HT2711 ry space available and I am told my start up disc need repairing-I don't know how to do this-also the trash wont empty - HELP

Question

I have a OS X 10.6.8 Mini Mac - I cannot empty my trash so went to Disk Repair and had a message that my start up disc need repairing - do not know how to do this - also I have a message saying my Start Up disc has no more Memory Spave available for application memory. HELP - I am not very computer literate so please use simple language, thanks

Answer 1

One stage at a time!
1. Can't empty trash:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1526?viewlocale=en_US
2. Repairing permissions is important, and should always be carried out both before and after any software installation or update.
Go to Disk Utility (this is in your Utilities Folder in your Application folder) and click on the icon of your hard disk (not the one with all the numbers).
In First Aid, click on Repair Permissions.
Background information here:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1452?viewlocale=en_US
and here:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=302672
An article on troubleshooting Permissions can be found here:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2963
By the way, you can ignore any messages about SUID or ACL file permissions, as explained here:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1448?
If you were having any serious problems with your Mac you might as well complete the exercise by repairing your hard disk as well. You cannot do this from the same start-up disk. Reboot from your install disk (holding down the C key). Once it opens, select your language, and then go to Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. Select your hard disk as before and click Repair.
Once that is complete reboot again from your usual start-up disk.
More useful reading here:
Resolve startup issues and perform disk maintenance with Disk Utility and fsck
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1417?viewlocale=en_US
For a full description of how to resolve Disk, Permission and Cache Corruption, you should read this FAQ from the X Lab:
http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/repairprocess.html
Apple's advice on general maintenance:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1147?viewlocale=en_US
3. Lack of free space on your hard drive: if this drops below about 15GB you can run into problems like data corruption and general slowness.
How big is your hard drive, and how much free space do you actually have?