Strange file in trash that won't go away?

I have a strange file that appeared in my Trash the other day. I tried to empty the trash multiple times, but it won't go away. Secure empty trash doesn't help, as it just gets stuck. Double-clicking on the file, getting info on the file, or dragging the file out of the trash just results in the item disappearing, only to reappear shortly thereafter. Here is a screenshot of the filename, as it is very strange (I am posting it as a picture so there are no font issues):
Click on the image if it doesn't appear.
I have no idea what's going on. I tried repairing permissions to no avail. Should I run a disk utility such as Techtool or Diskwarrior? Is this a virus? Could this be related to my weird Time Machine issues (where Time Machine will come up with an error, see below for picture)?
Click on the image if it doesn't appear.

from Apple docs worked for me. Mine was \\\\\\\.\\\ derived from installing Windows.
If there are several locked files in the Trash, you can unlock them all at the same time at the command line. Follow these steps:
1. Open Terminal. It's located in /Applications/Utilities.  Type: chflags -R nouchg  Note: Type one space (not pictured) after nouchg in the line above, so that it ends in "nouchg ". Do not press Return yet. 
2. Double-click the Trash icon in the Dock to reveal the contents of the Trash. If necessary, arrange the Finder window so that a portion of the Terminal window is still visible.
3. Press the Command-A key combination to select all files in the Trash.
4. Drag the files from the Trash to the Terminal window.  Note: This automatically enters the pathname for each file. This eliminates the need to individually empty multiple Trash directories, particularly when multiple disks or volumes are present. 
5. Press Return. No special text message will be shown indicating that the command was successful.
6. Empty the Trash.
If the Trash does not empty or if you see a message in Terminal that says "usage: chflags [-R [-H | -L | -P]] flags file..." you most likely did not type the text in step 2 as indicated or did not leave a space. Repeat the steps if this happens.

Similar Messages

Strange file in Trash that just won't go away.

Since installing Snow Leopard, I have a strange file in the Trash that I can't get rid of. It appears to be a zero KB "Alias" file with "unknown" permissions. At first glance it looks as if it's called \\\Õ\\.Õ\ but the diagonal lines are actually the word "Nul" made up of a superscript 'N', a normal 'u' and a subscript 'l'- all in very small font size.
I can't drag it out of the Trash to see what it does. It's info window holds no clues, apart from the "unknown permissions" thing.
I have tried repairing permissions and have since upgraded to 10.6.1 and repaired them again.
Any suggestions on what this file is - and on how to lose it would be gratefully received.

Bob Bridges1 wrote:
Since installing Snow Leopard, I have a strange file in the Trash that I can't get rid of. It appears to be a zero KB "Alias" file with "unknown" permissions. At first glance it looks as if it's called \\\Õ\\.Õ\ but the diagonal lines are actually the word "Nul" made up of a superscript 'N', a normal 'u' and a subscript 'l'- all in very small font size.
I can't drag it out of the Trash to see what it does. It's info window holds no clues, apart from the "unknown permissions" thing.
Are you willing to use Terminal to try to eliminate that file? If so, launch Terminal, then type the commands below.
WARNING: In general, the "rm" command can be very dangerous. That's why the commands below (1) show what's there to be deleted and (2) ask for confirmation for each file to be deleted.
cd ~/.Trash
ls -a
file *
The "ls" command should show you three things: a single period, a double period, and your mystery file. The "file" command should show you the mystery file and an explanation of what type of file it is. If you're feeling nervous, you might want to mention here the reported type. If all is well so far, type this command
rm -i *
You should be prompted for deleting that file. If you like what you see, press the "y" key, then press the <return> key. If you see anything that makes you nervous, either (1) type control-c or (2) press the "n" key, then press the <return> key.
If the system refused to delete that file, then (if you're feeling brave), type this command:
sudo rm -i *
That command will prompt you for your administrative password, then prompt you to delete your mystery file. The same responses apply.

Strange file in trash and it won't empty

I have a strange file in trash and it will not empty.
There is an alias file that has a strange name and a date of dec. 31, 1903. It will not go away when I empty. I put other files in the trash to see if they would be deleted and they do, but the other will not be deleted.
In the name of the file there is small characters that say "null" then õ's as well.
I took a few screen shots and posted them on photobucket, Take a look. Any suggestions or theories?
This is a first
Link is http://s227.photobucket.com/albums/dd228/pschmidt63/
phil

pschmidt63 wrote:
I have a strange file in trash and it will not empty.
There is an alias file that has a strange name and a date of dec. 31, 1903. It will not go away when I empty. I put other files in the trash to see if they would be deleted and they do, but the other will not be deleted.
On the Mac there are actually multiple Trashes. The user Trash ".Trash" in user's home folder, and multiple (depending on number of volumes in machine) ".Trashes" folder(s) one each in root of volume. In the ".Trashes" folder there can be a trash folder for the user.
It looks like you have a corrupted/illegal character file which you can't delete via the UI. Via the terminal you may be able to. But... you have to go to the "trash" where the file actually is - and it may not be in "~/.Trash". But in the Mac desktop you will see it in your Trash icon.
Have a look at my post here
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=5864381#5864381
and the rest of the thread.
Get into Terminal and check your home trash folder, see if the file is there then go to the other trash folders ".Trashes" and look for it there and kill it with "sudo" command as shown in my other post here.
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=5864569#5864569
*Can you let us know if this solves it for you* - as I am interested to know if this is definite fix.
Cheers

HT1526 It seems to be the spotify app in my trash that won't delete. i tried the advanced tip and it deleted everything else but the spotify app. any suggestions?

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Not uncommon with spotify. If you have 'Trashit', that will almost certainly clear it. If not, download it from here. Download Trash It! for Mac - Force-empty your trash can. MacUpdate.com

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Process:         mdmclient [2736]
Path:            /usr/libexec/mdmclient
Identifier:      mdmclient
Version:         1.6 (520)
Code Type:       X86-64 (Native)
Parent Process: launchd [273]
User ID:         501
Date/Time:       2013-01-14 11:12:37.422 -0700
OS Version:      Mac OS X 10.8.2 (12C60)
Report Version: 10
Sleep/Wake UUID: 8691BEB3-4C2A-4ED1-9E8B-FAD122CCF685
Interval Since Last Report:          1304923 sec
Crashes Since Last Report:           17472
Per-App Crashes Since Last Report:   164
Anonymous UUID:                      5EB6D6FB-1718-D922-77A4-19931C576C6F
Crashed Thread: 0
Exception Type: EXC_BREAKPOINT (SIGTRAP)
Exception Codes: 0x0000000000000002, 0x0000000000000000
Application Specific Information:
dyld: launch, loading dependent libraries
Dyld Error Message:
Library not loaded: /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/ConfigurationProfiles.framework/Versions/A/Co nfigurationProfiles
Referenced from: /usr/libexec/mdmclient
Reason: image not found
Binary Images:
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I FIXED IT.
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HT4059 I have a "call out" window that won't go away. It's there no matter where I go in iBook, my library, all my books etc. what can I do about it?

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Have you tried turning your phone off and back on?
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Strange Null file in Trash that wont delete.

I have a strange file in my Trash that I can't delete. It has a name of "␀␀␀␀␀␀␀.␀␀␀". It appears as if all the characters are Null.
These are the actions I have taken:
1. Using Tech Tool Pro, performed file system check. Now problems found.
2. Using Terminal, changed directory to .Trash, performed ls -A and no files were found.
3. Attempted a delete (rm) of all files in trash. No luck. File remains.
4. When I select file and do a Get Info, the file disappears and the Trash Icon shows empty, but opening the trash again brings this strange file back.
5. Tried renaming the file but the rename fails with an error -43.
6. I booted from another disk and rand Disk utility which found and corrected incorrect file count problem. Still the file persists, and the verify of the disk now returns no errors.
7. Ran verify disk permissions. No problems found.
I believe the file first appeared after installing Leopard 10.5.3 update, but I'm not sure if this is related.
Any help would be appreciated.
Jeff Cameron

Thank you! That was it.
Although my Windows Partition is FAT32 instead of NTFS, after booting XP, I found a null file in C:\.Trashes\501\. I could not delete it there either. My next step was to run CHKDSK C: /F, which converted the 501 folder into a file, which I could delete.
Booting back into OSX, the null file was now gone.
Thanks again for your help.
Jeff

Can't get rid of Strange file in Trash

There is a strange file in my trash that i cant get rid of. It's called "␀␀␀õ␀␀.␀␀"
If i click get info on it the file disappears, but anytime i send a file into the Trash or open it up it reappears
Any help would be appreciated

this worked for me and I had the same file name as you described.
you must have win installed.
1. Open Terminal. It's located in /Applications/Utilities.  Type: chflags -R nouchg  Note: Type one space (not pictured) after nouchg in the line above, so that it ends in "nouchg ". Do not press Return yet. 
2. Double-click the Trash icon in the Dock to reveal the contents of the Trash. If necessary, arrange the Finder window so that a portion of the Terminal window is still visible.
3. Press the Command-A key combination to select all files in the Trash.
4. Drag the files from the Trash to the Terminal window.  Note: This automatically enters the pathname for each file. This eliminates the need to individually empty multiple Trash directories, particularly when multiple disks or volumes are present. 
5. Press Return. No special text message will be shown indicating that the command was successful.
6. Empty the Trash.
If the Trash does not empty or if you see a message in Terminal that says "usage: chflags [-R [-H | -L | -P]] flags file..." you most likely did not type the text in step 2 as indicated or did not leave a space. Repeat the steps if this happens.

Strange item in Trash that I can't remove

Hello - there is an "file/item" in my Trash that I just can't seem to remove. It looks something like "///O//.//" except the "O" is a lot smaller and has a "-" above it.
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I have emptied the Trash securely, I also tried Cleaning the HD using "OnyX" and run the Weekly and monthly scripts, it it just won't go away and it annoying ! I know it's only a small think but it's just bugging me.
Please help.
Any suggestions?

Run the chkdsk tool from Windows.
(47051)

How do i uninstall "Easy Duplicate Finder"?? its in the trash but won't go away... i never ran the .dmg file, but trash says its in use!

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It is best just to enjoy your Mac and don't try to fix something that isn't broken.
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iTunes for Mac: Moving your iTunes Media folder
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Strange file in trash that won't go away?

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