Stuck on Emptying Trash

Trash window says, "Items to delete: 0" but it won't finish the process. The blue bar is almost filled with a bit of gray at the end. It has been stuck on this for a good 1 1/2 hrs.
Clicking X in the trash window can't "stop emptying the trash."
How can I cancel the trash or get it to complete?

Force Quit & Relaunched Finder got me out of emptying trash.
Thanks!
I had been planning to get DiskWarrior because when I try to Verify Disk I get:
Verifying volume “Macintosh HD”
Checking HFS Plus volume.
Checking Extents Overflow file.
Checking Catalog file.
Invalid node structure
The volume Macintosh HD needs to be repaired.
Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit
1 HFS volume checked
Volume needs repair
I read other postings with the same problem where you recommended DW.
Could this be the cause of my trash problem?
Never had problems with the trash before.

Similar Messages

Stuck with emptying trash, no files deleted

Hey all!
I'm trying to delete files from my Mac OS X Lion system, but it fails. Well actually, nothing happends. When i hit EMPTY TRASH, the dialog box opens with a note "emptying the trash" and showing the number of files to be deleted (486 files) - but nothing happends. It just hangs there.
I did the file persmissions repair, which initally took very long to kick off showing it will take some 7 hours... I got worried there, but then completed in about 5 mins....
Any ideas whats going on?

To see what's in the trash:
Launch Terminal and copy & paste these commands:
cd ~/.Trash
Press Return
Then enter ls Press return
This will list of the contents of your trash, so you can if there's anything you need you can drag it out. If not, follow these instructions:
Go to /Applications /Utilities/Terminal and launch it.
At the prompt, copy and paste this command
sudo rm -rf ~/.Trash
Press Return.
You will be asked to enter your admin password. It will be invisible.
Enter it and press Return.
Log out and back in or restart.
Let us know.

Hi guys, an empty folder is stuck in my trash & I get this message: "The Finder can't complete the operation because some data in the folder can't be read or written. (Error code -36). It won't shift no matter how I try to Secure Empty trash. Any ideas?

Hi guys, an empty folder is stuck in my trash & I get this message: "The Finder can’t complete the operation because some data in the folder can’t be read or written. (Error code -36). It won't shift no matter how I try to Secure Empty trash. Any ideas?

The Time Machines Backup is formated as Mac OS Extended (Case Sensitive, Journaled), my mac is formated as Mac OS Extended (Journaled).
The names on the file are all Uppercase
When I try to copy the Aperture file, it copies about 70% of the file (it's about 33GB in size), and halfway through I get this error.
I'm able to copy 99.99% of all of the images if I open the Aperture Folder using the "show package contents" under the backups using finder (Time Machine Backups>Backups.backupdb>CQ Macbook Air>2012-04-30-070933>HD.....>Pictures>Aperture Library). The only file I can't copy is that picture, which I'm totally ok with deleting, but Finder won't delete it for me. If nothing else works, I could copy the individual masters and re-create the folders, however I'd hate to do this as I would have to go through 10,000+ pics

Mac OS X v10.7 Lion. Stuck in "Preparing to Empty Trash"

Hi Guys,
It the second time it happens to me in this new OS. When i try to empty the Trash it get stuck in Preparint to Empty Trash, I can see the finder counting how many items is going to clear out but nothing happens. I tried restarting and its exactly the same behaviour. When I try to cancel the or stop emptying the trash it also get stuck. Its says stoping clearing trash but hang there.
I left it over night so see if it was because of a large number of files etc, but to my surprise this morning i see it exactly in the same state.
Is there any way to fix it??
I tried with CleanMyMac app but it happens the same when trying to get the tras that needs to be cleaned it get stuck.
Anyone can share some insights?
Thanks!!!

hey my friend i figure out a way to fix it. do te following
If you have any external hardrive or usb drive or sd card remove it. If you have acces to a windows computer, plug your devices there and delete all the .something files that are created by mac os. Make sure to setup windows so you can see hidden and system files. Delete all thos .somethig files and olders.
Then plug in and reboot your mac and run the rm command now it will work

Secure Empty Trash just gets stuck

Secure Empty Trash doesn't work. it just gets stuck/crashes. Why is this?
10.9.5 mavericks

from Apple docs worked for me. Mine was \\\\\\\.\\\ derived from installing Windows.
If there are several locked files in the Trash, you can unlock them all at the same time at the command line. Follow these steps:
1. Open Terminal. It's located in /Applications/Utilities.  Type: chflags -R nouchg  Note: Type one space (not pictured) after nouchg in the line above, so that it ends in "nouchg ". Do not press Return yet. 
2. Double-click the Trash icon in the Dock to reveal the contents of the Trash. If necessary, arrange the Finder window so that a portion of the Terminal window is still visible.
3. Press the Command-A key combination to select all files in the Trash.
4. Drag the files from the Trash to the Terminal window.  Note: This automatically enters the pathname for each file. This eliminates the need to individually empty multiple Trash directories, particularly when multiple disks or volumes are present. 
5. Press Return. No special text message will be shown indicating that the command was successful.
6. Empty the Trash.
If the Trash does not empty or if you see a message in Terminal that says "usage: chflags [-R [-H | -L | -P]] flags file..." you most likely did not type the text in step 2 as indicated or did not leave a space. Repeat the steps if this happens.

Time Machine backup file is stuck in my trash, taking forever to empty.

I understand I did this wrong, should have gone to the gear icon in TM to delete. Threw it in the trash and started to empty it. Let it run overnight and it's still only a fraction done. Tried to put it back in the TM drive to delete it properly, but it's now stuck in my trash. How do I get rid of it??

As Thomas says, your best bet is to erase the drive; that will take a few seconds at most.
Or, you could try to force-empty the trash folder on the drive:
Open the Terminal app (in your Applications/Utilities folder). Be *very careful* with this app. It's a direct link into UNIX, the underpinnings of OSX, but without the protections of OSX.
In Terminal, the prompt looks like this: user-xxxxxx:~ <your name>$
(where <your name> is your short user name). It's followed by a non-blinking block cursor (unless it's been changed via Terminal > Preferences).
Type the following exactly as shown, placing the name of your Time Machine partition between the quotes, and be sure to place spaces where shown:
cd /Volumes/"Time Machine Backups"/
and press Return. The prompt should then change to include the name of your Time Machine drive. Then copy or type:
sudo rm -rf .Trashes
and press Return. It should then ask for your Admin password (which won't be displayed). Press Return.
If there were many items involved, this may take quite a long time. Unless there are problems, once the deletion is complete, you'll see another prompt (there's no completion message).

Empty trash stuck!

anyone know how to force the trash to empty when it stalls? I think there's a sequence of keys, but can't remember. Thanks.

From Finder Help Trash...
" Empty the Trash
Command (⌘)-Shift-Delete
Empty the Trash without any warning or when it contains locked files
Command (⌘)-Shift-Option-Delete
Hold down the Option key, and then choose Finder > Empty Trash "
See here
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1526
http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/trash.html
Question:
Are any of the Files in Trash related to Time Machine ?

Emptying trash isn't freeing up any space on MacBook Pro or external drive. Time Machine is OFF.

Yesterday, while using Final Cut Pro X, I noticed the program/my computer was starting to run slow--and then I was totally caught off guard by a warning that my startup disk was full. I checked Storage and Finder and both my MacBook Pro and external drive had less than 1gb of space each! I usually use Secure Empty Trash and have no problems...but for my drives to be full, it clearly hasn't been working for a few days, possibly weeks.
I'm using a MacBook Pro (early 2011) and a LaCie Thunderbolt external drive. I'm running Mavericks (10.9.2)
I am not using Time Machine. When I look at Storage under About This Mac, my Backups on my MBP and LaCie drive are both at zero KB.
I read through the forums and tried going into Terminal and entering sudo rm -rf ~/.Trash ...but all that did was free up about 10gb on my external drive (I'd emptied upwards of 90gb from my trash).
Right now I'm basically stuck with a slow laptop and very little storage space, which has slowed my work to a halt. Does anyone know how to fix this?

Some space suggestions.
Disk Space - Free Up
Disk Space – Free Up (2)
Disk Space Filling Up – OmniDiskSweeper
Disk Space Filling Up - WhatSize

How do I get rid of a file that is still stuck in the trash can

How do I get rid of a file that is still stuck in the trash can

Hold the option key when emptying the trash
Jerry

Computer stalling between transfers & emptying trash

I'm trying to organize my external hard drives by moving data around. If I copy too many GB's at a time the transfer, not the computer, freezes. No matter how long I leave it there, it will just stall a X amount of data transferred & won't move. Now I'm trying to transfer small amounts at a time, but when I'm done copying from one location to the new one, I send the old one to the trash, but now there's too much data in my trash can, that I try & empty it and it stops as well, or most of the time, never gets out of the preparing to delete phase. And if I try to stop the process, it gets stuck on stopping, won't let me restart the computer & I have to manually turn it off & back on. And some of the large folders in the trash don't give me the put back option so I can try & do smaller amounts at a time. And I know cutting & pasting from one location to another might be easier, but I don't trust it with these problems. And when I try to get the folder info, to make sure the old & new locations are the same size so I can delete the old one, it takes forever, if at all just to calculate the size of the folder. It's also sometimes been getting stuck on the little rainbow colored wheel at times, where it moves, I can move the folders that are open, but can't do anything else. I'm more used to PC's, so I don't think that if something moves it's freezing, but perhaps that IS freezing for a Mac? If anyone has any info on how to fix this I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks
-Kevin

Hummm...
ConcordRd wrote:
Hey Dennis,
Appriciate the advice, but no, they have both only ever been used on my Mac Mini & I ran the Mac Install driver on both hard drives. I'm aware of the different formats as I've tried connecting hard drives from my PC before. And though they show up, it didn't let me move anything on or off. My problem is, though I'm able to successfully copy the files/folders from one external drive to another, if I try to do too many GBs at once it gets stuck & doesn't finish, or sometimes even start the process.
1. Sorry, what is "Mac Install drive" do you mean Disk Utility or something else?
2. What exactly is the Partition Map Scheme (MS-DOS, Apple or GUID) and Format (FAT-32, or Mac OS Extended) of those drives?
3. What if any messages are you getting, when you try to copy or empty trash?
ConcordRd wrote:
I've actually copied everything I need to for now, my bigger problem is that I can't empty the trash. I'm assuming it's a related problem though, that it's trying to delete too much at once. And like I said, I've tried the 'Put Back' option, to delete smaller amounts at a time(just as I've had to with transfers), but it doesn't list that as an option on a couple of the biggest folders. Any other ideas on what could be causing or how to fix the problem?
For Trash problems, have a look at the following:
> You can't empty the Trash or move a file to the Trash
> Solving Trash Problems

Emptying Trash is rubbish

It used to be, in the pre-snow leopard days, that emptying the trash was a non event. It just worked quickly and consistently.
With snow leopard, it's a dangerous affair. It takes ages (5++ minutes), it hangs while it spawns a Locum process which runs at 198% CPU utilisation, the imac heats up, the fan switches in. Its rubbish.
This has nothing to do with secure/unsecure empty. It's just as bad with both. The only safe way to empty trash is using the terminal command line.
Surely It can't be that hard to implement.
Has anyone experienced this and solved it. if so how
TIA

If a hard disk becomes too full it can make simple system operations take forever. Maybe what triggered this is your attempting to trash a certain large file you shouldn't have, and its being stuck in the process trying to delete each time you empty the trash. First take a look here*
http://www.macmaps.com/diskfull.html
To make sure your system is neither too full, and you haven't attempted to delete a system important file.
One thing many delete thinking it is maintenance, which it is not, is system cache files. These actually are important for the system to run fast. Strangely, so called "maintenance" tools like Onyx, Macaroni and others do this as part of their "one trick pony" approaches to system maintenance. If you have used one these utilities, stop now, as you may have set up yourself for failure by using them
- * links to my pages may give me compensation.
Message was edited by: a brody

Unable to empty trash due to a corrupt Time Machine backup.

I have a 3TB Seagate Backup Plus for my Macbook Pro. On this drive, I had a Time Machine backup from a secondary Mac that was stopped half way through. In this folder is the file '2014-10-03-144053.inProgress'. I moved the whole folder to the trash of my MBP, and can not empty the trash because of it, nor can I move the file elsewhere. I have tried the following:
Secure Empty Trash... (results in the trash being stuck on 'Preparing Items to Delete')
Using a third party software (OnyX) to empty the trash.
Executing the script:
sudo rm -rf ~/.Trash
sudo rm -rf /Volumes/*/.Trashes
(This results in terminal being stuck executing the second command).
Moving the file to the desktop results in finder being stuck on 'Preparing to move ... to desktop.'
What should I do?

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).

Quit when emptying trash

I have about 1,100 photos in the trash, and when I choose Empty Trash, the app either freezes on the OK/Cancel sheet, or it unexpectedly quits.
What can I do? Thanks for any advice.

I am having the same problem. I have 767 images in the trash that i want to delete. I cant move them out and delete a few at a time, the only choice you get is to restore to original location, it would take a life time to refind them all. too bad it wont let you drag them to a new album and then you could maybe delete 50 at a time.
i am stuck. i need the space and i want them deleted, but iPhoto crashes every time i try. i did the new thumbs (or whatever it is called, cant see thread on this screen.)
i hope someone from Apple answers how to empty trash.

Cant empty trash unexpected error -8003

If this is any different to people who have had this error from deleting Time Machine backup - this was from deleting the files in pubsub's feeds folder:
After finding that pubsubagent had filled a folder with 5 million files - ! - I sent them to the trash. Now the trash refuses to empty.
- regular or forced (option key) Empty trash counts the 3.3 million files, doesn't delete any of them, and finally says:
The operation can't be completed because an unexpected error occurred (error code -8003).
I tried Secure empty - this appears to work, but of course slowly - at 1 second per file will take 6.2 years...
I tried a script called Trash It! - it unlocked and changed permissions on the files in the trash - took 24 hours. It didn't delete them, though - just stuck.
Similarly, Onyx - completetion bar goes most of the way and then just gets stuck.
I also found a terminal command to empty and delete the entire trash folder and then recreate it. That used the rm command, but seemed to be going very slowly or stuck - also left for 24 hour.
Is there anything I can do to empty this trash?
Thanks in advance...

I would try rm the entire trash directory.
re: http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/trash.html

Stuck files in trash bin and noisy internal harddrive (2tb)

i have a few questions
1 i have recently other month had a 2tb internal hard drive in which is a western digital green and it seems to b makimg a annoying noise and cant work in harmony
& the other things is i have two files that are stuck in the trash bin n cant come out
iv also been recomended that my apple mac should always have aple parts in it
cheers
Andrew from lancashire ( Darwen ) england

right click on the file or folder which is locked and you have an option (get info) select this and you have an option to unlock in that page, unlock all the files and then try to empty the trash it works.
Kiran

Stuck on Emptying Trash

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