Phantom "photo's library" adding itself to "Trash"

[Steve Hope]

Strange issue with “photos” and the “trash” that has been bugging me for a while. I recently upgraded to Sequoia 15.0 but this issue was not resolved with that upgrade. Going to try to add a screenshot for you of the contents of the “trash”. When I empty the trash this “photo library” adds itself to the trash within 30 seconds of the trash being emptied. The “photo library” contains zero bytes but adds itself to the trash right after I empty it. If I do not empty the trash, no further “photo library” gets added, only one.

 

[Rodananne]

Do you have any external storage devices that might have a photos library on them? If, for example you had an empty photos library on a USB stick and you trashed it from that device but did not empty the trash before disconnecting the USB device it can result in a sort of "ghost" of the file.

 

[Steve Hope]

I checked my 3 large external drives and have no such library on them. I just copy and paste all my pics and videos etc directly to new files on those drives. They have Super Duper and Time Machine copies but no "photos Libraries".
It is true that I have trashed old photos library's from this Mac and opened new ones but I have always emptied the trash and rebooted after such deletions.
Just in case this helps, you can see the file is named generically but I have always named mine, eg "My Photos Library" or "Steves Photo Library" . I have never not named one but this one returning to my trash is generic.
Thank you. Steve.

 

[Rodananne]

Well, assuming it does exist somewhere you might try downloading Find Any File from the App Store and do a search for the file. As it's the generic name you shouldn't get too many hits. If it's not on your internal HD you can extend the search to your external drives.

 

[Steve Hope]

Not interested in spending $8, or anything, on an app I may or may not use more than once for a nuisance issue. Will keep researching. This issue is clearly on this device though, I searched my externals and they are fine.My MacBook Pro does not have this issue.
Just kind of bugs me that after I empty trash, there it is within 30 seconds back again. Too bad I cant remove trash from dock.
Oooh, wait...just like the check engine light, I could put a piece of black tape over it !!!!

 

[Rodananne]

Obviously it's not a functional problem, just an annoyance. I didn't realise FAF costs money from the App Store it was free from the developer when I installed it. There is another freeware alternative that many of my friends prefer called Easy Find from Devon Industries if you want to try it. It will find "hidden" files as well, you can get it from here; https://www.devontechnologies.com/apps/freeware

 

[Steve Hope]

Will give that a shot, thank you. Will report back soon. thanks for that.

 

[Lufbrarunner]

Have you tried reboot in Safe Mode and empty Trash. Then reboot normally.

 

[Steve Hope]

Loaded Easy Find; found nothing.
Rebooted in Safe Mode; no change.
Has to be a problem with "Photo's" app because when I remove it from the Dock, the trash can never receives a new phantom photos library to be deleted. A new phantom photos library (as shown above) re-populates the trash can only when photos app is in the Dock. Hope that helps.

 

[Steve Hope]

Actually my last post was incorrect in that when Photo's is in the Dock, I get the phantom library as shown above almost instantly after the trash has been emptied. However, when the Photos is NOT in the Dock, the phantom does show up in trash but it takes a lot longer, maybe up to 1 hour but it DOES always show up. Sorry for the confusion.

 

[Rodananne]

No problem. It sure sounds like a "glitch" with photos.
When you launch Photos try holding the Option key. That will bring up the Chooser like below;



Is there a generic Photos Library.photoslibrary listed in the options? Note the bottom of the viewer shows the path.
If it exists there should be a library with nothing in it but you will have to open likely candidates to find out or follow the path listed and check them all in the Finder.

 

[Steve Hope]

This is what I see using Option to open Photo's; only my relatively newly named "My photo library". I dont see the one that appears in the trash bin. Thanks.

 

[Steve Hope]

Looking again at the top picture, the "phantom" file, instead of just emptying the trash I removed the "photo library " to the desktop and tried to open it. Here's what I got: " unrecognizable file format". and "unexpected error occurred" .
I think Lufbrarunner is on the right track. I suspect when originally deleted, it was not completely removed. I have tried the "safe boot" procedure several times but , like a bad penny, it returns in the trash bin and as you can see, it contains zero bytes.
Not sure how to proceed, Clean My Mac X only removes apps, not files like this. I dont think it is possible (?) to delete the whole "Photos" app and try to reload it somehow, maybe from my MBP?

 

[Rodananne]

I guess it's a good argument for the old practice of performing a "clean" macOS install occasionally.

Usually once every couple of years I would do this at the release of a new macOS. Essentially this consisted of creating a bootable macOS installer on a removable storage device from the App Store macOS installer, booting from it, erasing the internal HD (at the media level), naming, formatting and mapping it then installing the new OS. I would then reinstall all my files and apps (other than the native ones) by drag and drop from a previously cloned copy of my Mac.

I know this sounds exhaustive but it really only takes a couple of hours. The last time I did this was due to a repair performed by Apple on my M1 14" MBP which resulted in a blank (other than the OS) internal HD. A lot of personal data simply downloads from iCloud, assuming you synced everything. The rest, third party apps, the contents of my Documents folder and my Photos Library ect. I simply drag and drop from my clone. My email app (Spark) reinstalls my email accounts once I login. I usually elect to omit a few apps I never use and I find I have often gained around 100GB+ of storage thanks to eliminated "stuff" that has built up over time.
Yes, you have to reset all your System Settings but it's a bit like a refresher course and inevitably results in me changing a number of things for the better.
Bottom line is the device is completely functional after a couple of hours and the rest can be done over a few days. You end up with a computer that runs like new, faster, with more storage and stuff like your ghost file and other less obvious "stuff" all eliminated.

This whole process is good practice for when you have to do it which we all do from time to time. It highlights the advantages of a clone as compared to a Time Machine backup although I maintain both is a good idea, they each have their uses.

 

[Steve Hope]

I do have bootable copies on ext HD's for both Time Machine and Clean My MacX but unsure whether I want to go down that road. seems very drastic and time consuming. might call local apple service center for advice. For a few bucks I dont ruin my MBA.

 

[Rodananne]

I agree. It's a lot of work to do for something that is not a functional problem.
My point was that sooner or later, either due to a device upgrade or functional issue a clean install of sorts will eventually be necessary. We say, it's not if your HD will fail but when.

 

[Steve Hope]

Not certain I agree with the "fail' quote, I have some old Macs working well. Never done a reinstall or "clean" install. I think this issue was caused by an incomplete delete on the Macs part. I can live with it , just irritating that I have the proverbial 'bad penny" showing up when I empty the trash. Thanks.