Deleted time machine backups from external HD, but did not free space

Clash Royale CLAN TAG#URR8PPP

up vote
1
down vote

favorite

Time machine backups filled my 4TB external HD. To free space, I deleted a handful of the particular backups from:

/Volumes/Winston's 4TB/Backups.backupdb/ 

Those files ended up in the trash bin and trying to "empty" the trash bin erred indicating the folder was in use. So, I deleted the contents through terminal:

cd /Volumes/"Winston's 4TB"/.Trashes/
sudo rm -rf /501/2018-0*

Finder now shows the trash bin being empty, but the space has not been freed up on the drive. How do I recover that space?

macos terminal finder time-machine trash

share|improve this question

edited 42 mins ago

bmike♦

150k45265584

asked 52 mins ago

Josh

61

New contributor

Josh is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Has the trash finished emptying?
  – jmh
  44 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  The ACL for Time Machine won’t let these rm commands simply work, so either we don’t have the full story on how it was modified or that drive filesystem structure is broken and needs a repair or wipe so that emptying trash and calculating space work as designed.
  – bmike♦
  33 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

up vote
1
down vote

favorite

Time machine backups filled my 4TB external HD. To free space, I deleted a handful of the particular backups from:

/Volumes/Winston's 4TB/Backups.backupdb/ 

Those files ended up in the trash bin and trying to "empty" the trash bin erred indicating the folder was in use. So, I deleted the contents through terminal:

cd /Volumes/"Winston's 4TB"/.Trashes/
sudo rm -rf /501/2018-0*

Finder now shows the trash bin being empty, but the space has not been freed up on the drive. How do I recover that space?

macos terminal finder time-machine trash

share|improve this question

edited 42 mins ago

bmike♦

150k45265584

asked 52 mins ago

Josh

61

New contributor

Josh is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Has the trash finished emptying?
  – jmh
  44 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  The ACL for Time Machine won’t let these rm commands simply work, so either we don’t have the full story on how it was modified or that drive filesystem structure is broken and needs a repair or wipe so that emptying trash and calculating space work as designed.
  – bmike♦
  33 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

up vote
1
down vote

favorite

up vote
1
down vote

favorite

Time machine backups filled my 4TB external HD. To free space, I deleted a handful of the particular backups from:

/Volumes/Winston's 4TB/Backups.backupdb/ 

Those files ended up in the trash bin and trying to "empty" the trash bin erred indicating the folder was in use. So, I deleted the contents through terminal:

cd /Volumes/"Winston's 4TB"/.Trashes/
sudo rm -rf /501/2018-0*

Finder now shows the trash bin being empty, but the space has not been freed up on the drive. How do I recover that space?

macos terminal finder time-machine trash

share|improve this question

edited 42 mins ago

bmike♦

150k45265584

asked 52 mins ago

Josh

61

New contributor

Josh is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

Time machine backups filled my 4TB external HD. To free space, I deleted a handful of the particular backups from:

/Volumes/Winston's 4TB/Backups.backupdb/ 

Those files ended up in the trash bin and trying to "empty" the trash bin erred indicating the folder was in use. So, I deleted the contents through terminal:

cd /Volumes/"Winston's 4TB"/.Trashes/
sudo rm -rf /501/2018-0*

Finder now shows the trash bin being empty, but the space has not been freed up on the drive. How do I recover that space?

macos terminal finder time-machine trash

macos terminal finder time-machine trash

share|improve this question

edited 42 mins ago

bmike♦

150k45265584

asked 52 mins ago

Josh

61

New contributor

Josh is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

share|improve this question

edited 42 mins ago

bmike♦

150k45265584

asked 52 mins ago

Josh

61

New contributor

Josh is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

share|improve this question

share|improve this question

edited 42 mins ago

bmike♦

150k45265584

edited 42 mins ago

bmike♦

150k45265584

edited 42 mins ago

bmike♦

150k45265584

150k45265584

asked 52 mins ago

Josh

61

New contributor

Josh is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

asked 52 mins ago

Josh

61

asked 52 mins ago

Josh

61

61

New contributor

Josh is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

New contributor

Josh is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

Josh is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Has the trash finished emptying?
  – jmh
  44 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  The ACL for Time Machine won’t let these rm commands simply work, so either we don’t have the full story on how it was modified or that drive filesystem structure is broken and needs a repair or wipe so that emptying trash and calculating space work as designed.
  – bmike♦
  33 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Has the trash finished emptying?
  – jmh
  44 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  The ACL for Time Machine won’t let these rm commands simply work, so either we don’t have the full story on how it was modified or that drive filesystem structure is broken and needs a repair or wipe so that emptying trash and calculating space work as designed.
  – bmike♦
  33 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  

1

1

Has the trash finished emptying?
– jmh
44 mins ago

Has the trash finished emptying?
– jmh
44 mins ago

The ACL for Time Machine won’t let these rm commands simply work, so either we don’t have the full story on how it was modified or that drive filesystem structure is broken and needs a repair or wipe so that emptying trash and calculating space work as designed.
– bmike♦
33 mins ago

The ACL for Time Machine won’t let these rm commands simply work, so either we don’t have the full story on how it was modified or that drive filesystem structure is broken and needs a repair or wipe so that emptying trash and calculating space work as designed.
– bmike♦
33 mins ago

add a comment | 

2 Answers
2

active

oldest

votes

up vote
1
down vote

I never have patience to repair permissions or delete files piecemeal on Time Machine since the hard links take significant IOPs when you have lots of backup intervals - especially on a spinning drive and not an SSD.

I typically just put the drive on the shelf if I ever need any data and buy a new drive for current backups when I can’t zero the entire filesystem.

Worse, if you didn’t use tmutil delete to remove the files, you likely broke the drive for future use with Time Machine and didn’t correct for the access controls that prevent even root from using rm to delete or modify the backup files.

• How can I manually delete old backups to free space for Time Machine?

To zero the filesystem, use Disk Utility to remove the entire volume or repartition the whole drive. Be very sure and unmount all volumes physically disconnecting them when you wipe a drive, there is no undo and the data goes “poof” once you confirm the operation.

share|improve this answer

edited 39 mins ago

answered 44 mins ago

bmike♦

150k45265584

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  so now we know you are an impatient man :)
  – Buscar웃
  40 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  My patience for a disk repair is 36 hours lately - longer if I’m being paid to be patient or if I’m going to learn something cool at the end of the experiment.
  – bmike♦
  38 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  so now we also know your loyalty can be bought :)
  – Buscar웃
  34 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Yes. Kindness and cooperation are the coin of the realm. I love your attitude and hope everyone loses patience with gaslighting, unkindness, bike shedding and such.
  – bmike♦
  31 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

up vote
1
down vote

Enter Time Machine - there is an icon on the menu bar. Scroll back using the arrow keys on the screen until you get to the older backups. Near the top of the window, there is an icon that looks like a gear. Click on this icon and one of the options in the pull-down menu is to delete. Use this to delete backups.

share|improve this answer

answered 31 mins ago

jmh

2,7921318

add a comment | 

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2 Answers
2

active

oldest

votes

2 Answers
2

active

oldest

votes

active

oldest

votes

active

oldest

votes

up vote
1
down vote

I never have patience to repair permissions or delete files piecemeal on Time Machine since the hard links take significant IOPs when you have lots of backup intervals - especially on a spinning drive and not an SSD.

I typically just put the drive on the shelf if I ever need any data and buy a new drive for current backups when I can’t zero the entire filesystem.

Worse, if you didn’t use tmutil delete to remove the files, you likely broke the drive for future use with Time Machine and didn’t correct for the access controls that prevent even root from using rm to delete or modify the backup files.

• How can I manually delete old backups to free space for Time Machine?

To zero the filesystem, use Disk Utility to remove the entire volume or repartition the whole drive. Be very sure and unmount all volumes physically disconnecting them when you wipe a drive, there is no undo and the data goes “poof” once you confirm the operation.

share|improve this answer

edited 39 mins ago

answered 44 mins ago

bmike♦

150k45265584

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  so now we know you are an impatient man :)
  – Buscar웃
  40 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  My patience for a disk repair is 36 hours lately - longer if I’m being paid to be patient or if I’m going to learn something cool at the end of the experiment.
  – bmike♦
  38 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  so now we also know your loyalty can be bought :)
  – Buscar웃
  34 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Yes. Kindness and cooperation are the coin of the realm. I love your attitude and hope everyone loses patience with gaslighting, unkindness, bike shedding and such.
  – bmike♦
  31 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

up vote
1
down vote

I never have patience to repair permissions or delete files piecemeal on Time Machine since the hard links take significant IOPs when you have lots of backup intervals - especially on a spinning drive and not an SSD.

I typically just put the drive on the shelf if I ever need any data and buy a new drive for current backups when I can’t zero the entire filesystem.

Worse, if you didn’t use tmutil delete to remove the files, you likely broke the drive for future use with Time Machine and didn’t correct for the access controls that prevent even root from using rm to delete or modify the backup files.

• How can I manually delete old backups to free space for Time Machine?

To zero the filesystem, use Disk Utility to remove the entire volume or repartition the whole drive. Be very sure and unmount all volumes physically disconnecting them when you wipe a drive, there is no undo and the data goes “poof” once you confirm the operation.

share|improve this answer

edited 39 mins ago

answered 44 mins ago

bmike♦

150k45265584

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  so now we know you are an impatient man :)
  – Buscar웃
  40 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  My patience for a disk repair is 36 hours lately - longer if I’m being paid to be patient or if I’m going to learn something cool at the end of the experiment.
  – bmike♦
  38 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  so now we also know your loyalty can be bought :)
  – Buscar웃
  34 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Yes. Kindness and cooperation are the coin of the realm. I love your attitude and hope everyone loses patience with gaslighting, unkindness, bike shedding and such.
  – bmike♦
  31 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

up vote
1
down vote

up vote
1
down vote

I never have patience to repair permissions or delete files piecemeal on Time Machine since the hard links take significant IOPs when you have lots of backup intervals - especially on a spinning drive and not an SSD.

I typically just put the drive on the shelf if I ever need any data and buy a new drive for current backups when I can’t zero the entire filesystem.

Worse, if you didn’t use tmutil delete to remove the files, you likely broke the drive for future use with Time Machine and didn’t correct for the access controls that prevent even root from using rm to delete or modify the backup files.

• How can I manually delete old backups to free space for Time Machine?

To zero the filesystem, use Disk Utility to remove the entire volume or repartition the whole drive. Be very sure and unmount all volumes physically disconnecting them when you wipe a drive, there is no undo and the data goes “poof” once you confirm the operation.

share|improve this answer

edited 39 mins ago

answered 44 mins ago

bmike♦

150k45265584

I never have patience to repair permissions or delete files piecemeal on Time Machine since the hard links take significant IOPs when you have lots of backup intervals - especially on a spinning drive and not an SSD.

I typically just put the drive on the shelf if I ever need any data and buy a new drive for current backups when I can’t zero the entire filesystem.

Worse, if you didn’t use tmutil delete to remove the files, you likely broke the drive for future use with Time Machine and didn’t correct for the access controls that prevent even root from using rm to delete or modify the backup files.

• How can I manually delete old backups to free space for Time Machine?

To zero the filesystem, use Disk Utility to remove the entire volume or repartition the whole drive. Be very sure and unmount all volumes physically disconnecting them when you wipe a drive, there is no undo and the data goes “poof” once you confirm the operation.

share|improve this answer

edited 39 mins ago

answered 44 mins ago

bmike♦

150k45265584

share|improve this answer

share|improve this answer

edited 39 mins ago

edited 39 mins ago

edited 39 mins ago

answered 44 mins ago

bmike♦

150k45265584

answered 44 mins ago

bmike♦

150k45265584

answered 44 mins ago

bmike♦

150k45265584

150k45265584

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  so now we know you are an impatient man :)
  – Buscar웃
  40 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  My patience for a disk repair is 36 hours lately - longer if I’m being paid to be patient or if I’m going to learn something cool at the end of the experiment.
  – bmike♦
  38 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  so now we also know your loyalty can be bought :)
  – Buscar웃
  34 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Yes. Kindness and cooperation are the coin of the realm. I love your attitude and hope everyone loses patience with gaslighting, unkindness, bike shedding and such.
  – bmike♦
  31 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  so now we know you are an impatient man :)
  – Buscar웃
  40 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  My patience for a disk repair is 36 hours lately - longer if I’m being paid to be patient or if I’m going to learn something cool at the end of the experiment.
  – bmike♦
  38 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  so now we also know your loyalty can be bought :)
  – Buscar웃
  34 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Yes. Kindness and cooperation are the coin of the realm. I love your attitude and hope everyone loses patience with gaslighting, unkindness, bike shedding and such.
  – bmike♦
  31 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  

so now we know you are an impatient man :)
– Buscar웃
40 mins ago

so now we know you are an impatient man :)
– Buscar웃
40 mins ago

My patience for a disk repair is 36 hours lately - longer if I’m being paid to be patient or if I’m going to learn something cool at the end of the experiment.
– bmike♦
38 mins ago

My patience for a disk repair is 36 hours lately - longer if I’m being paid to be patient or if I’m going to learn something cool at the end of the experiment.
– bmike♦
38 mins ago

so now we also know your loyalty can be bought :)
– Buscar웃
34 mins ago

so now we also know your loyalty can be bought :)
– Buscar웃
34 mins ago

1

1

Yes. Kindness and cooperation are the coin of the realm. I love your attitude and hope everyone loses patience with gaslighting, unkindness, bike shedding and such.
– bmike♦
31 mins ago

Yes. Kindness and cooperation are the coin of the realm. I love your attitude and hope everyone loses patience with gaslighting, unkindness, bike shedding and such.
– bmike♦
31 mins ago

add a comment | 

up vote
1
down vote

Enter Time Machine - there is an icon on the menu bar. Scroll back using the arrow keys on the screen until you get to the older backups. Near the top of the window, there is an icon that looks like a gear. Click on this icon and one of the options in the pull-down menu is to delete. Use this to delete backups.

share|improve this answer

answered 31 mins ago

jmh

2,7921318

add a comment | 

up vote
1
down vote

Enter Time Machine - there is an icon on the menu bar. Scroll back using the arrow keys on the screen until you get to the older backups. Near the top of the window, there is an icon that looks like a gear. Click on this icon and one of the options in the pull-down menu is to delete. Use this to delete backups.

share|improve this answer

answered 31 mins ago

jmh

2,7921318

add a comment | 

up vote
1
down vote

up vote
1
down vote

Enter Time Machine - there is an icon on the menu bar. Scroll back using the arrow keys on the screen until you get to the older backups. Near the top of the window, there is an icon that looks like a gear. Click on this icon and one of the options in the pull-down menu is to delete. Use this to delete backups.

share|improve this answer

answered 31 mins ago

jmh

2,7921318

Enter Time Machine - there is an icon on the menu bar. Scroll back using the arrow keys on the screen until you get to the older backups. Near the top of the window, there is an icon that looks like a gear. Click on this icon and one of the options in the pull-down menu is to delete. Use this to delete backups.

share|improve this answer

answered 31 mins ago

jmh

2,7921318

share|improve this answer

share|improve this answer

answered 31 mins ago

jmh

2,7921318

answered 31 mins ago

jmh

2,7921318

answered 31 mins ago

jmh

2,7921318

2,7921318

add a comment | 

add a comment | 

Josh is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.

 

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