Hi, am pretty new to Mac, hope you don't mind a newbie question. :)
My Mac shows that my digital MP3 recorder is out of space, even after I have deleted any big files. The digital recorder does have a Trash folder, but it is invisible on Mac. On Windows, that Trash folder of digi recorder is visible and I can delete large files from it, leaving more space to record new stuff. Is there a way to view any hidden files on Mac Mini?
Thanks for your help! :)
Many removable players keep deleted files on the device itself in a hidden trash folder (often a dot-prefixed directory such as .Trashes), so macOS will not reclaim that space until those files are removed. Windows often shows the device trash directly while macOS hides dotfiles, which explains the discrepancy reported by . As noted, emptying the Mac Trash while the player is mounted is the simplest first step.
Recent macOS versions provide a quick Finder toggle for hidden items (Command-Shift-.), which makes dot-prefixed folders visible. After revealing hidden files, inspect the mounted player for a folder named .Trashes, .Trash, or a device-specific recycle folder and remove unwanted contents, then empty the Finder Trash to free the space. If Finder reports permission errors, checking the device's Get Info permissions or disconnecting and reconnecting the player often clears transient issues.
Terminal options can also list or remove hidden folders (as mentioned by and ), but those methods require caution and a backup before removing files. Some recorders implement their own recycle mechanism that only a Windows tool will clear; in those cases, emptying the device recycle on a Windows machine or copying important recordings off and reformatting the device are reliable fallbacks.
Backup important recordings before attempting deletions or a reformat. If the player still shows no free space after the trash contents are removed, a filesystem or firmware problem may be present and the device manual or vendor support should be consulted.
Jump to Post— yellow 5Yes...
But before we get into that, after you trashed the files on the MP3 player, did you EMPTY the trash? I suspect not. If you do that, I think you'll regain your missing space.
Otherwise, there are a variety of ways to see hidden files and folders. …
Jump to Post— rubberman 1,355If you go to the command line window (terminal), you should be able to find the hidden files/directories with the command "ls -a". To search recursively, add the "R" (recursive) option, as in "ls -aR". That one will generate a LOT of output if done from the root directory (/), …
Yes...
But before we get into that, after you trashed the files on the MP3 player, did you EMPTY the trash? I suspect not. If you do that, I think you'll regain your missing space.
Otherwise, there are a variety of ways to see hidden files and folders. The easiest of which might be to stick with a GUIfied util that will turn it on and off for you. Go download and use it to display hidden files.
Thank you for the help, Yellow!
Are you still using your MAc mini?
I think you must try this
Open terminal = spotlight search terminal
paste in these lines
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE
killall Finder
To hide hidden files just change TRUE = FALSE
Otherwise you can buy show hidden files mac.
If you go to the command line window (terminal), you should be able to find the hidden files/directories with the command "ls -a". To search recursively, add the "R" (recursive) option, as in "ls -aR". That one will generate a LOT of output if done from the root directory (/), in which case you would want to do this: ls -aR / | less
If the "less" command doesn't exist on your system, then try "more" instead.
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