Problem emptying the trash

Hi
I have a problem when emptying the Trash on OS X Lion
It just says "emptying however many items" and it just stays like that for ages, i've left for hours and still nothing, which forces me to have to reset finder
I've tried holding option to empty the trash but still the same thing happens
Any suggestions?

Select  ▹ Force Quit... from the menu bar, then select Finder and press return. From the Finder menu bar, select Finder ▹ Preferences ▹ Advanced and uncheck the box labeled Empty Trash securely. Try again to empty the Trash.

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I'm having a problem emptying the trash.

im cleaing up my mac and i have 87 items in my trash. when i try to empty it the window pops up and just stays there like its stuck.. need help.

you should not shut down the computer using the power button on a regular basis. verify your hard drive with disk utility every time you do so. do it now. verify disk, not permissions. if it reports errors boot from the snow leopard dVD and repair the drive using disk utility there. also, reset your finder preferences. delete the file homedirectory/library/preferences/com.apple.finder.plist. then control-option-click on finder in the dock and choose "relaunch".

I am deleting files through my trash in my macbook pro (2010) and then emptying the trash can, but my hard disk space is not increasing! i recently upgraded to lion and the problem is new, wasn't the same with snow leopard! HELP!!!!!

i am deleting files through my trash in my macbook pro (2010) and then emptying the trash can, but my hard disk space is not increasing! i recently upgraded to lion and the problem is new, wasn't the same with snow leopard! HELP!!!!!
When i press command+I (Get Info) i see that there is 140 GB "Available Space" on my hard disk but when i click on my hard disk icon on the desktop, and then press "space" i only see 102 GB free!! What the f*???
Please HELP!!!!!! Getting second thoughts on Lion!!!!

Hi b,
Have you restarted yet?

When I empty the trash I receive (error code -8003). How do I fix the problem?

When I empty the trash I receive (error code -8003). How do I fix the problem?

see
https://discussions.apple.com/message/22345364#22345364

Am having problems emptying my trash. Takes forever and then the contents don't delete. What must i do?

a) Am having problems emptying my trash.
Takes forever and then the contents don't delete.
What must i do? My trash box is full and it's affecting my operating system?
b) Does the items in trash slow down my operating system?

Abu,
There may be something going on with your ownership if the Trash if the files aren't deleting. OK, let's try this:
Launch Terminal (found in Applications>Utilities folder). At the $ prompt, type (or paste):
ls -la
and hit Return. In the right hand column, you should see .Trash listed and to the left, you will see the "owners" name (in my case, clintondyches). If the owners name shows as root then the following will fix the problem. At the same $ prompt enter
sudo chown yourusername .Trash
(replace yourusername with your actual user name - such as mine being clintondyches).
At the prompt $ again, type or paste:
ls -la
If this was successful, you should see yourusername instead of root.
You should be in business now. You should have ownership of .Trash and be able to empty your Trash, drag items to it and empty it, etc.
Call back and let me know...
Clinton

I don't have permission to empty the trash securely.

The initial cause of the problem may be that accidentally dragged my downloads folder from the tool bar into the trash. I do not see the downloads folder in the trash. When I try to empty the trash, I see indication that many files are being deleted. I eventually get a message telling me that I do not have sufficient permission to empty the trash. My options are STOP or CONTINUE. Seems that no matter what option I choose, no more trash disappears. Please advise. Thanks in advance.

Repairing permissions is important, and should always be carried out both before and after any software installation or update.
Go to Disk Utility (this is in your Utilities Folder in your Application folder) and click on the icon of your hard disk (not the one with all the numbers).
In First Aid, click on Repair Permissions.
This only takes a minute or two in Tiger, but much longer in Leopard.
Background information here:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25751
and here:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=302672
An article on troubleshooting Permissions can be found here:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2963
By the way, you can ignore any messages about SUID or ACL file permissions, as explained here:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1448?viewlocale=en_US
If you were having any serious problems with your Mac you might as well complete the exercise by repairing your hard disk as well. You cannot do this from the same start-up disk. Reboot from your install disk (holding down the C key). Once it opens, select your language, and then go to Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. Select your hard disk as before and click Repair.
Once that is complete reboot again from your usual start-up disk.
More useful reading here:
Resolve startup issues and perform disk maintenance with Disk Utility and fsck
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1417?viewlocale=en_US
For a full description of how to resolve Disk, Permission and Cache Corruption, you should read this FAQ from the X Lab:
http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/repairprocess.html

Error message: File can't be opened right now because it's being used by another task, such as moving or copying an item or emptying the Trash. Try again when the current task is complete.

I recently transferred some data from my external hard drive to my desktop, but there was an error transferring some of the files and it couldn't respond, and eventually i simply removed the external hard drive. However, the folder/files are still on my desktop, and when i try to move them or delete them, this error message appears:
“-folder/file name-” can’t be opened right now because it’s being used by another task, such as moving or copying an item or emptying the Trash. Try again when the current task is complete.
Since I removed the external hard drive before the files were finished transferring, there is no way for the current task to be completed. How can I resolve this and delete the folders/files from my desktop?

I just managed to resolve this by going to the apple sign in the top left, choosing force quit (or you could do option+command+esc), then i chose finder, and i clicked relaunch. After relaunching finder, the error message doesn't appear anymore, and I could move these files/folders, and delete them just fine.
Hope this will help other people who encounter similar problems in the future!

What is the keyboard shortcut for emptying the trash? I've tried "command-click on the trash folder", but nothing happens.

I've looked at the articles on keyboard/mouse click shortcuts; and the only reference I saw for emptying the trash said that right clicking on the trash folder would bring up a menu of options and that one of these would be to empty the trash.
Not the case.
I'm using Thunderbird 24.3.0 on an mac running OS 10.9.2 . When I use the mac version of right click (that is -- control click) I get the following menu options: Open in New tab * Open in New Window * Rename * Favorite Folder * Properties
Empty the trash is not among the options. Since this is such a fundamental operation, I would think a keyboard or mouse-click shortcut would be obvious. What am I missing?
I should add that we manage several email accounts and that they all use "Trash on Local Folders".

Thank you for the reply. Sadly, it didn't work.
On a mac, alt and option share the same key. I tried using option/alt in combination with command, control and shift (+f) -- but none worked. None of these combinations did anything at all. Is that a clue? Could a plugin be causing the problem? In search of a resolution, I deactivated most of my Plugins. Those left are:
* Adobe Acrobat NPAPi Plug-in
* AdobeExManDetect 1.1.0
* Flip4Mac Windows Media Plugin
* Jave Applet Plug-in Java 7 Update 51
* QuickTime Plug-in 7.7.3
* Sharepoint Browser Plug-in 14.3.1.
* Shockwave Flash 12.0.0.70
Don't know what they do exactly. I have no extensions.
Does this help?

HT1526 I can't delete any files, can't empty the trash bin, can't open my iTunes. Safari isn't working properly either. I keep getting the error message -50 when i try to delete anything...HELP!

I can't delete any files, can't empty the trash bin, can't open my iTunes. Safari isn't working properly either. I keep getting the error message -50 when i try to delete anything...HELP!

Hello, not too helpful, but...
enum {
paramErr = -50, /*error in user parameter list*/
Usually means a bvad or unacceptable Charachter in a File or Folder name...
http://support.apple.com/kb/TA20831
Solving Trash Problems...
http://thexlab.com/faqs/trash.html
Open Console in Utilities & see if there are any clues or repeating messages when trying to open Safari or iTunes.

Permissions Armaggedon, Evernote Crashes, Back-up Disasters, and Passwords Required To Empty The Trash

I just bought a new Macbook Pro with OSX Lion 10.7.2. I had a 2009 Macbook and I migrated all the information from that notebook to my new one. I used a G-Drive External Hard Drive, and the migration seemed to have worked perfectly.
At first everything worked like a mac - perfectly.
The next day there were several problems. The only thing I think happened in between the following problems and the flawless functioning was a software update. I've attached screen shots of everything I could.
Here are the problems:
1. Permissions Armageddon
Every time i try to modify one of the documents that I migrated from the other macbook, it tells me another application changed the file, and if I would like to save my changes anyway.
I click "Save Anyway", but then it says I don't have permission to alter the document. I've repaired permissions on my mac several times to no avail.
I can fix this for each doc using the following sequence:
Open Doc in Finder -> Command I (Get Info) -> Sharing & Permissions -> change all the users to "Read & Write"
The problem is this takes about a minute for each doc, and it seems like there has to be a workaround. I've also tried selecting an entire file and applying permissions to the enclosed documents. This never does anything.
I want to be able to open a doc and edit it without needing to change permissions every time.
I don't know how to use Terminal and I'm afraid I'll mess up my computer if i try something.
2. Back-Up Disasters
I turned on Time Machine and every time it backs up it says its backing up the entire contents of my mac. Shouldn't it just back up the new changes?
3. Passwords Required To Empty The Trash & Add Items To The Trash
Every time I add a document, application, or file of any kind to the trash, I'm asked for my password. Has anyone else experienced and/or resolved this issue?
I've heard others say this is simply an extra security feature, but I wanted to make sure. If anyone from Apple sees this - please remove this redundant and unecessary feature that wastes so much time.
4. Evernote Crashes Upon Launch
Evernote crashes every time i open the application. Any idea whats causing this? Iv'e tried moving it to the trash, deleting it, and re-installing it with no luck.
Thanks for your help Apple Community!

The reason why some of the files are blocking the trash from emptying is because of specific ".app" files from third party companies like Adobe products. Not the user files or the various help documents but instead the actual mother program. Here's how to fix this problem:
1) remove from the trash all the actual software programs like Photoshop, InDesign, DreamWeaver and so on and put them on the desktop.
2) Command "I" (info) and when the dialog box opens go to the "Name & Extension" text box and remove the ".app" from the software name. Example: Photoshop.app change to Photoshop.
3) the program icon will change to a "folder icon".
4) put the folder icon back into the trash and you should be able to now empty the trash.
If you continue to get the error code 8003 it's because you may still have one or more software programs in the trash that needs to go through this process. Remember - it's not the user files or help documents or supporting files that is causing this but instead the "actual product programs".
JKai

Unable to empty the Trash in iPhoto.

I'm unable to empty the Trash in iPhoto. I have uploaded all my photos to iPhotos and then deleted any duplicates. Consequently I have 33,000 photos in the trash but every time I select 'Empty Trash', the iPhoto app crashes. Any Ideas?

iPhoto has a big problem, if the Trash is too full. Put only small numbers of photos in the trash, to delete at once.
To solve this, put the images back into an event, and trash them again, in smaller installments, no more than 1000 images at a time.
The question is, how to remove them from the trash, without having to track them down again - if you use the "Put Back" command, all photos will be restored to their projects. I'd suggest you create a new project "MyTrash" and add a new image to it, so that this project will appear as the current "Recent Project". Drag your images from the Trash to this recent project; leave only 1000 or less images in the trash; then try to empty trash. If this succeeds, continue to trash images from the "My Trash" project, until all are gone. You might wish to empty the system Trash in between.
Regards
Léonie

How to empty the trash

hi
how to empty the trash, i have try many times but the files still there
Thanx

You can't empty the Trash or move a file to the Trash
Solving Trash Problems
How To Fix Stubborn Trash and Why it Won't Delete
Restart with shift key, so you do a Safe Boot and try.
Safe Boot, Safe Mode
Boot in Safe Mode
You don't need Onyx.

Can not copy any file or empty the trash

Hello,
I'm using a Macbook (white) with OSX 10.6.4 and am having an extremely annoying problem which has three symptoms:
1. I *can not empty the trash* (safely or not) at all.
2. I *can not copy any file*, anywhere.
3. I *can not move anything to the "Applications"* folder.
I try restarting the computer, repairing the permissions, running the latest version of Onyx and so on, but nothing works. I always get the following error message (when copying a file or emptying the trash)
"The operation can't be completed because you don't have the permission to access some of the items".
And this even though I repaired the permissions three times today.
To be honest, this makes my Mac pretty useless, and is very frustrating.
Can anybody help? I've browsed a lot of other threads about this, tried everything, but to no avail.
Come on, this is my first Mac, don't tell me I have to reinstall the OS from zero, Windows-style.

Those are the normal permissions but if you are logged in as admin, hit the unlock button and enter your password they should no longer be greyed out.
You can try chmoding them from root through the terminal if you are up for it. I'd also try booting up in SafeMode and seeing if that allows access.

IPhoto 6 quit when I empty the trash

Hi, I just installed the last iLife 06 and I've a problem with iPhoto. When I empty the trash iPhoto quits and when I relauch it I can see the number of element into the trash. If I click on the trash then it seems there are elements inside but without any thumbnails.
Is this a bug and how to be sure elements have been really erased ?
Thanks

Using the iPhoto menu to empty the trash instead of the contextual menu seems to relly empty the trash...

Mail won't empty the Trash

OK, this isn't the end of the world or anything but it is annoying.
I upgraded to Snow Leopard and I have my mail account set to empty the trash when I quit mail. So, like a dummy, I expect that when I open mail, the trash will be empty - wrong. Since the upgrade, this hasn't worked (it worked fine before). Now I'm having to go in and tell the trash can to empty itself.
Anyone else having this problem?

Yes that does seem to fix the problem, but it also destroys all mailbox info. I have 8 mailboxes. Setting them all up again is way too much work. I will continue to force empty the trash until Apple fixes this problem, or a simpler solution is found. I restored my com.apple.mail.plist using Time Machine, so I'm back to where I was.

Problem emptying the trash

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