diff --git a/src/lib/ae_events/ae_events__event_file.ts b/src/lib/ae_events/ae_events__event_file.ts
index d2b9e1be..9f684118 100644
--- a/src/lib/ae_events/ae_events__event_file.ts
+++ b/src/lib/ae_events/ae_events__event_file.ts
@@ -365,70 +365,22 @@ export async function create_event_file_obj_from_hosted_file_async({
 export async function delete_ae_obj_id__event_file({
     api_cfg,
     event_file_id,
-    hosted_file_id,
     params = {},
     try_cache = true,
     log_lvl = 0
 }: {
     api_cfg: any;
     event_file_id: string;
-    // Providing hosted_file_id enables full cleanup of the physical file and
-    // hosted_file record. The /links fetch is done first because it calls
-    // get_id_random() on each linked object, which populates Redis. Without
-    // this pre-fetch, redis_lookup_id_random('event_file', id) raises 404
-    // in the delete handler — the cleanup is silently skipped.
-    hosted_file_id?: string;
     params?: key_val;
     try_cache?: boolean;
     log_lvl?: number;
 }) {
-    if (hosted_file_id) {
-        // Step 1: Fetch links — populates Redis for all linked object IDs.
-        let file_links: { link_to_type: string; link_to_id_random: string | null }[] = [];
-        try {
-            const links_result = await api.get_object({
-                api_cfg,
-                endpoint: `/v3/action/hosted_file/${hosted_file_id}/links`,
-                log_lvl: 0
-            });
-            file_links = links_result?.data ?? links_result ?? [];
-        } catch (e) {
-            if (log_lvl) console.warn('[delete_event_file] /links fetch failed:', e);
-        }
-
-        // Step 2: Remove each link. rm_orphan=true on the last one triggers
-        // physical file + hosted_file record cleanup if nothing else uses it.
-        if (file_links.length > 0) {
-            for (let i = 0; i < file_links.length; i++) {
-                const lnk = file_links[i];
-                const is_last = i === file_links.length - 1;
-                await api.delete_hosted_file({
-                    api_cfg,
-                    hosted_file_id,
-                    link_to_type: lnk.link_to_type,
-                    link_to_id: lnk.link_to_id_random ?? undefined,
-                    rm_orphan: is_last,
-                    params: { method: 'delete' },
-                    log_lvl
-                });
-            }
-        } else {
-            // No links recorded — attempt direct orphan cleanup.
-            await api.delete_hosted_file({
-                api_cfg,
-                hosted_file_id,
-                rm_orphan: true,
-                params: { method: 'delete' },
-                log_lvl
-            });
-        }
-    }
-
-    // Step 3: Delete the event_file record after the hosted_file cleanup.
-    const result = await api.delete_ae_obj({
+    // Single atomic call: removes hosted_file_link, cleans up physical file +
+    // hosted_file record if no other links remain (rm_orphan=true is the default),
+    // then deletes the event_file row. Replaces the old multi-step workaround.
+    const result = await api.delete_object({
         api_cfg,
-        obj_type: 'event_file',
-        obj_id: event_file_id,
+        endpoint: `/v3/action/event_file/${event_file_id}`,
         params,
         log_lvl
     });
diff --git a/src/lib/elements/element_manage_event_file_li.svelte b/src/lib/elements/element_manage_event_file_li.svelte
index e6f673a5..f4c2b8ff 100644
--- a/src/lib/elements/element_manage_event_file_li.svelte
+++ b/src/lib/elements/element_manage_event_file_li.svelte
@@ -570,8 +570,6 @@ async function handle_convert_pdf_to_image(event_file_obj: key_val) {
                                                             api_cfg: $ae_api,
                                                             event_file_id:
                                                                 event_file_obj.event_file_id,
-                                                            hosted_file_id:
-                                                                event_file_obj.hosted_file_id,
                                                             log_lvl: 1
                                                         }
                                                     );
diff --git a/src/routes/core/files/+page.svelte b/src/routes/core/files/+page.svelte
index 101bfcb7..74ebb425 100644
--- a/src/routes/core/files/+page.svelte
+++ b/src/routes/core/files/+page.svelte
@@ -359,30 +359,29 @@ let displayed_results = $derived(
 async function check_all_for_orphans() {
     orphan_checking = true;
     orphan_filter = false;
-    // Fetch links for all visible results in parallel; skip already-cached entries.
-    await Promise.all(
-        results.map(async (file) => {
-            const id = file.hosted_file_id;
-            if (links_map.has(id)) return;
-            links_loading.set(id, true);
-            try {
-                const result = await api.get_object({
-                    api_cfg: $ae_api,
-                    endpoint: `/v3/action/hosted_file/${id}/links`,
-                    log_lvl: 0
-                });
-                links_map.set(id, result?.data ?? result ?? []);
-                // Also resolve nav URLs for any links found
-                await Promise.all((result?.data ?? result ?? []).map((lnk: any) => resolve_link_url(lnk.link_to_type, lnk.link_to_id_random)));
-            } catch {
-                links_map.set(id, []);
-            } finally {
-                links_loading.delete(id);
+    try {
+        // Single backend query instead of N+1 per-file link fetches.
+        const result = await api.get_object({
+            api_cfg: $ae_api,
+            endpoint: `/v3/action/hosted_file/orphan_scan?limit=500`,
+            log_lvl: 0
+        });
+        const db_orphans: { hosted_file_id: string }[] = result?.db_orphans ?? result?.data?.db_orphans ?? [];
+        const orphan_id_set = new Set(db_orphans.map((o) => o.hosted_file_id));
+        // Only mark confirmed orphans — empty array means no links found.
+        // Non-orphans are left out of links_map entirely so the link toggle
+        // still works normally and orphan_ids only captures confirmed orphans.
+        for (const file of results) {
+            if (orphan_id_set.has(file.hosted_file_id)) {
+                links_map.set(file.hosted_file_id, []);
             }
-        })
-    );
-    orphan_filter = true;
-    orphan_checking = false;
+        }
+    } catch (e) {
+        console.error('[orphan_scan]', e);
+    } finally {
+        orphan_filter = true;
+        orphan_checking = false;
+    }
 }
 </script>