Help!! Trash is generating thousands of files

[cynth_]

So I recently upgraded from Snow Leopard to Mavericks. And since then, every time I empty my trash, it would say there're thousands of files. In one instance I tried deleting 1 file that was around 400MB and it said there were 3,000 items to delete. And even if I try deleting something smaller like a jpeg, it would say there are 3 items to delete when there's only one.

Does anyone have a solution to this problem? It's soo frustrating sitting here and waiting for 20-30 minutes for my trash to delete a few files.

 

[MacInWin]

What was the 400MB file? If it was an application, it may well have had 3,000 files inside the application. Remember, an application in OS X is really a folder with lots of little pieces in it. I don't know about the jpeg, it should be just one, but you didn't give much in specifics on that one. And you gave zero information about your Mac, other than you upgraded to Mavericks.

 

[MacInWin]

Oh, and you don't have to wait while the trash is emptied. Just click Empty and go about your business. When Trash is done, it will trigger a chime to say so.

 

[cynth_]

What was the 400MB file? If it was an application, it may well have had 3,000 files inside the application. Remember, an application in OS X is really a folder with lots of little pieces in it. I don't know about the jpeg, it should be just one, but you didn't give much in specifics on that one. And you gave zero information about your Mac, other than you upgraded to Mavericks.

I have a mid 2009 Macbook Pro running on OS X 10.9.5. with an Intel Core 2 Duo processor.

The 400MB file is the Steam app.
And for the jpegs it would be around 40-60KB.

I never really had this problem before. I just started noticing it after I downloaded Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator and InDesign.
My computer would freeze up for a few seconds. So I don't know if it's because I'm running low on memory space or it's something else entirely

 

[MacInWin]

Yeah, Steam could be 3000 files, easy. How much memory and how much disk space do you have (also, how big is the drive?)? There are a lot of factors that can go into slowing down disk activity (which is what emptying the trash is).

 

[Slydude]

Also, try running Disk Utility and verify the drive. Make any repairs that it suggests. I think I remember sing this behavior when a drives directory structure is having issues.