Jan 12, 2017 I always liked the idea of Secure Empty Trash for some of my more sensitive data and I always used it for data that I wanted to be sure couldn't be retrieved. Well, it seems that somewhere between OS X 10.7.5 and macOS 10.12.1 the feature has either ceased to exist or has slipped into a secret closet somewhere. Aug 17, 2017 How to Empty Trash on a Mac. Emptying the Trash on your Mac will free up space, keeps your mac secure and is extremely simple. Find the trash app icon which is in the dock- (it looks like a metal waste paper basket) if the icon appears.
That little silver trash can on your Mac’s desktop represents an invisible Mac trash folder. Technically, items in your trash are still on your Mac, as you can drag them right back out. To delete those items, you simply empty the trash. But are they really gone?
In this post, we’ll talk about the difference between “empty trash”, “empty trash securely”, and how to make sure your deleted files are well and truly gone.
And if you'd like your files to completely annihilate, try a Shredder tool in CleanMyMac X. This tool is absolutely free to use.
The difference between Empty Trash and Secure Empty Trash
When you empty trash in macOS, the files inside aren’t actually erased. The space they occupied is marked by the system as available for overwriting, but the files themselves remain on your drive until they’re overwritten by something else. This means if someone wanted to recover deleted files with special software, they have a chance to succeed, although it’s a tedious process. This is where the secure empty trash feature comes in.
When you empty trash securely, the system writes a series of ones and zeroes over the file you’ve deleted, making it impossible to recover. This feature was an option in OS X until the release of El Capitan, when Apple removed it. Pokemon sun and moon music download.
Secure erase is different for SSD and HDD drives
Before 2012, all MacBooks had HDDs (magnetic drives). Today, the industry standard is SDD and all MacBooks are shipped with those. The old way of 'secure erase' doesn't work for solid state drives. But if you need to make sure the files are 100% gone, still there are ways to do it.
Before 2012, all MacBooks had HDDs (magnetic drives). Today, the industry standard is SDD and all MacBooks are shipped with those. The old way of 'secure erase' doesn't work for solid state drives. But if you need to make sure the files are 100% gone, still there are ways to do it.
How to secure empty Trash on macOS Catalina
1. Force empty trash using Terminal
Before we begin, a note. You can make a mess of things with Apple’s Terminal. It’s crucial to understand the commands and type them without errors. If you start to sweat a bit just reading this, move on. There are alternatives. Otherwise, here we go.
First, you should enable Terminal as a service in the right-click menu.
- Click on Apple menu > System Preferences > Keyboard.
- Now, choose Services.
- Make sure 'New Terminal at Folder' is ticked.
This command allows to apply Terminal commands to a particular folder. In our case, the Terminal will secure erase the entire folder content.
- Put your undesired documents in a new folder
- Now, right-click this folder to reveal Services.
- Choose New Terminal at Folder
- Enter the final Terminal command
We've come to the final part. Now we need to tell Terminal which files to secure erase from the folder we've just specified.
Paste in the following command into the Terminal window:
rm -P Archive.zip
But replace Archive.zip with the name of YOUR file and its extension — it's the file inside the folder you want to erase.
Click Enter and wait for magic to happen. The file or archive should now be completely and securely erased. Check your folder to see the file gone.
Click Enter and wait for magic to happen. The file or archive should now be completely and securely erased. Check your folder to see the file gone.
2. Empty trash securely with CleanMyMac X
Fortunately, you can empty trash securely in a click with CleanMyMac X app by MacPaw. Not only does it empty your desktop trash, but it also cleans up all the other trash bins on your Mac, including those most often overlooked. This program is also notarized by Apple.
Multiple trash bins? Yes! For example, Photos has its very own trash. When you delete an image from Apple’s Photos app, it’s actually moved to the Photos trash. You won’t see it in your desktop trash can. The same goes for Mail, Aperture, external drives and more. Even if you forget about theses bins, CleanMyMac does not. So, let’s take a closer look at how you can empty all the trash bins securely with CleanMyMac X. Vocal remover mac free download.
Once CleanMyMac is running, click the “Trash Bins” icon on the left hand side, and then hit Scan. CleanMyMac X browses all the trash bins on your drive and in your apps, finds everything that can be securely removed, and shows you a list of what it has found.
After completing a scan, you can browse what’s been found, and easily de-select any file you’d rather keep. For a more detailed view, click Review Files to see what’s been identified in each individual trash bin. If you’d like to inspect a file itself, just hover your cursor over its name and then click the magnifying glass icon to open that item’s enclosing folder.
Finally, we’ve been talking about securely removing files once and for all, so let’s do that with CleanMyMac X.
Even though Secure Empty Trash is no longer a native function in OS X El Capitan, you can still empty your Mac’s trash securely with CleanMyMac X. Try CleanMyMac and be sure the files you delete are really gone.
A free Shredder tool in CleanMyMac X
Secure deletion means replacing the original file with random sets of zeroes and ones. That prevents anyone from recovering the file. That's what digital shredding does. It removes the file and overwrites it afterwards. Such free tool is available in CleanMyMac X.
In CleanMyMac X, choose Shredder tab at the bottom of the sidebar.
Now, select files you want to erase.
Be careful, you can't un-shred an important file.
Secure deletion means replacing the original file with random sets of zeroes and ones. That prevents anyone from recovering the file. That's what digital shredding does. It removes the file and overwrites it afterwards. Such free tool is available in CleanMyMac X.
In CleanMyMac X, choose Shredder tab at the bottom of the sidebar.
Now, select files you want to erase.
Be careful, you can't un-shred an important file.
3. Delete files straightforwardly
Finally, there is a way to delete files immediately, without putting them into Trash first. This is not a secure deletion (doesn't overwrite files) — but rather analogous to emptying the Trash.
1. Highlight a file you'd like to delete.
2. Click File in the top menu.
3. Hold down the Option key.
1. Highlight a file you'd like to delete.
2. Click File in the top menu.
3. Hold down the Option key.
How To Empty Trash Mac
Immediately, you'll see an option for 'Delete immediately' in the menu.
Use this at your own risk.
Okay. Now you know how to securely erase files on macOS. And, hopefully, your Terminal experience hasn't been too stressful. For easier options, there are many free tools you can use. One of those is CleanMyMac X's Shredder.
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Jun 08, 2020 • Filed to: Solve Mac Problems • Proven solutions
'I have been trying to delete the files from my Mac but I can't empty trash on Mac. How can I fix it, please help?'
Normally, it is easy for the users to empty the trash can. Many users have reported that they tried to delete the files from the Mac Trash Can but experienced some issues. There is a number of reasons why you cannot empty trash on Mac.
When you delete a file on Mac, it gets transferred to the Trash. And ultimately, you will need to delete the files from Trash too to free up some space. But you can get some errors while doing so. So, here we are going to resolve this problem. We will learn what to do when Mac trash is not emptying. But at first, we need to learn a few things too.
Part 1. Reasons for 'Mac Trash Won't Empty':
There are few reasons why Trash Can is not emptying on Mac. Usually, emptying the trash is immediate and uncomplicated. But occasionally some problems arise and there are two main reasons for that.
- The File Is In Use:If the error message that you are seeing on the screen states that the file is in use, you will have to quit the last application which you used to access the files. Then again try to empty the Trash. Sometimes, the error will be spurious, for example, Mail may report that a file is in use long after you sent the attachment. Even if the file is not used by any application, so, you might have to exit all the apps running and then try emptying the Mac Trash.
- File Is LockedAnother reason for the error is because the file is locked. For this, you will have to hold down the option and open the Finder. Click on the Empty Trash option and the Option key will tell the system to override the locked files.
- Corrupted or Damaged File TypeAny virus or malware on your Mac can seriously affect the condition of your files. It can get damaged or entirely corrupted which makes it difficult to delete the files. So, you will have to fix the it before you try deleting the corrupted file.
- System Integrity ProtectionThis is a special feature of the Mac OS which prevents the users from deleting files from the trash. To resolve this, you will need to disable the feature and then try deleting the files.
- Character ErrorsFew files are randomly saved with special characters in the name. This confuses the system into thinking that the file is very important and the system prevents the user from deleting such files. To resolve this, you'll only have to change the file name.
Part 2. How to Empty Trash on Mac that Won't Delete
As you know the main problems that arise while you are trying to empty Trash can in Mac. But the solutions are pretty easy. In case the trash doesn't allow you to delete files, you can simply follow easy steps to fix that.
1. When Files in Use - Restart Mac or Enter into Safe Mode
If you cannot empty trash Mac file as it is in use by some other application, you can either restart the Mac or enter into the safe mode. To do that, you will need to follow the steps below:
- Quit the application running while you were trying to empty up the Trash.
- If that doesn't work, there might be some app running in the background processes using that file. Restart the Mac and then empty the Trash.
- If that also doesn't work, then you might have some login item or startup item using that file. Ultimately, you'll have to start up your Mac in the safe mode by holding down the Shift key. Then try emptying the Trash and restart your Mac in the usual way.
2. Files Locked - Unlock Files
In case your Mac trash won't empty because the files are locked, you can easily correct this issue and unlock them by following the steps below:
- Open the Trash and right click on the file that you want to delete.
- Click on the Info option and click the Locked checkbox. This will unlock the file and you can now delete the files easily by clicking on the empty button.
You can also right click the file and click on Delete Immediately to delete the file permanently.
![Empty Empty](/uploads/1/2/6/0/126011391/800413637.png)
3. Delete Files From External Hard Drive - Disk Utility
If you can figure out why Mac is unable to empty trash, then you can try using Disk Utility. This feature is used to perform all disk related tasks on Mac including creation, conversion, compression, and encryption too. So, this will allow you to make some changes and repair the drive so that you can delete the files.
- Start up from macOS recovery by clicking the Command + R key while you start up Mac.
- When the macOS utility window appears, select the Disk Utility and click on the Continue button.
- In the Disk Utility, choose the disk that contains the file that you want to delete and then use the First Aid feature to repair that Disk.
- Now exit the utility and restart your Mac. Again try emptying the trash and hopefully, this time the trash files will be deleted.
4. System Integrity Protection
One another reason why Mac can't empty trash might be its System Integrity Protection. It puts a limit on the features and tasks that root account can't perform. It is a security feature so that no even the Root user can modify or delete a file. But if it is preventing you from deleting files on Mac, then you can bypass or modify it. You only need to disable the SIP feature by following the steps below:
- The SIP setting is stored in NVRAM on each individual Mac. So, you'll need to access it from the recovery environment. Boot your Mac into the Recovery Mode and open a terminal window.
- Type the command as- csrutil status and hit the enter button. You will see whether the SIP feature is enabled or not.
- Now type the command- csrutil disable and tap the Enter key. This will disable the System Integrity Protection and you will be able to delete the files from Mac trash or anywhere else.
You will need to restart your Mac first so that the setting will take effect. You can further enable or disable the setting as per your requirement.
5. Empty Trash on Mac with Terminal
If you are proficient in using the Terminal, you will be able to delete the files by using it. This is a very typical method so that it must be used as an ultimate solution. You can use this method when all the above methods have failed to delete the files. So, this is how you empty trash Mac using the terminal. The terminal command will force the Trash to delete the files. The Terminal command is like a failsafe method. It will also bypass all the errors that are preventing Trash from emptying.
- Press the CMD + Space to open Spotlight. Type terminal and press the Return option to launch it.
- Type the command as sudo rm-R and press the Space key to force delete the files.
- Now, go to the Trash and select all the files that you want to delete. Drag those files into the Terminal window and again press the Return option.
- Enter the Mac admin password to authorize the command and hit Return to confirm. Finally, run the command and this will immediately delete the files that you dragged into the Terminal window.
At last, you will have a bit cleaner system. But make sure that you don't do anything wrong otherwise you will end up with a bigger problem on your hands. Using the terminal method will erase all data on your Mac. But you can always recover files after emptying trash on Mac. So, it will be better that you look for an effective recovery tool for Mac online to get your deleted files back.
Part 3. How to Recover Files After Emptying Trash on Mac
It often happens when people are trying out Terminal to delete the files from trash, something wrong happens. Even though you were unable to empty trash Mac, using terminal can be very tricky. So, if you end up deleting your system data, then you should know about a tool that can recover all kind of data even if it was deleted. You can rely on Recoverit Data Recovery on Mac software. This is one of the most popular data recovery tool available to users.
Several features of the software are listed below:
- Recover the lost and deleted files including audios, videos, music, photos, and other files.
- Support data recovery from all kinds of storage media.
- Preview and recover data lost by a system crash, virus attack, and other scenarios too.
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![Trash Trash](/uploads/1/2/6/0/126011391/900794614.jpg)
- Recover Word documents from all storage devices like Mac.
- Recover 1000+ types and formats of files in different situations.
- Scan and preview the files before you recover them from MacBook hard drive.
How to Recover Deleted Files on Mac
1. Run the App And Select a Location
Run the App And Select a Location:Launch the app on the system and you will see the existing drives in the interface. Specify a location and then click on the Start Button.
2. Scan the Disk
Scan the Disk:The software will scan the disk and display the results on the screen sorted according to their format. If the normal scan didn't work out, then you can try Deep Scan to search for the lost or deleted files. Extreme road trip 2 download mac.
Secure Empty Trash Mac Os X
3. Preview and Recover the Files
Enter the Mac admin password to authorize the command and hit Return to confirm. Finally, run the command and this will immediately delete the files that you dragged into the Terminal window.
Using Recoverit Data Recovery software is very helpful if you accidentally lost or emptied your trash. The software won't let you suffer due to the loss of your files as it can effectively recover them in a matter of seconds.
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Conclusion
As you can see, few little problems can lead to major issues. So, you better make sure that you find the right solution. We have provided you all the possible solution to empty the Mac Trash. And in case you somehow end up erasing your Mac data, we have also provided info on how to recover deleted files Mac after empty trash. So, the next something like this happens to your closed ones, make sure that you recommend these solutions and Recoverit to them.
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