Emptying 'locked files' in trash

I am trying to empty my trash and there are locked files in it. A screen message says to hold down the 'OPTIONS' key whilst clicking on 'empty trash' but my wireless keyboard doesnt have an options key. What do I do?

Try using the "Alt" key. That should map as the option key when using it on a Mac.

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Can't empty GarageBand files from trash

I am creating GarageBand files; when I move them to trash and then try to empty the trash, I get a message saying I need to make sure they are "unlocked" and permissons are all okay, and then it gives me two options: Stop or Continue, neither of which successfully deletes the file from the trash.
I have gone to the file's "Get Info" and confirmed the the "Locked" box is NOT checked, and that my permissions are "Read and Write" and I've even tried to unlock the little lock at the bottom of the Get Info screen. To no avail, I still cannot empty the file from the trash.
I have checked user communities and tried to hold down the Option Key while I empty the trash. One time out of 4 or 5, this works. I have also tried to hold down the Option AND shift keys at the same time while I empty the trash. No difference.
The only thing that seems to work is one user's suggestion to open the "Terminal" utility and type in some command that supposedly resets permissions and empties the trash and fixes everything. This has worked both times I've done it, but then the next time I put a new file into the trash, it's once again back to being stuck and "locked."
I'm not sure whether to post this in GarageBand community or Lion/general pages, so I may do both...but can anyone help me here?
Thanks.

Now that I posted - More Like This offered the solution - hold Option key while emptying - works on locked files also. Thank You Very Much !!!

HT2674 I have an iMac purchased in May 2011. OSX Lion 10.7.3. I deleted backup file from the external hard drive. Now, the trash can will not empty some of the files deleted. File folder: "Core Services" contains a locked file: "boot.efi". It will not

I have an iMac purchased in May 2011. OSX Lion 10.7.3. I deleted backup file from the external hard drive which operates from Time Machine.
Now, the trash can will not empty some of the files deleted from the backup harddrive.
The trash contains-- File folder: "Core Services" which contains a locked file: "boot.efi".
It will not delete.
How do I get the trash can empty of these files?

Yes, the Old Master file has a folder for each year where I find all photos from that specific year. I am attaching a screen shot of the file.
In the meantime i have managed to download all photos (it did not download any video files though in mpg, avi, 3gp, m4v,mp4 and mov format) to a new iphoto library. Unfortunately the photos are quite mixed and often doubled up. I ma considering to purchase iphoto library which checks all duplicates in iphoto. this will save me a lot of time. What do you think?

I recently thought I was updating my Safari browser. When completed, I put all those little files that were on the desktop into the trash. Now my trash is saying it can't be emptied because there are locked files and I don't know how to unlock them

I recently thought I was updating my Safari browser. When completed, I put all those little files that were on the desktop into the trash. Now my trash is saying it can't be emptied because there are locked files and I don't know how to unlock them or get them out of my trash and they keep multiplying. And to make matters worse, I tried renaming them as pdf files thinking that might do the trick.

oh boy ! I'd ask you if you knew what kind of files they were or where they came from, but I don't think you could help me a bunch. Try going to the Utilities folder and running Disk Utilities. If you want to empty the Trash and it won't empty, go to the finder and choose "secure Empty trash". Worse case scenario-you may have to reinstall Snow Leopard, but I don't know what else to suggest. If you have a DVD of Snow Leopard, boot up from that, and reinstall the OS. This will not touch the stuff you have on your Hard Drive, then you can update from 10.6 to 10.6.8, otherwise Onyx? Maybe those files are part of the OS which needs them to keep running. if you hold down the Shift key on reboot, you can reboot in Safe mode and maybe you can take the files out of the trash that way
good luck
John B

Unable to empty trash due to external USB HDD's locked files and no permission?

Hello.
I was doing a major cleanup with an external Seagate USB HDD due to low free disk spaces. It has two partitions/drives: FAT32 (using it for on other non-Apple machines like Windows 2000 SP4) and HFS [Time Machine only]). I threw about 30,000 items (copied from an old Windows 2000 SP4 machine's HDD with NTFS back a few years ago) from FAT32 partition/drive into the trash can. However, I am having problems emptying it. Most of them were emptied, but some were left behind.
This four years old MacBook Pro's Mac OS X 10.5.8's Trash dialog boxes said "The operation cannot be completed because you do not have sufficient privileges for some of the items." and "Emptying the Trash cannot be completed because "<filename>" is locked. To empty everything in the Trash, including locked items, press the Options key while selecting Empty Trash". http://i.imgur.com/XFBfF.gif for the screen shots/captures of the error messages.
I tried holding Option key and emptying trash, but that didn't help/work. I used Finder to look at the files, and they had locked status. So I unlocked them which worked, but I can't delete the empty folders/directories, and these don't have locked.
What's going on and how do I empty the trash? Thank you in advance.

BDAqua wrote:
Hi again, are there maybe hidden files in those folders?
Show Hidden Files 1.0...
http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/29096/show-hidden-files
Hidden Way is a toggle for hidden files view in Finder...
http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/25716/hidden-way
Show hidden files in OSX Finder
Open the Terminal and type or copy/paste:
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -bool true
Reverting to the default of NOT showing hidden files:
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -bool false
*Restart or Force Quit Finder required to take effect.*
http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/developer/hiddenfiles.html
http://www.burobjorn.nl/blog/?p=96
Finder Force Quit, or restart required to take effect.
Not that I saw through Terminal's ls -all and Windows XP Pro. SP3 machine. Someone told me to try secured empty trash and it did more, but not fully.
I used the administrator (sudo) account in Mac OS X 10.5.8's Terminal to delete the trash, but it still failed:
$ sudo rm -rf *
Password:
rm: 501/2010/07252010/My Documents/My Pictures: Operation not permitted
rm: 501/2010/07252010/My Documents: Directory not empty
rm: 501/2010/07252010: Directory not empty
rm: 501/2010/01162010and05042010/My Documents/My Pictures: Operation not permitted
rm: 501/2010/01162010and05042010/My Documents: Directory not empty
rm: 501/2010/01162010and05042010/Favorites: Operation not permitted
rm: 501/2010/01162010and05042010: Directory not empty
rm: 501/2010: Directory not empty
rm: 501/06182011/My Documents/My Pictures: Operation not permitted
rm: 501/06182011/My Documents: Directory not empty
rm: 501/06182011/Favorites: Operation not permitted
rm: 501/06182011: Directory not empty
rm: 501: Directory not empty
I tried deleting this on an old, updated Windows XP Pro. SP3 machine and it had no problems! Weird. I wonder why Mac OS X 10.5.8 failed to delete it through its Finder and Terminal (sudo rm -rf command).

Unable to empty trash (locked files)

Hello,
I have the problem with empty Trash. I copied files from flash memory and later I moved to Trash.
Right now I couldn't empty trash (option kay doesn't work) because I have one locked file (folder) in trash!!!
If some body could help!!

Follow the instructions in this User Tip to find out what kind of lock it is, since the option key should allow you to over-ride a normal User lock:
Dealing with Immutable Files and Folders
Let us know what you find.

How to clean the trash forever from locked files?

How to clean the trash forever from locked files?

Depends on what the problem is, but holding down the option key while emptying the trash will bypass the locked status and delete the files.
If those files are still in use (or the Finder thinks so), they cannot be deleted in the normal way. If the option key trick doesn't work, we can use the terminal.

Trashing locked files on a ReadyNas NV+

I have a locked file i can't get rid of on my ReadyNas NV+ (network attached storage). It's killing me. I can't unlock it. Does anyone have a remedy?

If you're basically trying to use "Empty Trash" and it says the file is locked, then you need to hold down the Option button when you click "Empty Trash". Had the same problem yesterday. xD Now if you're having issues with it being deleted on the NAS and not as a drive which is part of your system, I would recommend connecting it locally to your system and verifying the permission allow you to do so.

How to empty the file in the trash????

i could not empty the file in the trash suddenly...... every time i try to empty the files in the trash, it says that some files have been locked, but i fact those locked file are not in the trash. I really have no idea how to empty the trash now.....

Hi
The app Leopard Cache Cleaner has a command which will sort this out. Download from http://www.northernsoftworks.com/leopardcachecleaner.html
It's shareware but will work in demo mode for a long time - certainly long enough to sort out this problem.
Bob

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.

Can't empty file in trash under 9.2.2 or OS.X.3.9

I have read the posts and tried the different options of emptying trash and can't get rid of this pesky folder.
I was transferring files from a Jaz drive to an internal drive which is titled a workdrive. Some error messages came up that stated certain files could not be read due to disk errors.
I am trying to empty the trash to delete the files and I get two types of errors. One says error code -127 and the other says it cannot find the files. I have restarted several times in OS9.2.2. Still can't delete them. I transferred the files back to my work drive and restarted under OS.X.3.9.
Under OS.X.3.9 I moved the files to trash and tried to empty the trash. The error now says files are in use and can't be emptied. I have tried using the option delete, the commandshift+ctrldelete. I have tried using the secure trash option. I have tried holding a click down over the trash icon but the menu dropdown list doesn't appear as one post claims. I have restarted OSX and still not able to delete. If I use the eject the drive option for the work drive then the files disappear out of the trash along with the workdrive icon.
I'm not comforable using "Terminal" since this is a company owned machine and don't want to risk causing a major problem.
Please don't chastise about not researching before posting because I have researched and the solutions aren't working. Most posts I have read deal with OSX trash problems but my problem began in OS 9.2.2.
The computer I'm working on is a G4 Quicksilver, 933 mhz, Ram unknown. It has a system drive and a 2nd drive. entitled workdrive.
Thanks for any help solving this frustrating problem.
Ymir
Powermac G4 Mac OS X (10.4.6) 933 mgz
Powermac G4 Mac OS X (10.4.6) 933 mgz
Powermac G4 Mac OS X (10.4.6) 933 mgz

Hi Tom,
I have been to that site and that is where I read about using Terminal. That seems to be the only option I have left. I don't own this machine and don't have the cd's or the permission to use Terminal. I will have to refer this to my next level of tech support. I wanted to try to solve this before doing that action. Thanks everyone for the info!
Ymir

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

Have file in Trash and can not empty trash . Showing 63 files and tried to shut down and restart and still will not empty

Have file in Trash and can not empty trash . Showing 63 files and tried to shut down and restart and still will not empty.Anyone know what can be done?

You are welcome. Glad I could help/
Allan

How do I trash locked files I down loaded onto my mac, fom my old PC

from the external hard drive I had my
old pc backed up on , and tried to throw a lot of it away on my mac, but there are quite a few locked files that will simply not go away , and even if i drag it of the desk top so I dont have to look at it , one copy remains behind, how do I trash these locked windows files , actualy I fell asleep backing the PC up and copied the entire operating system onto this external Hard drive , and I am sur they were never meant to be trashed , so how can I get rid of them?

Hi Jkevin, When you do Apple+I get info on one of these files, does it give you any info about being locked? Have you tried opening the terminal Applications>Utilities and typing sudo rm (and drag the offending file here) and then hit return, enter your password.
Cheers

Empty "Recovered Files" folder keeps reappearing in my Trash

Hello,
An empty "Recovered Files" folder keeps reappearing in my Trash each time I boot my iMac.
Is there any way to prevent this empty folder from constantly reappearing?
Thank you and regards,
Olivier.

I think this issue started in Tiger, however there was some freeware that would automatically empty the Trash on start up. I downloaded that software and it worked. It was called "RecoverTrasher". It worked with Snow Leopard, at least until last week when I had to delete my entire preferences file due to an unrelated issue. Now it no longer works on my iMac.
There is still a link to RecoverTrasher at http://mac.softpedia.com/progDownload/RecoverTrasher-Download-9415.html/, however, I don't know if it works with 10.6.4. This version is 1.4, and it still references "Tiger", but I downloaded it and put it into my log-in items, shut down and then restated. The icon for it briefly appeared in the dock, and the trash is empty, so it appears to have worked at least this first time with Snow Leopard.
I don't have any relationship with the author of the software, and don't make any representations about the software.
Chuck

Emptying 'locked files' in trash

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