How do I delete a folder that I moved to Trash from my external backup drive when a virus was detected? Trash will not delete the folder.

I have tried unsuccessfully to remove a folder from Trash. My anti-virus program (Sophos) detected a virus which had to be manually removed. I tried (unsuccessfully) to find and remove the infected file. I moved the Folder from my external backup drive and placed it in Trash. Now I cannot get Trash to delete the folder. It asks me if I wish to delete "unlocked" or "all" items. Either selection does not delete the folder. I went to change the permissions to "read & write" and unlocked the folder, but it is still there. I tried to "move" the folder from Trash back to the external harddrive but it seems I can only "copy" it and not "move" it. I am afraid that by copying it, I will not have the folder in two locations (Trash & External HD).
Would appreciate any suggestions and guidance on this. I hope that I have explained the problem clearly!
Thank you!

Before deleting it we should know more about this folder and its contents.
If it is invected and is using other apps, or other apps are still using it, then it cannot be deleted in the normal manner.
You might contact Sophos and ask them about it.
If you are using TM or have a backup of your system before the infection occurred, then you can delete the item(s) in Trash, but there is the possiblity of system corruption and the need for a reinstall, if any of these files are necessary for the OS to work properly, even though they are infected.
Sophos may not have been able to remove the infection from inside a file which is why they suggested manual removal.
You might consider downloading and running ClamXav first and see if it can't do better than Sophos.
All that being said, you can always remove the contents of the Trash using the terminal. Usually as administrator, or in some cases as root (su). Unless you are very familiar with the terminal I do not suggest doing this without some study.

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hi Samberl
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I was dragging folders from main folders on the laptop-desktop onto the external drive icon - to copy them across....
Your suggestion sounds very promising - I didn't know about 'cloning'.
Yes the idea is to backup the laptop -    I thought I would just move it all now, new - and then keep saving/dragging physically   across to the new drive myself each day or two...
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How do I delete a folder that I moved to Trash from my external backup drive when a virus was detected? Trash will not delete the folder.

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