turn OFF secure empty trash

What makes you think you have Secure Empty Trash on all the time? Actually it's been removed from the system with the advent of SSD drives.

If you're getting this warning when you go to empty the Trash:

that's not secure emptying. It's only a warning to give you a second chance of changing your mind. You can turn that warning off in the Finder/Preferences/Advanced pane by unchecking this checkbox:

The only secure erasure is done in with Disk Utility and is only available for hard drives that are not solid state.

Sufi Girl, I know it's been a couple of weeks since you asked, but what you describe is not related to "secure empty trash" at all. That assumption appears to have caused some distracting replies, and I don't know if you ever resolved it.

I understand things you drag to the Dock's Trash icon disappear immediately and without any confirmation. You should be able to fix it with the procedure below. I am assuming that you are attempting to delete items on that Mac's startup volume, and not on some externally mounted volume or partition or network-connected drive. If that's not the case please let me know.

If you haven't already done so, it would be a good idea to back up your Mac prior to making any changes to its file system. To learn how to use Time Machine please read How to use Time Machine to back up or restore your Mac - Apple Support. You ought to be doing that anyway, even if everything were working perfectly well.

First, just restart your Mac in the usual manner. If restarting your Mac does not solve the problem, proceed as follows:

Go to the Finder - click anywhere on your Mac's desktop, and choose File > New Folder.

If a folder appears on your Desktop then continue reading. If not, stop reading and ask for further instructions.

Open Terminal - it is in your Utilities folder and looks like this

You can find Terminal by using the Finder's Go menu and choosing Utilities, then double-click the Terminal icon.

Copy (drag or triple-click to select the line) and Paste — do not type — the following commands into the Terminal window, each one followed by the Return or Enter key:

mkdir ~/.Trash

If you get the message "File exists" you can ignore it.

Next:

Copy and Paste the following line, followed by the Return key:

sudo chown $UID ~/.Trash

This time Terminal will ask for your Admin password—the same one you use when you log in to your Mac. Type it and then press the Return key. What you type will not appear, not even with •••• characters.

Next:

Copy and Paste the following:

chmod u+rwx ~/.Trash

To summarize the above you will be doing this:

Last login: Wed Feb 12 03:21:53 on ttys000

Johns-iMac:~ john$ mkdir ~/.Trash

mkdir: /Users/john/.Trash: File exists

Johns-iMac:~ john$ sudo chown $UID ~/.Trash

Password: <this is where you type your password and press Return>

Johns-iMac:~ john$ chmod u+rwx ~/.Trash

Johns-iMac:~ john$

You will be typing the entries in red exactly as shown.

Quit Terminal.

Drag the empty folder you just created to the Trash, confirm that it actually appears in the Trash, and that you can empty the Trash without requiring your password.

Seems there is no way to turn off secure empty trash. More sloppy work? Seems that way. I hope I am wrong.

Well, since there is no such thing as "secure empty trash" anymore, it would be impossible to turn it off. It is also impossible to turn it on.

In the case of Sufi Girl (above), the problem is that the permissions on the Trash folder are not correct, or there is something else wrong with the Trash folder. That can possibly be fixed by deleting the Trash folder in Terminal (it will recreate a new one), or by repairing the permissions on the home folder: Resolve issues caused by changing the permissions of items in your home folder - Apple Support

Note that you will also get that warning if you are trying to delete a file off a network drive in some circumstances.

When an item is sent to trash folder , it immediately not get emptied by it own create a new user account an article for it How to test an issue in another user account on your Mac - Apple Support

Monitor this account if the issue still persists take back up of data and erase the drive and reinstall the OS an article for it macOS Sierra: Erase and reinstall macOS

Note : Trash folder is the major app of the OS , it should not be deleted / recreated by using terminal command , by doing so your system will get more corrupted .

kennethfromsmyrna wrote:

Maybe you can help with the trash can not working at all? When I remove something to the trash can it just disappears. Nothing goes into the trash can, it just deletes.

That is the same problem, I think. Try repairing the permissions on your Home folder as listed in that link. If that doesn't work, we can try to delete the Trash folder.

You wrote - can try to delete the Trash folder.

What are you suggesting is to delete the original trash folder this is the part of operating system and don't tell one day to delete if calendar , dictionary or mail application itself and recreate it by terminal commands , ridiculous .

tygb wrote:

You wrote - can try to delete the Trash folder.

What are you suggesting is to delete the original trash folder this is the part of operating system and don't tell one day to delete if calendar , dictionary or mail application itself and recreate it by terminal commands , ridiculous .

It's not ridiculous. It's one possible repair procedure for a corrupted Trash directory. In example, each user has a private, hidden Trash folder:

http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/trash.html#Anchor-About-47857

The link you posted is from the internet , any one can find terminal commands or links in the google , Mac are not compatible with the risky terminal commands it may or may not work its better to erase the HD and reinstall the OS .

No, I am not trying to delete the Trash Can. Files do not go to the Trash Can when deleted. I have had several serious problems with High Sierra and decided it was worth the 10 hours to roll it back. Thanks for your help.

No, I am not trying to delete the Trash Can.

If Repairing permissions did not fix the problem, deleting the .Trash folder will be the next thing to try.

Please try to not get sucked into the tygb black hole of mendacity.

The link you posted is from the internet

But, you are posting in the internet. Your post seems to indicate that posts on the internet should not be trusted. Hmm, that seems to indicate you should not be trusted.

You wrote - . Your post seems to indicate that posts on the internet should not be trusted. Hmm, that seems to indicate you should not be trusted.

Please don't post the impractical links , unless verified on the Mac your answers generally are hit and trial methods that can only give confusions .

Please don't post the impractical links , unless verified on the Mac

The only link I posted on this thread was from Apple's tech support library. I have tested it. My suggestions are things that have worked for others.

Trying some things that may resolve the issue is a process known as troubleshooting. I'd suggest you look up the definition on the internet, but then you would likely find some fault with the definition as it was found on the internet.

your answers generally are hit and trial methods that can only give confusions .

Speaking in the third person on a tech support forum is generally quite confusing. I don't imagine you'll make the connection, though.

Since El Capitan, there is no Secure Empty Trash. What makes you think it's turned on?