Can't move items to the trash, change permissions?

I was copying some files to a USB jump drive while I reformatted my girlfriends PC including her 'Favorites' and her personal folder. Now these are both locked on my drive and I cannot unlock them in the 'Get Info' so I can't being them to the trash. Is ther anyway to unlock these or change permissions. I tried playing with the 'chown' unix command but am not sure quite how to do it. Any help? Thanks

If you've got the problem I think you have, take a look at this thread:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=6061352
Are the files still on the USB drive? If there is nothing else on it that you need the simplest solution is to reformat it. Otherwise you'll have to hook it up to a Windows machine and follow the instructions provided by Apophis.
Francine
Francine
Schwieder

Similar Messages

Password to move items to the trash on my iMac?

Today, my iMac started asking me for my password to move items to the trash. In addition, if I do put the password in, it automatically deletes the file from the trash.
This does not happen when I move items from external drives to the trash.
I'm using an iMac 24 inch with Mountain Lion (10.8.5).
Any suggestions?

I've got one more question. I just ran verify permissions on my iMac (Mountain Lion 10.8.5), and it says the permissions are incorrect for iTunes, Safari, java and shows a warning.
Typically the permissions say:
"Permissions differ on “Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/Resources/ca.lproj/AskUser.nib”; should be drwxr-xr-x ; they are -rwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on “Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/Resources/ca.lproj/AskUserWide.nib”; should be drwxr-xr-x ; they are -rwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on “Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin”; should be lrwxr-xr-x ; they are drwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on “Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Resources/Dutch.lproj/BookmarkTitleChange.nib ”; should be drwxr-xr-x ; they are -rwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on “Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Resources/English.lproj/BookmarkTitleChange.n ib”; should be drwxr-xr-x ; they are -rwxr-xr-x ."
The warning says:
"Warning: SUID file “System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/Contents/MacOS/ARDAg ent” has been modified and will not be repaired."
Any suggestions?

I can not move files to the trash.

I can not move files to the trash. When I drag the file to the trash it does not move, but it does appear in the trash and when I empty it, the file is erased. When I go back to my files, the file I just deleted is still there. I keep getting the "startup disk is full" message so I need to delete files, but I can't. Anyone know a solution to this?

try getting a external drive such as a usb flash drive or a hard drive to transfer the files from the startup disk, and free up space.
hope this helps!

When I move items to the trash I get asked for my password.

When I try to move any item into the trash I a screen pops up and says that the finder needs my password in order to complete this action. So once I enter in my password the item gets deleted from the desktop or wherever but does not even show up in the trash. My computer has never done this before until recently and I find it annoying that I have to type in a password to move an item that doesnt even show up where I move it. Is there any way that I can fix or change this?

Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on solving Trash issues. You can also try using Trash It! 5.1 to fix the problem. Or you can try this:
Open the Terminal in the Utilities folder and paste the following at the prompt:
sudo rm -Rf ~/.Trash
Press RETURN. Enter your admin password when prompted. It will not echo to the screen. Press RETURN again.

When I move items to the trash they do not go into the trash, they are deleted entirely

Heading above pretty much explains it. Sometime recently, my trash started acting differently - when I attempt to move an item into the trash, I get a message asking if I want to delete the item permanently. I am sure this is a fairly new phenomenon.

Click on the item in the Finder's sidebar with the house icon and verify that you are able to write to this folder in the Sharing & Permissions section of the Get Info window, and that it isn't locked; if it is already set this way and you get that error, open the Terminal in the /Applications/Utilities/ folder and run the following:
mkdir ~/.Trash
If you get a message stating that the folder exists, run the following:
sudo chown $UID ~/.Trash
chmod u+rwx ~/.Trash
The first command in the second set will prompt you for your administrator password; nothing will appear in the Terminal window while it is being typed. In either case, click on the Finder icon in the Dock with the Control and Option keys pressed, and relaunch it.
(79947)

Why does Mail say that I cannot move items to the trash????

I cannot delete email the "normal" way. When I set up my POP account, it created a second trash folder with the same name as my mail account. There are thus two folders in my Trash can - "On My Mac" and the one named after my email account. When I try to delete any mail it says that I cannot move anything to the Trash folder for my Mail account. I have to DRAG all email I wish to delete to the "On My Mac" Trash folder. ????????
I just want to be able to click delete and have email go away! Why is this not working?
Thanks.

Select the mailbox you wish to correct, then select "Mailbox > Rebuild"
Then do a PRAM reset:
PRAM RESET
Zap the PRAM
Shut down the computer.
Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
Turn on the computer.
Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
Release the keys.

How can I delete items in the trash bin when they don't empty?

I downloaded font files and tried to delete them. I tried to empty trash but the items still appear. I tried holding down the optioin key while emptying the trash and the items are still there. How can I empty the trash bin?

I've tried closing all files then emptying the trash bin.
I've tried restarting the computer with all files closed then emptying the trash bin but the files still state that the item is being used.

Xpost - Automator can't move files to the trash?

*Cross posted from the 10.6 board.*
A very simple Automator script that I've used for some time now on several 10.5 machines refuses to work under 10.6. The contents are:
*Find Finder Items*
-on Desktop
-Whose size is less than 1 gb
*Move Finder Items to Trash*
That's it. This has worked and continues to work on all the 10.5 machines, but the one that I've upgraded to 10.6 now gives an error which states:
"The Action 'Move Finder Items to Trash" has encountered an error. Check the action's properties and try running the workflow again."
HALP! I'm not sure why this wouldn't work, I've redone the workflow on the affected machine to make sure there's no conflict between Automator versions, and still no joy. Any ideas?

I don't know much about Automator. However I have noticed that the action “Find Finder Items on Desktop whose size is less than 1 GB” seems to consider the Desktop itself as one of its items, which is the reason why the next action, “Move Finder Items to Trash”, becomes impossible. So just add the condition “whose name is not Desktop” to the first action.
Btw, your Automator script could be replaced with the following one-line AppleScript script:
*tell application "Finder" to move (items of desktop whose size is less than 1.0E+9) to trash*
Message was edited by: Pierre L.

Automator can't move files to the trash?

A very simple Automator script that I've used for some time now on several 10.5 machines refuses to work under 10.6. The contents are:
*Find Finder Items*
- on Desktop
- Whose size is less than 1 gb
*Move Finder Items to Trash*
That's it. This has worked and continues to work on all the 10.5 machines, but the one that I've upgraded to 10.6 now gives an error which states:
"The Action 'Move Finder Items to Trash" has encountered an error. Check the action's properties and try running the workflow again."
HALP! I'm not sure why this wouldn't work, I've redone the workflow on the affected machine to make sure there's no conflict between Automator versions, and still no joy. Any ideas?

Alicea, have a look at the post I made in the AppleScript forum here.

Can I undelete items in the trash can and if so how?

I accidentally deleted all my pictures. I was just trying to delete one and ended up deleting all of them. Is there any way to retrieve them?

Did you have them backed up anywhere, like a cloud service or your computer?
If they were on your SD card, you might be able to recover them using data recovery software; it's been a long time since I've used one, so can't remember the name ... you might want to Google it.

Can't move items to trash.

I can't move items to my trash can on my desktop. I have to right click and click on "move to trash" then I am promted for my password before the item is trashed.

Is this Trash can really on the Desktop, or the one in the Dock?
Solving Trash Problems...
http://thexlab.com/faqs/trash.html

Problem with moving items to the trash

Whenever i move items to the trash, i get a pop up window that asks me to type my password because "Finder wants to make changes". when i type my password, the item is moved to the trash but automatically is cleared from the trash, so when i open the trash there is never anything in it.
Although my trash folder is clean from items, I still running out of hard drive space as if the trash hasn't been cleaned at all
It all started happenning when switched to OSX Lion.
How can I solve this problem?
Thanks
Aner

Go to ~/Library/Preferences
Move the com.apple.finder.plist file from the Preferences folder to the Trash.
Restart your Mac.
Right or control click the MacintoshHD icon. Click Get Info. In the Get Info window you will see Capacity and Available. Make sure you have a minimum of 15% free disk space.
Freeing Up Hard Disk Space - Mac Guides

HT1751 I copied my iTunes folder to an external HD and now I cannot delete it. When I try to move it to the trash it displays The item "iTunes" can't be moved to the Trash because it can't be deleted.

I copied my iTunes folder to an external HD and now I cannot delete it. When I try to move it to the trash it displays: The item “iTunes” can’t be moved to the Trash because it can’t be deleted.

Close iTunes. Click the icon to start it, then press and hold down the left shift key. Keep holding until asked to choose or create a library. Choose the iTunes folder on your external drive. That should bring back all your playlists, ratings, play counts etc. You may have to settle for removing and reloading the media onto the device again. That's not too bad, but what you don't want to have happen is your apps being removed and reloaded as then you can lose settings and data. If that looks likely backup and then restore the device rather than sync it.
If for some reason rebuilding the library the way you did has moved files around then the restored library may have trouble finding things. If so post back and I'll explain what to do...
tt2

EVERY TIME I MOVE SOMETHING TO THE TRASH IT IS ASKING FOR MY PASSWORD? CAN ANYONE HELP?

EVERY TIME I MOVE SOMETHING TO THE TRASH IT IS ASKING FOR MY PASSWORD? CAN ANYONE HELP?

Check this Link out.
When I updated to Mountain Lion my iMac messed up file permissions and always when I booted or started up my iMac it went to terminal screen because start-up disk was read-only. You might have to change file permissions to what it was so your mac won't always ask your permission to do something (assuming you are admin of your mac).
PRAM reset might help too. Instructions can be found from the discussion that I linked (there's another link for PRAM [parameter random access memory] reset).
Good luck!

Adminstrator account requires password to move an item to the trash

My administrator account has suddenly started to require me to enter my password before I can move anything to the trash, which is a nuisance. I have visited System Preferences>Users & Groups, and the box "Allow user to administer this computer" remains checked. I cannot find any place in System Preferences where I can disable that requirement. The items I am trying to delete are not locked.

User File Ownership - Reset see post by Linc Davis

Can't move items to the trash, change permissions?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for