Hard drive on my imac, USB and external HDD have all the same problem when -IMAC

[dee.mac]

hello

its seems a problem has occurred in all my imac Hdd, external harddrive and i have tested on my USB and its has the same problem once in a while. This needs to be solved, since Im at the point when my imac hdd has reached its limit and i need to transfer the memory into an external hdd, knowing its got the same problem.

The Problem: Normally when adding a new file into the harddrive the availablity of the memory decreases. easy
but i have noticed when im deleting file to gain some extra space, the availbiltiy doesnt increase but it stays the SAME.

i tested my USB out, and to fix the problem i always have to reformat it.

i had my imac for almost about 9 months now, so i never reformatted my 1tb external hdd or the harddrive in my imac which is 600gb

how can i fix this problem? without reformatting and loosing all my data in both hdd's.
need help asap!

 

[BlueRevolution]

After you delete a file, do you empty the trash?

 

[dee.mac]

no.
but i just did and my imac harddrive started to work again =p

but my external hdd is still the same ><!

 

[BlueRevolution]

Was your external drive connected/turned on when you emptied the trash?

 

[old-wiz]

In order to empty the trash on an external, it must be plugged in and mounted for the space to be recovered. If you look at the trash icon when the disk is not mounted it shows empty. However, when you plug in the drive and it mounts the trash icon will show something there. You have to empty the trash while it's mounted otherwise the space will not be recovered.

 

[dee.mac]

ok thanks guys for the heads up
but i was wondering
isnt Trash works like the PC recycling Bin?
i like to be able to pick what files i like to permanently delete
it seems when Clearing trash i have to permanently delete everything in it, where as for PC u can chose what you want to delete.
is there a way to fix this?

 

[BlueRevolution]

It has taken me some years to come up with this system, but I think I have it figured out. Want to keep a file? Don't put it in the trash. That way, you can empty the trash right away.