Why Mac Trash won't empty and how to fix this

Mac trash can not be cleared? Try these methods!

Emptying Mac trash cans is an indispensable step in daily work, but sometimes it cannot be completed smoothly. This article will discuss the various reasons and solutions for the inability to clear the Mac trash can, and recommend some efficient tool software.

Why can't Mac trash can be emptied?

Normally, the Mac trash can't be emptied because the files to be deleted are being used by a program, locked, or you don't have enough permission to delete them. Additionally, insufficient free space for Mac or disks that need to be fixed can also cause this problem.

Be sure to first try the following workaround:

1. Update to the latest macOS system.
2. Restart your Mac and reset the trash can.

If the problem persists, please check the following situations:

File is in use

The system usually pops up a message telling you that the trash can cannot be emptied because the file is in use. The solution is simple: close the program that is using the file. If you cannot determine which program is using the file, restart your Mac to terminate all processes.

It is recommended to use QuitAll to quickly close the background application without restarting the system. QuitAll allows you to close all applications in one click, selectively close unwanted applications, or forcefully close stuck applications.

Another tool to reduce the number of background applications and improve Mac performance is App Tamer . App Tamer recognizes idle applications that take up a lot of CPU and allows you to slow down, stop running, or configure the applications you want to control and their CPU usage.

File locked

Locking of files is also one of the reasons why the Mac trash can cannot be emptied. You can easily check and unlock files:

1. Open the trash can.
2. Right-click the file you want to delete and select "Show Introduction".
3. If Lock is selected, uncheck.

The disk is full

If the system storage space is full, there is not enough free space to run applications and processes, and the Mac trash can will not be cleared. You can solve this problem by freeing up some disk space, such as deleting an old Time Machine backup or browser cache.

CleanMyMac X is a powerful disk cleaning tool that quickly finds and deletes junk files and frees up disk space.

Insufficient permissions

To delete a file, you must have read and write permissions to the file, and disk permissions must be normal.

Check and change file permission settings:

1. Open the trash can.
2. Right-click the file you want to delete and select "Show Introduction".
3. Expand the Share & Permissions tab to check your permissions.
4. Click the lock icon in the lower right corner, enter the password, and change the permissions to read and write permissions as needed.

CleanMyMac X also makes it easy to check and repair disk permissions.

Forced emptied trash can

Forced emptiation of the trash can using terminal commands is an effective way to delete files. It can bypass files being locked, being used, or other issues.

1. Open the terminal.
2. Enter the sudo rm -R command and then space (make sure not to accidentally press Enter).
3. Drag the file you want to delete to the terminal window and press Enter.
4. Enter your password when prompted.

Disk needs to be repaired

Sometimes, the Mac trash can cannot be emptied because of problems with the hard drive. Slight disk errors can be detected and fixed using the Disk Repair feature in Disk Utility.

Summarize

If the Mac trash can cannot be emptied, first make sure that the file is not locked, has read and write permissions, and is not used by the program. Quickly close running applications using QuitAll. If the trash can't be emptied due to insufficient disk space, use App Tamer and CleanMyMac X to clean up the disk and control CPU usage. If the file is not locked and the Mac hardware is running normally, you should be able to avoid the problem that the Mac trash can cannot be emptied.

Setapp offers a seven-day free trial of CleanMyMac X, App Tamer and QuitAll to help your Mac perform at the best performance.

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