Does ejecting a disk image also delete it?

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Does ejecting a disk image also delete it?

Everything I have read online says to eject the image, and THEN delete it, not that the act of ejecting it will delete it.

I'm new to the Mac, and I downloaded an application (not from the App Store), and it created an icon (that I now know is called a disk image) on my desktop. I read that once the app is in the applications folder, the disk image is no longer needed, so I ejected it, and it disappeared.

So does that mean it's gone? Or is it still hiding somewhere on my computer? There's nothing in my downloads folder and nothing in the trash. I'm trying to keep this computer tidy and not have files that I don't need.

Thank you

MacBook Pro (13-inch, Late 2016, 4 TBT3), macOS Sierra (10.12.1)

Posted on Dec 3, 2016 8:00 PM

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Answer 1

ekj35 Author

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Dec 3, 2016 8:34 PM in response to Niel

Thanks for your responses!

It's not in Recent Items under the apple menu, and the only thing listed in Disk Utility is Apple SSD and under that, Macintosh HD.

Is it possible that I could have deleted it without ejecting? I usually delete everything in my downloads folder after installing apps. If it's possible to delete the disk image before ejecting, then that's probably what happened.

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Answer 2

Dec 3, 2016 10:15 PM in response to ekj35

If you remember the filename then you can do a search for it. Check the download folder in finder to see if it is there. If not it is probably gone (deleted after install) or been moved to the app folder where when you use the app the system will then mount it again. When you are done with the app you can unmount or leave mounted if it is an app you will use often.

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Answer 3

ekj35 Author

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Dec 3, 2016 10:54 PM in response to pepemckenna

I have searched for it and checked the downloads folder. It is not there. I think I deleted it by ejecting because I downloaded some other apps and deleted their disk images by dragging them to the trash. When the disk image is over the trashcan icon, the trash icon turns into an eject symbol. So I think it's safe to say that in MacOS Sierra, once you eject the disk image, it's gone.

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Answer 4

Niel

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Dec 3, 2016 8:05 PM in response to ekj35

Unless it was separately deleted(if you convert it, this happens as part of the process), it’ll remain after being unmounted.

(146487)

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Answer 5

ekj35 Author

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Dec 3, 2016 8:07 PM in response to Niel

So how do I find it? Because it disappeared after I clicked "eject"

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Answer 6

Niel

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Dec 3, 2016 8:13 PM in response to ekj35

Click on the Apple menu and see if it’s listed under Recent Documents, or choose Utilities from the Finder’s Go menu, open the Disk Utility, and try locating it.

(146489)

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