USB/SDcard deleted/hidden files

Hi All
I realised myself quite recently that files that were 'deleted' on a USB stick were still taking up space on the USB dongle. Anyway it didn't occur to me to empty the trash because 'windows' doesn't work like that, until that is I read some of the other posts.
Even so when USB dongles or SD cards that contain or have contained 'deleted' files I've seen that the iMAC has inserted new folders on the external dongle/SD called .Trash & .Spotlight. I only saw these folders & their contents when the dongle/SD card was connected to a Cyclone Micro Media device. This explained why the Cyclone doesn't recognise these 'deleted' photo JPGs & stops the slide show i.e. because they have two dots in the filename (eg .IMAGE001.JPG) which the Cyclone doesn't like.
Sorry to whitter on ... my questions are:
+- can the Mac OS display files that are hidden (as you can do on windows) in the Trash (or elsewhere for that matter)+
+- why doesn't the Finder display of the Trash identify the full path name - by that I mean identify the actual device that holds the 'deleted' file. It doesn't seem to me that the 'deleted' files on a particular device can be identified from the list? or havn't I found the method yet?+
+- would dropping into unix reveal such information and could you then delete the 'deleted' files held on a specific external device?+
thanks -- keith

HI red4vr,
welcome to the forums.
http://osxdaily.com/2009/02/25/show-hidden-files-in-os-x/ explains how to hide/show hidden files in the finder. As well as how to list hidden files in the terminal, and in the save/open dialog box. There are lots of hidden files on the computer that you should under no circumstance try to delete. A good rule of thumb is if you didn't make the folder, or what's in the folder; don't delete it. don't rename it, don't move it.
If this is some thing you want to do on a regular basis you may want to use a program like 'blind." http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/22495/blind this program adds a tool bar button to hide/show hidden files.
You are correct about the trash can, it shows every thing (not counting hidden files) in the trash for all the drives connected. If you want to tell what is on a specific external volume. You can goto that trash folder.
ie: finder, menu bar, go menu, goto folder, /volumes/NameOfVolume/.Trash
Have a great new year

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How to delete hidden files?

I am trying to delete two hidden files and have copied the given prompts exactly into Terminal and all I get is files not shown.

Files have permissions associated with them and if they are not yours, then you can't delete them without elevating your permissions level to do so.
System files are hidden and have special permissions for a reason, so you don't tamper with then and wind up messing up your machine.
Some files, even if deleted, are immediately rebuilt if a system process or program needs it, some are regenerated upon launching or rebooting the machine.
Some files deleted cant' be recovered at all and may cause the machine not to boot the next time.
LVNV1989 wrote:
I am trying to delete two hidden files and have copied the given prompts exactly into Terminal and all I get is files not shown.
The files may not exist at the path given, you entered it wrong, the instructions might be for another operating system or version of OS X and the files are no longer there.
What exactly are you trying to do?, what operating system and what hidden files are you trying to delete?
We can correct your perhaps misguided advice, or find a easier solution to your problem or tell you it won't work and why.
but we need to know more please.
If you don't want to tell us, then install the free TinkerTool and enable invisible files and you might be able to delete them manually, however if they are system/root files then your going to need to enter the Admin password for a "sudo" window of root power level destruction. At your own peril! Backup your data now before it's too late.
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Ok, now you have two posts listed there so I am going to assume you are new to Macs and just not familiar with how they do things.
Now the terminal is the Mac equivalent of the Windows Command Prompt. (I'm also assuming you're a switcher).
If you navigate to the applications folder within it you'll find another folder called 'Utilities'. Open it and double click the icon called Terminal. A small window will appear.
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Message was edited by: gumsie

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Thank you!

The easiest way is to tell Finder to show hidden files. Open Terminal and copy this to Terminal window:
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You can try to take out the Battery wait then put back in & try to see the pictures or videos if there are on the device & was not deleted.
Please Advise
If it helped you, click like.
If my response has helped you, please click "Options" beside my post and mark it as solved.
Clicking the "thumbs up" icon near the bottom of my response would also be appreciated.
Good luck and let us know!

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Screen grab of what's happening:
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Hi Tkmoore, and a warm welcome to the forums!
Is there any other way to delete these hidden files off of a flash drive besides emptying the trash.
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Thanks. I have thought of this solution but these files are not showing when I set it this way. I had a specialist helping me to find this problem and he was very surprised that these hidden files didn't show up in his special program for showing hidden information. Only when going deeper and deeper into this program these files showed on his computer. As they are incorporated into the original file (the jpeg version) you don't seem to be able to delete them. What do people do when they want to show (jpeg converted from raw)images on their tv?
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I accidentally deleted hidden system files! Please help!

Hi guys.
Well after purchasing a mint MBP today running Mountain Lion, I wanted to "tidy up" the desktop and Finder. I saw many hidden files and thought it was very peculiar as my iMac hasn't got anything of the kind. I thought it could have been some files from a USB that were left there from previous usage. Anyway, I've ended up deleting key system files which now causes the MacBook to fail boot and keep restarting.
I've attempted the highly recommended "Command R" function which gave me a choice of Time Machine Restore (system comes up with no backups), re-installation of Lion (which won't work because the system is running Mountain Lion) and a Disk Utility repair (which does its job but makes no difference on start up). I feel really upset and annoyed. The system had great installations of key apps I needed. I'd be sad to loose them but would be happy to just get the system rebooted and running from scratch.
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To install Lion that belongs to you will require you to repartition the drive first. You cannot do a simple reinstall of Lion over a Mountain Lion system. You will need to follow this guide instead:
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Be sure you backup your files to an external drive or second internal drive because the following procedure will remove everything from the hard drive.
Boot to the Internet Recovery HD:
Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND-OPTION- R keys until a globe appears on the screen. Wait patiently - 15-20 minutes - until the Recovery main menu appears.
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Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion: Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion and click on the Install button. Be sure to select the correct drive to use if you have more than one.
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Hidden files on USB and memory cards

When I put my USB or my camera's memory card into my mac and delete files from them, they disappear but haven't actually gone from my memory card/usb. So the space is still taken up by the hidden files. On a PC I can find how to reveal the hidden files and delete them, but I don't know how to do this on a mac.

Don't delete files from your camera cards using your Mac — always erase or format the cards in the camera, using its own menu commands.
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