Trying to delete useless files from MACintosh HD

Question

Level 1

12 points

Trying to delete useless files from MACintosh HD

Hi,

I deleted some files today from my HD that I thought were useless. However, I am not sure because I am not that savvy in computer lingo.

I used to be able to delete individual files from my trash. When I tried to do so today I was not able to. Does anyone know why? There are files that I am not sure I want to empty from the trash until I see if they compromise my computer. Thus deleting individual files from the trash was a good option.

Thank you!

Posted on Oct 22, 2018 1:04 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Best reply

MrHoffman

Community+ 2024

Level 10

118,143 points

Oct 23, 2018 7:20 AM in response to Chiquita81

Deleting files from certain areas of macOS doesn’t always end.... desirably.

Nor does deleting local user files, if those files are still needed...

Have backups...first...

How to use Time Machine to back up or restore your Mac - Apple Support

Reply

Answer 2

Kappy

Level 10

361,753 points

Oct 23, 2018 7:21 AM in response to Chiquita81

How to Free Up Space on The Hard Drive

You can remove data from your Home folder except for the /Home/Library/ folder.
Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on freeing up space on your hard drive.
Also, see Freeing space on your Mac OS X startup disk.
What is 'Other' and 'Purgeable' in About This Mac?
Files That Make Up the 'Other' Storage Category, and How to Remove Them
Free up storage space on your Mac.
See Where did my Disk Space go?.
Be sure to Empty the Trash to recover the space.
Replace the drive with a larger one. Check out OWC for drives, tutorials, and toolkits.
Use OmniDiskSweeper or GrandPerspective to search your drive for large files and where they are located.

Never delete anything if you don't know what it is or what it's for!. Only delete files in your Home folder. Create a separate Admin user that you can use in emergencies or test things such as removing files. Always maintain a working and bootable backup of your good system. This is in addition to a Time Machine backup if you have one.

Reply