Trying to delete file from trash but get this: The operation can't be completed because the item "File name" is in use. All other files delete except this one. Please help

Trying to delete file from trash but get this: The operation can’t be completed because the item “File name” is in use. All other files delete except this one. Please help

Maybe some help here:
http://osxdaily.com/2012/07/19/force-empty-trash-in-mac-os-x-when-file-is-locked -or-in-use//

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Firefox is unable to update to 7.0.1. I get an error that The operation can't be completed because the item "libsmime3.dylib" is in use. I found this is a Cisco folder, tried to trash it, but it won't leave. Maybe I need it?

The operation can’t be completed because the item “libsmime3.dylib” is in use.
This is the error message I get when i try to install the 7.0.1 update. I found a cisco folder on my MAC and tried to Trash it. It won't leave. Maybe I need it... Some of it did Trash, but what ever is left continues to prevent 7.0.1 from installing.

OK I looked at an old Apple forum and someone suggested Trash then Restart then Empty Trash, and it worked. Cisco is gone, Opt is gone, and I was able to load FireFox. I had to give admin passwords to do this too. Why an old weird game or library folder could cause such obstacles is a wonder. But I'd rather wonder about other things...

Cannot delete file: The operation can't be completed because the item "DataReferences" is in use.

I have a My Book TB Drive where all of my Time Machine backups go to. I decided to delete some older version of backups. They ended up in my trash can. When I deleted the items in my trash can, all of them erased with the exception of one file. This file refuses to go! I have tried "Empty Trash", "Secure Empty Trash" and holding the Option Key + "Secure Empty Trash". Each time the I get the following error: The operation can’t be completed because the item “DataReferences” is in use.
If I unplug the My Book TB Drvie, the file dissapears from the trash can. If I plug it back in, it reappears.
I am not sure what to do anymore. Any suggestions?
Thanks!
MacMini
Mountain Lion (Error originated in OS X)
My Book TB (External Hard Drive)

I found an article on how to allow third party apps. Posted it below just in case if anyone is interested.
http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f11-software/your-security-preferences-allow-i nstallation-only-apps-mac-app-store-and-identified-developers-12789/
Anyhow, I was able to do the double click on the trash it.I tried the "fast" version and the "really stuck" version and unfortunately, none of the options worked.
Any other suggestions?

The operation can't be completed because some items had to be skipped. For each item, choose File Get Info, make sure "Locked" is deselected, and then check t

The following error comes up when I try to install the updated Firefox:
"The operation can’t be completed because some items had to be skipped. For each item, choose File > Get Info, make sure “Locked” is deselected, and then check the Sharing & Permissions section. When you are sure the items are unlocked and not designated as Read Only or No Access, try again."
When I follow the instructions in the error message, it shows that my user name has read and write access. There are a couple other items that are read only. I tried to change this to read and write, but the Sharing and Permissions options are greyed out and will not let me change them. What is the work around for this? I would really like to install the new firefox.
Thanks.

Hello,
Certain Firefox problems can be solved by performing a ''Clean reinstall''. This means you remove Firefox program files and then reinstall Firefox. Please follow these steps:
'''Note:''' You might want to print these steps or view them in another browser.
#Download the latest Desktop version of Firefox from http://www.mozilla.org and save the setup file to your computer.
#After the download finishes, close all Firefox windows (click Exit from the Firefox or File menu).
#Delete the Firefox installation folder, which is located in one of these locations, by default('''This will NOT delete profile info such as bookmarks and history'''):
#*'''Windows:'''
#**C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox
#**C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox
#*'''Mac:''' Delete Firefox from the Applications folder.
#*'''Linux:''' If you installed Firefox with the distro-based package manager, you should use the same way to uninstall it - see [[Installing Firefox on Linux]]. If you downloaded and installed the binary package from the [http://www.mozilla.org/firefox#desktop Firefox download page], simply remove the folder ''firefox'' in your home directory.
#Now, go ahead and reinstall Firefox:
##Double-click the downloaded installation file and go through the steps of the installation wizard.
##Once the wizard is finished, choose to directly open Firefox after clicking the Finish button.
Please report back to see if this helped you!
Thank you.

Trying to upgrade to FireFox 4 and getting this error: The operation can't be completed because the item "libsoftokn3.dylib" is in use.

I am using a new MacBook Pro. I click on the "Download FireFox 4.0" button. The file(s) download and the dialog appears to drag FireFox icon into the Applications folder.
I get a dialog that says "There is a previous version.. Ok to replace?" I click "Replace".
Then I get a Copy dialog that says: "The operation can’t be completed because the item “libsoftokn3.dylib” is in use."
The software is not updated and I am still on FireFox 3. I tried rebooting and doing it again - I get the same results. I also did a web search and was not able to find a solution to this error.

I had success by:
1- Quit Firefox
2- Go to the Applications folder and drag Firefox to the desktop
3- Install Firefox 5 (it installs successfully at this point)
4- Put old Firefox in the trash
5- Secure empty trash
It may be possible to just drag Firefox directly to the trash and use regular Empty Trash, but I did not try that. Some people on the net reported that they could not empty the trash after putting the old Firefox in the trash (got the same "libsoftokn3.dylib is in use" error), so I just tried Secure Empty Trash, which may be no different from a regular empty trash as far as this goes; not sure as I'm a bit new to the Mac.

"The operation can't be completed because the disk is full" when trying to compress files

Trying to compress my files because my computer keeps saying that my startup disk is almost full. However, when I try to compress my files, I get an error that reads "The operation can't be completed because the disk is full." Does anyone know why this is happening? Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks

Yes. You are trying to create more files taking up more space on the computer. Compressing files only reduces disk space used after you remove the uncompressed file.
Freeing Up Space on The Hard Drive
1. See Lion/Mountain Lion's Storage Display.
2. You can remove data from your Home folder except for the /Home/Library/ folder.
3. Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on freeing up space on your hard drive.
4. Also see Freeing space on your Mac OS X startup disk.
5. See Where did my Disk Space go?.
6. See The Storage Display.
You must Empty the Trash in order to recover the space they occupied on the hard drive.
You should consider replacing the drive with a larger one. Check out OWC for drives, tutorials, and toolkits.
Try using OmniDiskSweeper 1.8 or GrandPerspective to search your drive for large files and where they are located.

Cannot backup my files / copy my files and folders due to error message " The operation can't be completed because an item with the name ".DS_Store" already exists. "

Hi Apple community!
I have a [rather worrying] problem.
When I try to copy all my files from my documents on my mac [or the entire documents folder] into an external drive, I get this error message
" The operation can’t be completed because an item with the name “.DS_Store” already exists. "
I am not given an option to skip this file or anything else.
But I simply cannot complete the operation!
I have tried deleting a few of the .ds_store files, [both in the original and in the destinations]
but no success.
The same thing keeps happening.
At first, this was just happening when I was trying to backup to my dropbox folder [the one on my mac's harddrive, which gets synced to the cloud],
but then I tried to back up my documents to my external hard drive, and I realized it is giving me the same error message.
So effectively, it seems I cannot backup my files anywhere!
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.

Please read this whole message before doing anything.
This procedure is a diagnostic test. It’s unlikely to solve your problem. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.
The purpose of the test is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party software that loads automatically at startup or login, by a peripheral device, or by corruption of certain system caches.
Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Boot in safe mode and log in to the account with the problem. Note: If FileVault is enabled on some models, or if a firmware password is set, or if the boot volume is a software RAID, you can’t do this. Ask for further instructions.
Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal, and some things won’t work at all, including sound output and Wi-Fi on certain iMacs. The next normal boot may also be somewhat slow.
The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin. Test while in safe mode. Same problem? After testing, reboot as usual (i.e., not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of the test.

Cannot empty trash: "The operation can't be completed because the item ...

I've been having trouble emptying the trash. I get the following error, "The operation can’t be completed because the item "_file name_" is in use."
I've tried unlocking the files, but the unlock doesn't seem to stick.
I'm not sure if this is related, but a couple of months ago, I had a repair done and since then some of my software have required me to enter my license information again; apparently it looked as if I was running the programs on a different machine.
Anyone have tips/solns?

Thank you!
I ended up sticking the startup disc in, restarting while holding down the "c" key, and "using the Reset Home Directory Permissions and ACLs function of the Reset Paswoord function of the Utilities menu."
It worked perfectly; I now have an empty trash can.

Can't copy file to network drive as "The operation can't be completed because the [Filename] is in use

Following upgrade to Yosemite I now can't copy files from iMac to my network HDD in external media center. I have iMac connected by wi-fi to airport extreme and media center connected to airport extreme by cable. I can see the HDD as a network drive on my iMac and can initiate the copy but right when copy process is finished I see "The operation can’t be completed because the [Filename] is in use". I am trying to copy different media files downloaded from internet which are not used by any program and stored on my hard drive. I actually can copy small files of 1mb and it works but anything above 20mb is halted. I can also move/copy/delete the file on iMac. Cant understand the nature of the problem. I tried to format external HDD as EXT2/EXT3/NTFS but same outcome.
OS X Yosemite 10.10.3 | iMac late 2009 | Apple Airport Extreme | Dune HD Base 3D mediacenter

Have you tried a restart or logging out/in?
Some more ideas.
Re: The operation can’t be completed because the item “ " is in use.

All My Files:The operation can't be completed because the item can't be found.

After update my Imac to Yosemite I found my trash bin filled and deleted the files. Starting my iMac took about a minute and All My Files in finder is not working anymore, responding : The operation can’t be completed because the item can’t be found.
I tried restart but still no solution.

Dear all,
I again downloaded OS Yosemite through the App store under purchases and I am happy to say I solved the problem!
Ben

Iomega UltraMax 4Q PLUS the following message appears: The operation can not be completed because the item "FILE NAME" is in use. "

Help, I need to solve. No speculation please bomas or attempts to restart, confirm that the HD is formatted for MAC and etc. .....
Whenever I try to copy my files from my HDD Western Digital 2T for my new Iomega UltraMax 4Q PLUS the following message appears: The operation can not be completed because the item "FILE NAME" is in use. "
I can not stand it anymore ...
I need to work and not temnho more space on my machine.
Scenario - iMac11, 10.6.8 + WD + 2 + 2T 4T Iomega UltraMax Plus, formatted for both Mac and connected via Firewire 800
Trying to copy the message aborts the copy - "The operation can not be completed because the item" FILE NAME "is in use."

Hello,
As I said earlier, properly formatted for Mac.
Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
This HD is formatted for MAC factory, but I even did a few times in my attempts I can say that this is entirely correct formattingwith it - Mac OS Extended (Journaled)

Problems copying iTunes folder to an external hard drive - "The operation can't be completed because the item FILE NAME is in use"

Hi,
I have been trying to back up my iTunes folder from my MacBook hard drive over to a new LaCie external hard drive. However, whenever I try to do it at some point during the copying I keep getting the warning "The operation can’t be completed because the item FILE NAME is in use". Each time I have tried it, it is always a different file name that comes up and at different points of the copying. Following the warning, the copying stops and cannot be restarted.
I tried copying the iTunes folder to another Lacie external hard drive that I have, and it worked fine so I am guessing that it maybe something wrong with the hard drive.
I've been trying various approaches all day and can't seem to get anywhere with it - all very frustrating, so any help would be much appreciated!
Thanks.

If you don't have other backup data on it, reformatting external drive could solve the problem.

Can't move files - The operation can't be completed because the item is in use.

Hi everyone,
I'm trying to move some files off an external hard drive to my macbook pro. These are mostly video files.
However, there's a handful of files which are causing the following error:
"The operation can’t be completed because the item “XXX” is in use."
I've no idea what's wrong but would appriaicte some help. All the previous threads I can find with the same error are related to moving items to the trash and I actually followed some of the advice (shutting down etc) but it still didn't help.
Thanks anyone and everyone for the assistance.
James

I was investigating this same problem on our iMac running OS 10.10. When I checked Activity Monitor for the DiskUnmountWatcher process, I noticed that with two users logged in simultaneously, there were two instances of most of the system processes, including that one. If I logged out of the other user account, and consequently only had one instance of the DiskUnmountWatcher process running, I was able to copy multiple files onto the network drive with no problem.
If I were to speculate, I'd probably guess that DiskUnmountWatcher is adding some metadata to new files when it detects them being added to a mounted drive. If there are two instances of the process running, they both try to modify the file's metadata simultaneously and generate errors.
TL;DR: If you encounter this problem, try logging out all users other than the one trying to move files.

Can't copy Aperature Library to external. Get this error "The operation can't be completed because an item is being modified."

I have been trying to find a solution to this problem by browsing this forum but I can't seem to find a solution.
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Reboot your machine make sure Aperture doesn't start (as Lion is liable to do) and try it.

Everytime I try to export my slideshow I get the "The operation can't be completed because the item can't be found." message. How do I fix?

Trying to export a pretty basic slideshow to our desktop/iTunes and I keep getting the "The operation can’t be completed because the item can’t be found." message when I try to export. What am I doing wrong?

What is your iPhoto version?
Your slideshow may contain a photo or a video where the original file cannot be found. Try to find the offending item.
You could duplicate the slideshow (select it in the source list, ctrl-click, and the select "Duplicate").
Then remove half of the photos from the copy and try to export this partial slideshow. if it works, you will know, the problematic photo or video is in the other half.
Keep duplicating the slideshow, removing photos from the copy and testing with smaller sets of photos, until you know exactly, which photo it is.
Then select this photo and use the command "File > Reveal Original" to see, if the original file is still there.
Check the revealed original, if Preview can display it. If the file is o.k., copy it and remport it. Add the new imported photo or video to your slideshow.
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Trying to delete file from trash but get this: The operation can't be completed because the item "File name" is in use. All other files delete except this one. Please help

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