Mystery file in trash

Hello,
A few days ago, after i emptied the trash, I noticed it still had "paper" in it. When I clicked on it, on the bottom it said there was "1 item" but I didn't see any files in the trash. It's not a pressing matter, but I would just like to know how to delete it.

Do you know if the file is on your HD or an external one?
Have done search of discussions, have a look & see if helps.
http://discussions.apple.com/search.jspa?threadID=&q=deletefile+fromtrash&objID=&dateRange=last90days&userID=&numResults=15&rankBy=10001

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Mysterious File in Trash after emptied.

After I empty my trash there is a mysterious file that appears. I try to move it and it disappears, I try to Copy and paste and it asks for my password then disappears. Two separate file names show up at different times. L2QQU6rVMLLrm6 and ntDu9OqOifdnlP .
Also, after I add one item to trash and empty (secure or regular) it shows its emptying 6 items.
hmmm. this is a new issue and Im freaked. am I being hacked?

element619 wrote:
Thanks, But I dont have bootcamp installed...no windows. I restarted and it doesnt seem to be happening at the moment. do you think someone could have been on my computer?
no, I do not think that. do you have any external drives attached? those files might be from an external and you need to empy trash with that drive attached to get rid of them. also start disk utility and verify your hard drive. if it reports any damage, reboot from the leopard install DVD, start disk utility from the Utilities menu and repair the drive.

Mysterious file in trash containing null chars

in my trash appears a mysterious file. ive made some screenshots of it:
http://home.arcor.de/matthiascando/images/finderError1.png
http://home.arcor.de/matthiascando/images/finderError2.png
it resists any attempts to empty the trash. when i click on it, it disappers only to show up some seconds later again.
i did a rm -rf ~/.Trash - no result. with ls -al ~/.Trash/ it doesnt appear in the terminal.
i tried to create a new account but after a while (a day or so) the file is there again.
has anybody an idea what to do or some experience?

Do you happen to have "show hidden files" enabled? I once had the same problem- a file continually appeared on my desktop and right after deleting it, it would reappear. I then remembered that I had used Onyx to show me hidden files during the installation of some software, and I had never hid them again. That may be one of those hidden files.

Mystery File in Trash and Locked Disks

Hi all,
Have some weirdness going on with my system. First, I have a mystery file appearing in my trash that can not be identified. It appeared about the same time as I started having problems with three of my external drives that I can not access anymore.
The file is named ␀␀␀÷␀␀.÷␀ . It says that it is an alias as type. If you try to get info, it disappears. It will not trash or secure trash. It can not be removed from the Trash folder.
At the same time I have had three external drives start malfunctioning. The files first became unaccessible, could not be copies or delete. The drives would not allow new files to be added. The drive will not unmount and indicates that the drive is engage with an application. Then, the file completely vanish from view. The disk show zero items, but the disk size still indicates the files are still on the drive.
I've use DiskWarrior and DriveGenius to try and repair one of the drives with no success. Even booting from the CD/DVD disk, the drives will not unmount.
I hope this is not some kind of virus or trojan horse.
Let me know if there is something I can do.
Thanks

Take a look at this topic: NUL file in Trash won't go away.
You'll almost certainly find this file is in the Trash on a Windows volume, and you'll need to use Windows to get rid of it.

Mystery file in trash at startup

Hi!
I have this mysterious file in the trash every time I turned the iMac. It has been going on for a while now and I can't get rid of it. Even secure empty trash did not work. When I click on get info, instead of giving me information about the file like all other files do, this one blinks and then disappears and the trash gets emptied. This is the filename ␀␀␀õ␀␀.␀␀ I hope you can read the filename. I even copied the file to pages and made it bigger but this is how it came out when pasting. Under the kind column it says alias. I cannot find this file anywhere in the computer. I have also ran disk utility. Does anyone know what kind of file this is and how to get it rid of it permanently. Thanks.

You might try starting up from your Mac OS X installation disc; at the first Installer screen, go up to the menu bar. Under Utilities, select to run Disk Utility. In the sidebar, select the internal drive; select the drive, not the volume indented under the drive. Go to the +First Aid+ tab and run +Repair Disk+. If there is some minor data corruption causing this problem, +Repair Disk+ may fix it.
If you decide to start using another user account, I would probably use the Shared folder (in the Users folder). Turn ON +fast user switching+ so that I can easily go back and forth between accounts. Then move the files and folders I wanted to move from the old account to the Shared folder. Then switch to the new account and move those files and folders to the equivalent locations in the new account home folder. Do this one user home folder sub-folder at a time.
Note: Dragging files and folders to and from the Shared folder is a move, not a copy. That is, the files will appear at the new location and disappear from the previous location.
If you use Time Machine, you can probably use Migration Assistant while logged in to the new account and migrate from the Time Machine archive. I've never done that myself, but migrating from Time Machine is one of the options.

Strange file in Trash that just won't go away.

Since installing Snow Leopard, I have a strange file in the Trash that I can't get rid of. It appears to be a zero KB "Alias" file with "unknown" permissions. At first glance it looks as if it's called \\\Õ\\.Õ\ but the diagonal lines are actually the word "Nul" made up of a superscript 'N', a normal 'u' and a subscript 'l'- all in very small font size.
I can't drag it out of the Trash to see what it does. It's info window holds no clues, apart from the "unknown permissions" thing.
I have tried repairing permissions and have since upgraded to 10.6.1 and repaired them again.
Any suggestions on what this file is - and on how to lose it would be gratefully received.

Bob Bridges1 wrote:
Since installing Snow Leopard, I have a strange file in the Trash that I can't get rid of. It appears to be a zero KB "Alias" file with "unknown" permissions. At first glance it looks as if it's called \\\Õ\\.Õ\ but the diagonal lines are actually the word "Nul" made up of a superscript 'N', a normal 'u' and a subscript 'l'- all in very small font size.
I can't drag it out of the Trash to see what it does. It's info window holds no clues, apart from the "unknown permissions" thing.
Are you willing to use Terminal to try to eliminate that file? If so, launch Terminal, then type the commands below.
WARNING: In general, the "rm" command can be very dangerous. That's why the commands below (1) show what's there to be deleted and (2) ask for confirmation for each file to be deleted.
cd ~/.Trash
ls -a
file *
The "ls" command should show you three things: a single period, a double period, and your mystery file. The "file" command should show you the mystery file and an explanation of what type of file it is. If you're feeling nervous, you might want to mention here the reported type. If all is well so far, type this command
rm -i *
You should be prompted for deleting that file. If you like what you see, press the "y" key, then press the <return> key. If you see anything that makes you nervous, either (1) type control-c or (2) press the "n" key, then press the <return> key.
If the system refused to delete that file, then (if you're feeling brave), type this command:
sudo rm -i *
That command will prompt you for your administrative password, then prompt you to delete your mystery file. The same responses apply.

NUL file in Trash won't go away

I have a mysterious file in my Trash, that reappears everytime when I open it, and when the trash is emptied it stays there. When I want to see its info, it disappears. Its file type is alias and all letters of its filename are the word NUL written diagonally.
How can I permanently get rid of this file?

Thanks for the suggestion. Here's the information from Terminal.
Last login: Tue Dec 18 11:49:46 on ttys000
S01060016360c0be1:~ jamesmark$ ls -aOlR .Trash
total 0
drwx------ 2 jamesmark jamesmark - 68 18 Dec 10:52 .
drwxr-xr-x+ 19 jamesmark jamesmark - 646 18 Dec 10:52 ..
S01060016360c0be1:~ jamesmark$ ls -aOlR /Volumes/*/.Trashes
/Volumes/Macintosh HD/.Trashes:
ls: .Trashes: Permission denied
/Volumes/WINDOWS/.Trashes:
total 128
drwxrwxrwx@ 1 jamesmark jamesmark hidden 16384 13 Dec 09:35 .
drwxrwxrwx 1 jamesmark jamesmark - 16384 18 Dec 10:52 ..
-rwxrwxrwx 1 jamesmark jamesmark hidden 4096 13 Dec 09:35 ._501
drwxrwxrwx 1 jamesmark jamesmark - 16384 31 Dec 1969 501
/Volumes/WINDOWS/.Trashes/501:
ls: \004␀␀␀õ\001␀␀.õ\001␀: File name too long
S01060016360c0be1:~ jamesmark$
It appears the file in the trash is a file from the Windows side of my computer! (**** windows!!!) I suspected this, but still don't know how to remove this file. Suggestions?
J

Mysterious file appearing after login

Hi all,
I recently bought my parents a 2nd hand iMac (Duo Core 2 1.83ghz). After setting up a user account and removing the preference files (which caused a few hiccups), I now have a file that appears when I open the hard drive.
It has no name and is 1.4MB in size. Opening it in TextEdit shows lots and lots of characters (non-English or anything for that matter).
Does anyone have an idea why this file would be appearing and how to fix it? I've never seen anything like this before. Sometimes the trash has a "Recovered Files" folder when I have done nothing.
I've run permissions repairs and verified the disk (which said it didn't need repairing) but I will look at it tomorrow to see if I can find a solution.

Jonathon, kguy is right that you should do a secure erase and then a clean install of everything on a second-hand machine regardless of whether or not you clear up the problem with the mystery file first. I would load only the applications I want on the machine (just in case the current configuration has apps and other things left over from the prior owner) and then you can rest easy.

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
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I am trying to delete songs from itune 11 library and i want it to delete the song from my hard drive as well. All my songs are in the music folder but not in the itunes folder?? itunes did not prompt me to move file to trash nor is there an option??

I am trying to delete songs from itune 11 library and i want it to delete the song from my hard drive as well. All my songs are in the music folder but not in the itunes folder. itunes did not prompt me to move file to trash nor is there an option to remove file to trash bin. How can i delete songs from both the itunes and hard drive at the same time?

aespinoza2210 wrote:
could it be in the itunes folder or does it have to be in the itunes media folder, which is within the itunes folder??
A Espinoza,
The iTunes Media folder is set in Preferences > Advanced, and is the key to most iTunes folder organizational activities. So I doubt that the automatic deletion will work for files that are somewhere else within the folder structure.
However, I have not experimented with that issue in quite a while, so you are welcome to give it a try in iTunes 11.

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.

Cannot move any files into trash to delete them. I get a Trash warning box saying "The Finder cannot complete the operation because some data in 'file name' could not be read or written.(Error code - 36)".Macbook has so much data it is almost not working

Cannot move any files into trash to delete them. I get a Trash warning box saying "The Finder cannot complete the operation because some data in 'file name' could not be read or written.(Error code - 36)".Macbook has so much data it is almost not working.
I have tried reseting to factory settings by removing battery and holding down the power switch for more than 5 sec but this does nothing.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated as I think with so much unwanted data on the desktop and other places the whole os will crash very soon.
Thanks, Rick

The hard drive may be dying anyway, or the directory damaged because it is so full. You should never let the hard drive get over 85% full.
A -36 error is a read/write error.
All you did with the power is reset the SMC. Does nothing to reset everything to factory settings.
Do you have your original 10.4 installer discs for the MacBook?
Is your data backed up?

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.
;~)

Mystery file in trash

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