Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
Click
Erase Free Space
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Disk Utility erases the free space on the hard drive.
TIPS
Why do files remain in the drive after I empty the Trash?
When you empty the Trash, OS X does not do anything to the data stored on the drive (un-
less the drive is solid-state; see the next tip). Instead, it just marks the drive location as
available for new data.
Why is Erase Free Space disabled for my main hard drive?
The main hard drive is a solid-state drive (SSD) that supports a command called Trim. OS
X uses Trim to alert the drive when a datum is no longer being used (for example, when
you delete a file from the Trash). The SSD then automatically writes over the data so that it
cannot be recovered. Therefore, the Erase Free Space tool is not needed.
