Clearing trash does not free up disk space

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Level 1

20 points

Clearing trash does not free up disk space

Hi,

I recently noticed an issue with the OS that when clearing the trash, it does no free up disk space. I created a 2 GB file to test this and when I cleared it through trash, disk space was not freed. After some research, I learned that this is happening because the system is only deleting the file location indicator and not the file itself. I believe this issue applies to all newer Mac OS's.

What I want to know is that is there any way to erase files that have already been cleared (through either 3rd party software or others)? I know that an older version of macOS (forgot which one) had this support in disk utility. I would love for the feature to come back. I have already stopped using the trash and I now shred files, but the files that I have already deleted through trash are still taking up disk space

Thank you

macOS High Sierra (10.13.3), Applies to most newer macs

Posted on Apr 11, 2018 11:18 PM

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Answer 1

Eau Rouge

Level 8

42,656 points

Apr 12, 2018 4:52 AM in response to Ernestguo

Where are you checking to see the reclaimed space after emptying the Trash. If it is in the About This Mac> Storage panel, then that can often be wrong, Rebuilding the Spotlight index may help.

How to rebuild the Spotlight index on your Mac - Apple Support

If you click on your HD and get the info panel up ( Command-i ) in the general dropdown you will see, Capacity, Available and Used, if you empty the Trash you should see the Available item increase in size and Used decrease. If you want to see how much free space you have permanently on the Desktop, make sure you have your Finder> Preferences> General set to show Hard Disks and External Disks on the Desktop. Whilst still on the Desktop press Command-J to get its View Options and check the box for Show Item info. You will now see the total space and the amount of free space on the disk. On emptying the Trash you should see the free space increase.

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Answer 2

Ernestguo Author

Level 1

20 points

Apr 12, 2018 5:06 AM in response to Eau Rouge

Eau Rouge

Hi, I tried that, and it didn't work.

I think this is a software problem (intentional or unintentional) and is out of our reach, but still thanks

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Answer 3

Eau Rouge

Level 8

42,656 points

Apr 12, 2018 6:01 AM in response to Ernestguo

If you tried rebuilding the Spotlight index did you see it actually indexing after doing the procedure, sometimes it doesn't work right away and may need a restart to kick it into action. To see if it is indexing, after performing the procedure enter a word in the Spotlight search field and after a few moments you should see a progress bar appear in the window. If you don't see it try restarting the Mac and then enter something in Spotlight.

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