Can't delete folder/picture

Question

Good day. I have a folder "untitled folder" on my desktop, with a single photograph inside. When I try to delete the folder to the trash, I am told I can't because I "do not have sufficient privileges for some of the items". If I try to delete just the pic inside, I am told the same thing. A couple of times I was told that the folder was in use.
I can drag the pic to the desktop and then delete it, but it remains in the folder which is interesting to me.
I have never had this happened to me before. It's not really a problem for me but has my curiosity up now. Any ideas? I have checked permissions under "get info" but I am the system admin and the only user. It shows read and write for this folder. Mac Mini Intel 2 Leopard 10.5.1
Thanks RR1

Answer 1

There are actually many users in OS X, even though you may be the only human one. "System" is not you, it is the "root" or "superuser" capable of withholding privileges even from "admin" users like your initial user account. However, since read write privileges are extended to "everyone" you should be able to delete the file normally unless certain modes are set for the file or its enclosing folder, which apparently is the case here.
The Terminal command "sudo" allows any admin user to gain most of the superuser privileges, which is why DaMikki suggested the command line containing it. It isn't clear from your replies if you are using it correctly: you must enter the command starting with "sudo," then hit return, then blindly enter your password at the prompt (you will not see it echoed to the command line), then hit return for it to be accepted & the command executed.
Additionally, you must use the exact file path to the folder following "rm -R " (note the trailing space) in the command. If the file path includes any spaces (like in "untitled folder"), you must either enclose the path in quotes or "escape" the spaces in the path name with leading backslashes, as in DaMikki's example. To make this easier, you can type the command up to to the space following "rm -R " & then drag the folder from the desktop to the terminal window, which will automatically copy its path with any escapement needed. CAUTION: "sudo rm" is a very powerful command, capable of permanently deleting almost any file in the OS without confirmation. It is imperative that you enter the command correctly, especially no extra, unescaped spaces in the file path name, to prevent deleting the wrong file or files.
If you have done this & the file is still not deleted, double check that the path name is correct. For example, if the folder is named anything other than "untitled folder," including an extra leading or trailing space ("untitled folder "), the command won't delete it.
You should see an error message if the command doesn't execute. If so, please tell us what it is.