Deleting a single file in Trash goes to Desktop. Why?

Hi,
When I delete a single item in the Trash, it ends up on the Desktop.
Why doesn't it just get deleted rather than be sent to the Desktop?
Is there any way of deleting a single item in the Trash without deleting all of its content?

With the file on your Desktop try restarting.
Can not select a single file in the trash can to delete if the trash can is multiple files.
There are ways of using Terminal.
http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/trash.html

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How do I remove a file to trash from my desktop? when I drag to trash it says I cannot delete

I'm a seasoned iMac user but forgot from the "old days" how to delete a file to trash from the desktop when it says "The item ......can't be moved to the Trash because it can't be deleted". This is a file I downloaded a few days ago. Can you help, please?

Thank you for answering- I must have posted the question twice. Another helpful person helped me solve it. I have to shake my head at my dumb self.....all I needed to do was restart the machine and the file disappeared. A total "duh" moment for this "seasoned" Mac user. Again, thanks for answering.

Trash - Deleting a single file in the Trash

Hello,
I am a new Mac user and I am having trouble deleting selected items already located in the trash-bin.
In windows i had the option of selecting either one or many items in the trash and "permenantly" deleting them. It seems that the mac trash-bin can only delete everything at the same time with out the option of deleting selected items.
What can i do to select and delete a single item with out emptying my whole trash can??
Ilya
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You cannot decide what to trash and what not to. It either all goes or it all stays. Windows has that feature because it doesn't trash things but has you put them in a recycle bin so you can decide later what to do. Seems stupid to me but then again I don't use Windows too often. (thank goodness)
I do not recommend that you use the trash as a storage location. Do you store things in the trash can at home?
If you are unsure as to whether to throw something away or not just put it in a folder labeled with an appropriate name until you decide to keep it or not. Many a file has been accidentally trashed and lost forever because it was stored in the trash rather than a proper location. Just my opinion.

Delete only one file from Trash

Hello There,
I do not want to empty my entire Trash folder but only some files which i know I am not going to use it. Is there a way to delete only selected files and not just empty trash...
Thanks in advance for the help..
NA

nAyer,
When I place files in the Trash, I expect that they will be deleted. IMHO Trash is not a good place to store files that I may have second thoughts about eliminating.
I have created a folder which I named "B4 Trash," and placed it on my Desktop. If I really want to throw something away, I put it in the Trash and empty the Trash. If I am not sure about deletion, I place it in B4 Trash and get rid of it at my leisure.
Why not drag all of the files in Trash to a folder you create on your Desktop called B4 Trash, and then drag the files you really want to get rid of back to the Trash. Then empty the Trash.
;~)

Deleted i photo file + empty trash !

i have deleted the I photo file from my document and empty the trash i'm trying to recover it back but could not find file with I photo name , i'm finding the pictures one by one , is it bossible ? time machine is not active

No you cannot recover the iPhoto Library. The Library is just a special kind of folder containing thousands of other files and folders, all linked by a couple of database files.
The best you can hope to do is to recover the individual files and then start over from scratch.
Mny of the files may have the same name. Always chose to recover the largest size.
Of course, with a back up...
Regards
TD

I deleted a large file, emptied trash but recovered no space

I needed to restore a large file (about 70 Gb) from Time Capsule to my MBP but had only 36 Gb available. I deleted a 70 Gb file from the MBP but the free space available did not increase after I deleted the file (and emptied Trash). Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Try to see what hidden files or folders take up much space.
Perhaps you have installed programs that protects from permanently remove trash.
Open a terminal and type the command, after each line, press enter:
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -boolean true
killall Finder
This command enables the display of hidden files on disk
Be careful not to delete the folder if you do not know their meaning.
The reverse is
defaults delete com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles
killall Finder
Regards,
Alex
Apple Support Professional

Powershell Error when trying to delete a single document

Hello,
I am trying to delete a single file named test in my library named testtesttest and I am not able to do so with Powershell. Could someone assist?
$web = get-spweb "http://Webapp/sites/knowledgebase/test3/"
$list = $web.lists["testtesttest"]
$item = $list.item | ?{$_.name -eq "test"}
$item.delete()

Name in a library includes the FileExtension as well. Also, the script should be something like below:
$spAssgn = Start-SPAssignment;
$web = Get-SPWeb "<URL>" -AssignmentCollection $spAssgn;
$list = $web.Lists["testtesttest"];
$item = $list.Items|?{$_.Name -eq "test.docx"};
#Check if $item exists and is not null
if($item){
$list.GetItemById($item.ID).Delete();
Stop-SPAssignment $spAssgn;
This post is my own opinion and does not necessarily reflect the opinion or view of Slalom.

Files have vanished from my Desktop / Document folder

Really not sure where to post this....
Something very strange and bad has just happened to my computer. I plugged in my external Lacie hard drive to start a backup and, using the app that came with it, it informed me that there was no room left on the drive, shall it delete the back up and start over which is pretty standard. However as soon as it stared, the files that were on my desktop disappeared completely so all i now have is the back drop picture.
It looks as if the app. has treated my home folder the way it would usually treat the external HD that I use for back up - it's deleted from my files alphabetically (first Apps, then Desktop then Documents and it deleted a couple of entries from my library folder before I quit). Although they aren't there anymore I don't think they've been deleted as nothing went into my trash. It almost seems like the Lacie app. has used a terminal command to 'forget' the files. Anybody got any ideas? I'm set to lose over 6 years worth of files...

Jay Robinson2 wrote:
I don't think they've been deleted as nothing went into my trash
Unfortunately, an rm command will remove without using .Trash. But that seems unlikely.
Launch Utilities/Terminal and at the prompt, type *ls ~Documents* and see what is there.
-mj

How do you delete [empty] a single file or folder from "Trash"?

How do you delete [empty] a single file or folder from "Trash"?
Can you "securely delete" just 1 item?

A dangerous and incorrect shell command has been posted in this thread.
NEVER empty the Trash in the shell (Terminal.) NEVER put anything in the Trash unless you intend to delete it immediately. If you do put something in the Trash and change your mind about deleting it, move it out or use the Put Back contextual menu item. Then empty the remaining items in the Trash as usual.

Help to restore iTunes files from trash, not deleted.

I need to move 35,000 podcasts, 654 GB, from my trash back to my iTunes library on an external hard drive (EHD). They are NOT deleted from my trash.
I am running on Snow Leopard 10.6.8 until I can clear enough EHD space to backup/upgrade to Mtn Lion.
11.5 iTunes is my current version on my 640 GB early 2009 24” mac.
I have tried:
Undo - command + Z
Selecting all in trash and dragging it to the:
iTunes Music folder on my EHD
Automatically Add to iTunes folder on my EHD
The upper left corner on the iTunes window
The iTunes icon in the dock
There is no restore option when I Right Click on anything in trash, single or more than one file.
In iTunes: File, Add to Library, selecting the recycle bin or the file under it. Nothing happens. I do have checked on iTunes Preferences, Advanced, Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library.
Dragging 40 files from trash to the Automatically Add to iTunes folder on my EHD.
This returned the files but without essential data like the release date/description, which totally messes up my library.
They are no longer listed in date order, and I cannot see if I have the most recent without scrolling down down through sometimes over 200 pods in that album, and even then there is no date order, which orders all podcasts. All the tags/descriptions/comments I spent thousands of hours on are gone.
I just recieved in the mail yesterday my Data Rescue 3 software for an earlier problem,
I do not know if it will help retrieve all the essential data.
I cannot move the files to my desktop because the size, 654 GB, is bigger than my 640 GB mac. Plus, I know from experience this does not preserve the essential data like release date.
My iTunes EHD has 485 GB free out of 1.71 TB.
I can order another 3 TB EHD to arrive in 2 weeks, which I will eventually need, but my husband aint going to be happy. As an old photographer trying to join the digital age, I already have 20 TB storage, mostly for photos, which has put us in debt.
Please, does anyone know how to restore podcasts from trash while retaining metadata?

Thanks for your sympathy, dclkdm.
For anybody else out there,
I have had some luck retaining info such as release date, plays, and rating by
dragging podcasts to a Finder folder in iTunes,
in iTunes Media,
Automatically Add to iTunes.
So far, I have retrieved all my lost podcasts with Data Rescue 3,
but have not tried to consolidate everything into one library yet.

Cannot move files to trash; they are deleted immediately!

I can no longer move files to trash and then empty the trash. If I select "move to trash" or drag a file to the trash, I am notified that the file will be deleted immediatley.
How can I change it so that the files remain in the trash until I choose to empty it.
Also, I have gone to "get info" for the trash, and when I try to give myself permission to read & write, I am prompted to give my password, which I do, but then it says "operation could not be completed ... unexptected error, code 136.
Any ideas.
Please help.

That message is typical behavior when deleting files from a server, but I suspect your problem isn't going to be answered with that. What do you mean when you say "I try to give myself permission to read & write" for the Trash? Your Trash can is normally an invisible folder called ".Trashes". And by default it should be read and write.

Unable to delete file from trash because it's "in use" not locked.

I'm unable to delete a file from trash. I keep getting the following message: "The operation can’t be completed because the item is in use." I've confirmed the file isn't locked and I've tried renaming it but still no luck. I'm running OSX 10.8.4. Any thoughts?

Check the 'More Like This' discussions on the right hand column. I suspect you may find the answer there.
Ciao.

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//

Deleting files from trash folder 10.9.2

I recently updated to 10.9.2. Nothing seemed to have changed but the trash folder is acting funny. Now I am not able to delete any file from the trash. I select empty trash securely and then the dialog box displaying the number of files to be deleted appears and disappears in 1-2 seconds and the file/s dont get deleted.
Is there a way out of this?
Cheers!

Trash – Can’t Empty or Move File To Trash
Trash – Empty When File is Locked or in Use
Try holding down the option button while trying to delete the Trash. If that doesn’t work, here is some more information.
Trash FAQ
Trash Permission Error
Trash Permission Error (2)

How to permanently delete files from trash?

I usually see TV series online. Every time I visit to the website, it automatically downloads a Mac_Installer file to my Downloads folder. I delete the file without opening it and secure empty the trash. When I visit the website again, the same file is downloaded to my Downloads folder, and the "previous deleted file" from the trash can reappears on it. How to solve this matter? My computer is a MacBook Pro and is running OS X Mavericks.
Thanks.

Try erasing free space using Disk Utility.
Erase free disk space
When you delete files in Mac OS X, your Mac deletes the information used to access the deleted files but doesn't physically remove them. Although the space used by the deleted files appears as free space, the deleted files remain on the disk until new files are written over them. As a result, these files can be recovered. Erasing free space does not delete any other files on your disk besides the ones that you already deleted.
After the drive is connected, launch the Disk Utility application in any of the following ways:
Type the first few letters of its name into Spotlight. Select it from the results.
Go Finder > Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility
Go Launchpad > Utilities > Disk Utility
Once you are in the Disk Utility app, select the disk or partition you would like to erase from the left.
Select the Erase tab.
Choose the Erase Free Space button.
Use the Slider to choose how many times you would like to write over the free space.
Select Erase Free Space.
Note: After this process starts, you can cancel it at any time without harming any of your data. You might see a message stating that you are running out of disk space. This is normal and to be expected. You can ignore this message.
When the process is complete, you should have the same amount of free space. If you do not have the same amount of free space, try restarting the computer.
I hope I helped.
Austin

Deleting a single file in Trash goes to Desktop. Why?

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