Can't delete file from eternal hard drive

I am trying to erase files on my external hard drive (I replaced it with a Time
Capsule which is working fine) and am having difficulty erasing one file. All of the other files deleted just fine. When I went to delete the offending file, a new file called "Icon“ appeared which is defined as a unix executable file with zero kB, and the terminal screen automatically opens. Is there any way to delete this file using a terminal command. I have not used terminal before. Any help would be appreciated.

If you don't want any of the files on that disk, I suggest that you run Disk Utility and erase the volume.
I wonder if Time Machine still thinks that it is a useable backup volume and is doing that. I bet the volume still has a Time Machine icon on the desktop instead of a generic disk.

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(Error code -36) Can't delete files from external hard drive

So as I was copying files to my hard drive (Seagate Backup Plus Drive) my Macbook Pro went flat, and so the files obviously didn't get to finish copying. Now they're greyed out in my folder and when I try to move the files to the trash it comes up with this message:
"The Finder can’t complete the operation because some data in “-----” can’t be read or written.
(Error code -36)"
Does anyone know how I can fix this? I've tried a couple of different things and nothing has worked, and I don't wanna stuff around too much in case I lose everything.

Presumably you are using the Seagate as an external HD.
"my Macbook Pro went flat" means the MBP shut down or powered off suddenly for some reason?
If your Seagate was not properly ejected that would cause problems. You should run Disk Utility and Verify and Repair the Seagate, if needed. Then you should be able to deal with the uncompleted files.

Can't delete file from external hard drive

Hi,
There is a permition problem with my external hard drive (no time mashine on it!) - can't delete certain files.
I copied my documents on my external hard drive from previous computer with windows and later with linux system on it and there had been changed icons at certain folders previously. I mention this, becouse what linux did was that it locked the changed icon files and I couldn't delete them until I unlocked them manually. But at least it showed me that i don't have permition and i could change it. Well, now I mounted the disk on my new macbook and wanted to delete some files and it seems that there is the same problem with permition, at least it seems to happen with the same files. When I want to delete them, the system asks me for admin password, I give it allright, it makes the sound as if the folder was moved to trash but that's all. the folder is still there even after dismounting and restarting. I already checked the permitions and it says in the info that i can read and write with the file so it looks as if my rights were ok...
Please help, I desperatly need more space for new backup and can't get rid of the files I don't need any more...
Thank you for any sort of simple-ish advice
Message was edited by: brevon

Thanx for such qucik reply!!! The pages were great, it had an answer for my problem, but unfortunately it also involved me dealing with it only on the MacIntosh HD itself, not on mounted external drive I suppose... So it didn't work they say that there is an icon in the left corner indicating locked folder - I don't see any icon on it. It says you can untick the box to unlock the folder - there is no tick to be unticked. Finally, they say that if I don't have permition or rights I cannot delete it. But how do i change permittion which already says that i can read and write in it? So everything appears to be normal only I cannot delete it. there is not even any warnig telling me I don't have enough rights, it just requires the password and after me typing it in it makes the sound of scraping paper but does nothing more. I aslo had some problems with emptying Trash after being seemingly succesful with one file and had got so far to have them appear in the Trash (no clue how this one actully got there though..) I followd the advice and emptied the Trash with Terminal. The Folder is still there but it shows 0 Kb... So far so good BUT: It is still on the external drive, so I obviously only managed to copy it into the Trash!!! Phew, innit a bit too tight to poor owners, this macbook?? I want my rights back!

Can't delete files from external hard drive

So here's an interesting problem that I've never run across. I have a Western Digital hard drive plugged in and I was deleting some files off it today when suddenly it started saying that there were some files in use and it couldn't delete those. I hit "Continue" which usually does the trick but it just deleted everything else and left a bunch of folders with these weird empty files in them. So I quit all programs and tried again. Same thing, "Cannot delete, file in use." Tried rebooting both my computer and the external, again "Files in use." Did a google search, followed numerous suggestions, terminal sudo rm -r +file name, a force delete app, secure delete, holding down the option button while deleting... No dice. When I try the sudo rm thing in terminal it tells me that the folder doesn't exist AND that it isn't empty and won't delete it. (I love computers) When I do a right click->Get info on it, it says that I have read-write permissions but that the files are locked but won't let me unlock them (I'm the system administrator). When I look at the files in finder, it says they're actually aliases. What's really weird is that the file names are all messed up and have asian characters and stuff in them. I didn't create these aliases or have files with those characters in them. Soooo... Any suggestions? Cause I've read the threads and tried just about everything. I'm concerned this drive is headed for a crash or maybe just needs to be wiped and then put my stuff back on cause it's gotten errors over time. I don't know, I've never had this happen before and I'm pretty good with computers. If it was a windows computer I'd be doing a scan disk and defrag on it but I don't know how to do that on a mac to an external hard drive. I honestly don't know if this is a hardware or software problem. Any help would be appreciated.

Oh... well this is interesting... disk utility is say that it IS formatted MS-DOS (FAT32). Is that what's causing these errors? This thing has been running with my mac beautifully for years. So do I pull my stuff off, wipe it and reformat it for a mac? Or since it is FAT 32 can I hook it up to a windows computer and fix the problem? Since I had the wrong format, I can delete the files but if I don't fix the format this will keep happening?
Volume repair reported:
Verify and Repair volume “750GBEXT”
** /dev/disk1s1
** Phase 1 - Preparing FAT
** Phase 2 - Checking Directories
/.../SpryAssets/_NOTES has entries after end of directory
Truncate? yes
/..../My Work has entries after end of directory
Truncate? yes
** Phase 3 - Checking for Orphan Clusters
95906 files, 181003968 KiB free (5656374 clusters)
***** FILE SYSTEM WAS MODIFIED *****
Volume repair complete.Updating boot support partitions for the volume as required.
And thanks!

I have deleted my private folder and do not have enough space to reinstall my operating system. How can i transfer files from my hard drive to an USB drive to free up space when the operating system isn't working. or do i need to erase disk?

i have deleted my private folder and do not have enough space to reinstall my operating system. How can i transfer files from my hard drive to an USB drive to free up space when the operating system isn't working. or do i need to erase disk through disk utilities without erasing data (but will it delete my programs such as photoshop, office, creative suite?

Connect the computer to another Mac and put it in FireWire Target Disk mode, or use the Disk Utility to clone the drive or image specific folders with the USB drive as the target. After you've copied off everything you want, you'll likely need to erase the drive and reinstall the applications.
(69695)

Troubles deleting files from external hard drive!!

I had my external hard drive plugged into my Macbook but i cannot delete any folder or file in it! There is not 'Move to Trash' option from the drop-down menu! Does this have anything to do with 'Folder Action' thing? please help! sorry i jst switched to Mac from Window recently so still trying to find my way through! Thanks

Hi,
Mac OSX can read and write/delete files and folders on harddisks that use the FAT32 file system.
Mac OSX can only read and not write/delete files and folders on harddisks that use the NTFS file system.
Use Disk Utility to check what file system your HD uses.
To enable write access from OSX to NTFS drives, you can either use NTFS-3G http://www.ntfs-3g.org/ or buy Paragons NTFS for OSX http://www.paragon-software.com/home/ntfs-mac/
Regards
Stefan

Using itunes to perm delete files from ext hard drive

hello. the ext hard drives that contain my music crashed some time ago, and most of the files were thankfully restored, but in a slightly messy fashion, so now there's a lot of duplicate files and folders.
the easiest way for me to clean this up would be through itunes, using the show duplicate songs feature, but i cant figure out how to clear a file from itunes and make that permanently delete the file from my external hard drive.
ive read some discussion in other forums about shift-delete vs ctrl-delete, but not enough consistent information to be convinced.
can anyone help me out here?
thanks in advance,
bob

Are you "clearing" songs from a playlist or the Library?
To remove (send to Recycle bin) songs from a playlist and the library, select the song(s) and shift-delete them.
I've had the podcast problem once with a few podcasts a while ago. I 'solved' it by removing the duplicates. Some time later iTunes stopped duplicating.
Never discovered the actual cause. Sorry, can't help you with that one.
M

Can I move files from one hard drive to another without replacing/duplicating existing files?

Long story short, my work purchased a Macbook Pro and copied all of my files from my iMac to my new Macbook Pro. I've had to work on my iMac before my laptop was fully ready and now I need to transfer more files over to my Macbook Pro.
Is there a way that I can drag contents from my profile folder (documents, downloads, etc.) to my Macbook without have to moving 100+ gbs of information. Basically, is there a way that the computer can recognize that "Folder A" already exists on my Macbook Pro and it will not ask to replace that folder?
I am sorry of my question is vague; I'll rephrase if necessary.

Well, if you drag the contents of your "Documents" folder (on iMac) into your new "Documents" folder (on MacBook Pro) for instance, and choose "Do Not Replace" while checking the "Apply to All" box, it will only transfer new items (this does not include updated items). Now if the new items are in folders that exist under "Documents", then you may need to go into individual folders and repeat this process. That's the only way I can think of doing it. I'd hold off to see if anyone else has a better answer. Good luck!

Cannot delete file from external hard drive (error code 36) in Finder, but Terminal is ok

I have a relatively new Macbook Pro Retina 15" and have a Western Digital 1 TB Passport. I've been using the passport for about a year now without any problems on older Macbooks in my house. I used to be able to read and write to this drive no problem. I am using the Paragon NTFS for Mac software in order to read and write to the NTFS drive. When I navigate through the drive in Finder, if I try to create a new folder, I do not have a problem. If I try to delete that folder I just created, I get this error:
The Finder can’t complete the operation because some data in “untitled folder” can’t be read or written.
(Error code -36)
The folder has nothing in it whatsoever. I just created it. But if I go to Terminal and I run
rm -rf "untitled folder"
This works fine. Why is Terminal acting different than Finder? This does not happen on my other Macbooks. Thanks in advance.

Thanx for such qucik reply!!! The pages were great, it had an answer for my problem, but unfortunately it also involved me dealing with it only on the MacIntosh HD itself, not on mounted external drive I suppose... So it didn't work they say that there is an icon in the left corner indicating locked folder - I don't see any icon on it. It says you can untick the box to unlock the folder - there is no tick to be unticked. Finally, they say that if I don't have permition or rights I cannot delete it. But how do i change permittion which already says that i can read and write in it? So everything appears to be normal only I cannot delete it. there is not even any warnig telling me I don't have enough rights, it just requires the password and after me typing it in it makes the sound of scraping paper but does nothing more. I aslo had some problems with emptying Trash after being seemingly succesful with one file and had got so far to have them appear in the Trash (no clue how this one actully got there though..) I followd the advice and emptied the Trash with Terminal. The Folder is still there but it shows 0 Kb... So far so good BUT: It is still on the external drive, so I obviously only managed to copy it into the Trash!!! Phew, innit a bit too tight to poor owners, this macbook?? I want my rights back!

How can I erase deleted items from the hard drive?

How can I erase deleted files from the hard drive? Will my machine run faster?

If you've already deleted the files and emptied the Trash they are already, in effect, erased. At least the disk space they occupied is now available.
To be able to offer help we need more information about which Mac you have, which OS you are running, how much RAM you have installed, how much hard disk space you have available, etc.
Go to the Apple Menu>About this Mac - copy and paste the contents of the report here (deleting the serial number of your machine). Once we have that info, I'm sure someone will have some suggestions.

Transferring files from portable hard drives

I currently have an external hard drive formatted for a PC. I recently bought a Mac and an external hard drive that is formatted specifically for a Mac. I want to transfer the files from the PC external hard drive to the one formatted for Mac but when I hook the Mac hard drive to my PC it won't acknowledge it without me reformatting it for a PC. Is there a way for me to get the files from one hard drive to the next without reformatting the hard drives themselves?

I have a similar problem... my external hard drive, PC formated, is one that can be connected and media viewed through your TV. I want to keep all my "pc" files on the hard drive and add MAC (.avi, .mp3, .mp4, etc.) files to the hard drive to free up space on my laptop.
As you said, I can read/copy files from the hard drive to my MAC but cannot copy from my MAC to the hard drive. Will the software you speak of allow me to copy those files? If not, must I burn all from my files to a disc, reformat the hard drive, and then copy back?

I backed up my itunes folder to an external drive, then deleted it from the hard drive, then restored to the hard drive, but now can't see the files, playlists

I backed up my itunes folder to an external drive, then deleted it from the hard drive, then restored to the hard drive, but now can't see the files, playlists

Was the entire folder copied including the iTunesLibrary.itl file?

How can I delete files from iTunes AND my hard drive? It used to be very obvious in iTunes but I no longer see that option.

I used to easily be able to delete songs from my hard drive and library through iTunes but I no longer see that option. Is there a way to do that or a workaround of some kind?

Are these songs in the iTunes media folder shown in iTunes prefs > Advanced?
Only songs in this location will be deleted from the HD when delting from iTunes.
Also, iTunes prefs > Advanced.
Click Reset Warnings.
If you are deleting from a playlist, it will only delete from that playlist.
Hold Shift and press Delete to remove from the playlist and from the library.

How to delete a file from my hard drive through iTunes?

I want to delete a file through my iTunes. Whenever I do, it just gives me a dialog window telling me that it will delete the file from the library and my iPod. It does NOT delete it from my hard drive. I do NOT want to let iTunes manage my music.
How can I delete files? It seems crazy that I wouldn't be able to.

hmm. for some strange reason after doing that it just simply warns me that in deleting the song(s) it will ruin my playlists/mess up songs currently on my ipod.
im just trying to delete all the songs that are under a minute from various albums because they take a lot of room, yet are pretty useless. but they are strung out over multiple files and i simply would love to be able to delete them all from the library where they are arranged. do you know of any other techniques to fix it?

ITunes Match deleted songs from my hard drive. I had to re-rip them. How can I stop this from happening?

iTunes Match deleted songs from my hard drive. How can I prevent this from happening if I try it again?

iTunes Match can in no way be considered a backup service, this is due to the inexact nature of the 'matching process' (see https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-4112, for more detail).
Loss of files from a Disk is certainly possible through media failure. However, the extent of iTunes Match capacity is solely to influence the content of the cloud. Perhaps there was a coincident, or pre-existing, failure of the disk which was simply exposed by the iTunes Match interrogation of the disk content.
There are certainly other services which depending upon your goal may work well. For example, Google Play with gBeats IOS App works very well. My use of Match is to synchronise across several computers and to drive Apple TV and an IOS device - other IOS devices still use sync for specific music and are complimented by gBeats for access to the full library when local mobile signal strength is high.
The strong advice to always start with a secure backup remains but if your primary concern is iTunes Match interfering with physical disk content you can relax - it simply does not have this ability. (Apology to Sherlock, further investigation required).

Can't delete file from eternal hard drive

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