In the case of an accidental data loss, depending on how large your hard disk is, the previous “deleted” files may be overwritten in a few seconds, a few days, or even a year, so it’s sometimes possible to recover an accidentally deleted file using the unlinked data present.īut it also means that a thief could potentially access the files you may have deleted, or reselling a Mac with data you thought you had deleted may have bad consequences. This is a good thing as well as a bad thing. When the time comes to store a new file, OS X simply overwrites the space previously taken up by the unlinked (deleted) file. That is why deleting files frees up disk space. Once the data blocks have been removed from a file, OS X treats it as unused storage.

I erased the drive successfully and SuperDuper is now copying over my backup.Why Does Your Disk Space Free Up After File Removal? If I use Time Machine in the future, I'll remember that. Then, erase the backup volume using Disk Utility. Shut down your Mac, force it to shut down if necessary. Anticipating the next question 'then why does the Finder let me mess with it', the answer is that it probably shouldn't, and probably won't in some future macOS update or upgrade. Time Machine uses a complex file structure that should not be tampered with. If you are compelled to delete certain Time Machine backup items, the right way to do it is to 'enter time machine', navigate to the file or folder, control-click it, and then select 'Delete All Backups of. If you decide you need to follow the Advanced tip about deleting locked files, be sure to read and follow those instructions with care.Īlthough you can certainly delete Time Machine backup files using the Finder, and it will work, as you found out it can take a very long time. To empty the 'in use' files, read You can't empty the Trash or move a file to the Trash - Apple Support. Using Time Machine's Preferences, turn off Time Machine, and de-select that backup drive.

Faster way to secure empty trash mac