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How do I permanently delete files from my iMac

Time Machine could not back up the disk “SSD” because it is nearly full.




Delete some files on this disk and try again.


How does one do this? I tried and my Bin has been saying it is emptying but the figure to be deleted remains the same after three days.



[Re-Titled by Moderator]

iMac 21.5″, macOS 12.7

Posted on Nov 15, 2024 7:27 AM

Reply
2 replies

Nov 15, 2024 7:57 AM in response to garth@twickenham

1) It is not clear if it is the iMac's drive that is full...? Or if it is the Time Machine backup drive that is full...?

If your iMac's drive is full, then the system does not have room to update the Time Machine backups.

If your Time Machine backup drive is to small or full, then you need to erase it and start over.


2) You should never move Time Machine backups to the trash, because now they are stuck in the iMac's Trash.

At this point you need to eject and disconnect the Time Machine drive from your iMac an set it aside.

Then check the iMac for Free Disk Space as per > Free up storage space on Mac - Apple Support


3) If there are Time Machine backups in the iMac's Trash, then the backup drive must be erased to free up Trash.

You can use Disk Utility to Erase the existing Time Machine backup and start new backups.

Or optionally replace the Time Machine backup drive with a larger external drive.

Nov 15, 2024 8:40 PM in response to garth@twickenham

If the boot disk is completely full, then it may be impossible to delete anything due to how the APFS file system works. However, it sounds like you may also have a file system issue or possibly even a software issue.


You can try rebooting the computer, but there is always a risk it may not boot if the drive is completely full.


You can also try deleting some older APFS backup snapshots which may free up some space:

View APFS snapshots in Disk Utility on Mac - Apple Support


If there are file system issues, then running Disk Utility First Aid may be necessary.


If there are issues with third party software, then booting into Safe Mode may help.

How do I permanently delete files from my iMac

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