Removing Files

• 1). Open the Finder. Delete any applications you no longer use by clicking on them, then pressing "Command-Delete" on the keyboard. This will send them to the trash.
  
  
• 2). Copy files you no longer use but do not want to delete to an external drive. Insert a USB flash drive into a USB port of your Mac. Open the finder and drag the files to the flash drive. Alternatively, you can copy the files to a blank writable CD or DVD. Once they have been copied, drag the files into the trash in the dashboard.
  
  
• 3). Open the "Library" folder under your user account in the Finder. Click the "Cache" folder. Scroll through the folders and delete the cache files of any applications you no longer have installed.
  
  
• 4). Open iPhoto and delete any photos you no longer want by clicking on them and pressing the "Delete" key. Click the "iPhoto" menu, then click "Empty Trash" before closing the application. The iPhoto Trash works independently of the general Trash in Finder.
  
  
• 5). Search your hard drive for .dmg and .zip files that you have downloaded to install files or applications, and then forgotten about. Open a new Finder window and press "Command-F." Select "This Mac" and "File Name" at the top of the window. Type "dmg" in the search field. Delete any .dmg files you do not need. Then repeat this by typing "zip" in the search field.
  
  
• 6). Empty the Trash by clicking anywhere on the desktop. Click the "Finder" menu, then click "Empty Trash."
  
  

Using iTunes to Delete Duplicate Media

• 1). Open iTunes, and select "Music" in the "Library" section on the left. Click the "File" menu, then click "Show Duplicates."
  
  
• 2). Click on any duplicate file and press the "Delete" key. Click "Remove" and "Move to Trash" in the dialog boxes that open.
  
  
• 3). Repeat this process by clicking on "Movies," "TV Shows," and "Audio Books" in your Library.
  
  

Zeroing Data on a Hard Drive

• 1). Copy all data from the hard drive you may need later. Hard drives store data in a binary format, using zeros and ones. Zeroing the data will erase the hard drive and make all data into zeros only.
  
  
• 2). Insert the Mac OS X Installation CD into the disc drive. Restart the computer while holding down the "C" key.
  
  
• 3). Click the "Installer" menu, then "Open Disk Utilities." Click on the hard drive you want erased.
  
  
• 4). Click "Erase" tab and check the box beside "Zero All Data." Click "OK," then "Erase."