If you're using Photos 1.3 which comes with 10.11.2 it'll be in the sidebar:

User uploaded file

To open the sidebar use the key combination of Option+Command+S.

User uploaded file

Dec 21, 2015 2:10 PM in response to LarryHN

I am using OS X 10.11.2 and Photos 1.3.


A few days ago I saw this "Recently Deleted" section, but now I do not see it. It is not in the sidebar and not in the top menu.


LarryHN, you said of the iPhotos library to "archive it and then delete it". You mean by that, back it up and then delete it altogether, right? I am quite new to this operating system, and its terminology. Sorry about that.

Interestingly, Finder says that iPhoto contains 59.2mb of data, while Photos contains 219.71gb. This tells me that the trashed duplicates are located outside of these two folders, as my 500gb hard drive only has about 33gb free.

Based on these things, any other suggestions come to mind?

Thanks again!

Dec 21, 2015 2:49 PM in response to Novato36

Look up archive and backup - totally different - a backup is a short term duplicate in case of short term problems - an archive is a long term copy in case it is ever needed anytime in the future - these are not Mac or even computer terms but English language words


And try rebooting your Mac - sometimes that is necessary to update things including Disk sizes


LN

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Finding PhotoSweeper Trash to Delete Duplicate Photos

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