"Undeleteable" files in Trash?

I have just deleted two of my backups of the Time Machine, and when I emptied it, it deleted everything except for a locked file, just can't get rid of it!
Anyone having similar troubles? (Well, it's not a huge problem) Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Drag it out of trash to the desktop, go to Get Info and untick the locked box, put it back in trash and delete it.

Similar Messages

Undeleteable file in trash, cannot empty wastebasket completely.

Hi, quick question. I have file that has been sitting in the waste basket for a long time, and it will not delete when I try to remove it. I did a search but came up with nothing. The file name contains a bunch of characters that will be difficult to reproduce on this page, so I took a screenshot. Here is the link:
http://members.shaw.ca/adam92.1/random/trash.png
Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

No wastebaskets on Macs, only trashes.
Start with http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/trash.html

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
Trash Permission Error (2)

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.
;~)

A PDF file was filed in documents. when trying to move this file to trash i got response : operation can't be completed because the itempdf is in usen

A PDF file was filed in DOCUMENTS, when trying to move this PDF file to trash I got the response: "Operation can't be completed because the item ..... is in use".
How do I get this document deleted from the system?

The suggestion to move items from documetns to desktop and then moving to trash is the one that worked.
I have now one other question and that is that during my strugle with the original problem I called with Apple helpline and there they suggested to move the application "Preview" to trash and then the issue would be solved. I did so but clearly the issue was not solved.
Bottom line is that with your solution I got rid of the PDF files, but I still need to reinstall the Preview application. Do you have suggestions how to do that??

How can I return files in Trash, more than 1 at a time? I can place many files into Trash at a time.

I placed many unix.exe files into Trash, more than one at a time. I recently updated 'QuickTime' and the Mac version of 'SilverLight"
(name might be totally 'correct). I don't know if removing these files can impede my iMac 2008 running OS 10.6.8(updated SnowLeopard).
I know I can 'return' one file from Trash at a time. When I try to return more than one ('mouse click' and 'drag'
over 2 or more files, the'return' option isn't listed. Is there a way I can either 'return all' or return more than one file
at a time?

Only one at a time. But where are they from? Did you delete system files or are these Windows files (.exe is a Windows extension?)

How do I retrieve a file from Trash using Time Machine in Mavericks?

Is it even possible to retrieve a file from Trash from a Time Machine backup? Does Time Machine even back up the Trash? I've been told a total restore from a Time Machine backup will put the past Trash back on the Mac, but what if I just want to restore an individual file?
Shortly after emptying my Trash on my Mac (10.9.4) for the first time in weeks, I realized I needed one of the files I'd just erased. Trying to retrieve with Time Machine was not fruitful, however, because I couldn't find the file on any of the past backups using the normal Enter Time Machine interface. However, I know it would have been in the Trash during all of the most recent backups.
So I researched how to find the backups of Trash with Time Machine, but I think all of the solutions I found on various online forums were pre-Mavericks and do not seem to work now. I've basically tried 2 things:
Show Trash in Finder using the Terminal command: open ~/.Trash
It shows the hidden Trash folder in Finder, located in Macintosh HD/Users/User. For easy access, I added the .Trash folder to the Finder Sidebar. But I can't get to it in the backups. The Trash shortcut in the Finder Sidebar is always grayed out in the old backups using the Time Machine app. And it does not show up in ~ when looking through the backups.backupdb folder on my external HD.
I also tried the Terminal command to show all hidden files in Finder: defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles YES
But while many hidden files do suddenly appear in Finder, curiously, the User's .Trash folder is not one. This is true for the Finder of the Mac, the backups.backupdb folder on the External HD, and Time Machine app.
Thanks.

How do I retrieve a file from my backup in Time Capsule?
It depends on the type of file that you are trying to retreive.
In general.....
Open Time Machine by clicking on the clock icon on the dock
Wait a few minutes for Time Machine to fully load
Use the timeline at the far right of the window to go back in time to a date when the file was still on your Mac
Click that date
Navigate using the Finder interface to locate the file that you want
Click on the file to highlight it
Click Restore at the lower right of the window to be brought back to the present
You have to retrieve other types of files differently. For details, see:
http://pondini.org/TM/28.html

I can´t delete files in trash. It stops after a short time undone. What can I do?

I can´t delete files in trash . It stops after a short time undone.
What can I do? There are 52 files in trash, but if I click the button "sure empty" it shows 11.313 files to delete .
I would be very greatful for your help!

Stronger medicine may be needed, but try this first
Force the Trash to empty using the Option key
This technique uses a hidden feature of Mac OS X to force the Trash to empty. Perform the following steps in the order specified:
Press and hold the mouse button on the Trash icon in the Dock. The context menu for Trash will display.
Press and hold the Option key or the Shift-Option keyboard combination,
Select Empty Trash from the context menu for Trash.
Release the keys pressed and held in step 2.
http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/trash.html#Anchor-Files-46919
You are posting in the iMac PPC forum, but it looks like you have an Intel Mac. Get Trash It if you have an Intel.
http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/8214/trash-it!

How can I recover an involuntarily deleted keynote file after trash?

After 3 days of working in Keynote I moved several files to my new 250gb hard disk. Many files were moved to trash and deleted. My work in keynote was lost and I have tried everything to recover it. Can you help me with this..? Is there a trick to recover a deletd file from trash...? Is there a recover-data file in my computer..? Thanks
Unease

How can I recover an involuntarily deleted keynote file after cleaning trash ..?

Recovered files in trash after sleeping

Upgraded to Tiger 10.4.11 from Panther about 4 weeks ago using Erase & Install, then restoring apps, files, etc. with Migration Assistant from a clone. Flawless & painless--whew! However, I'm now having one minor but annoying issue--after playing Burning Monkey Solitaire, quitting, logging out & putting Mac to sleep, find recovered files in trash on next log in, specifically a couple of BMS text files. The Freeverse support folks are still working with me on this issue (suggesting doing a Secure Empty Trash, which didn't prevent the files from returning). I'm posting here, however, because today there was also an iPhoto folder (empty) in the Recovered files folder in the Trash. Any ideas on why this may be happening and how to stop it? I've used iPhoto since the OS upgrade without this occurring and, so far at least, no other apps (Word, Excel, other games, etc.) have been leaving orphan files on quit/sleep/logout that wind up recovered in the trash.
As I said, it's a minor annoyance, but hope it's not a symptom of something more serious. Thanks!

Thanks, but that's not quite what's happening here . . . first, neither Burning Monkey nor iPhoto unexpectedly quit--always were quit normally. Second, recovered files folder shows up after sleeping, not just after restarting.

"Undeleteable" files in Trash?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for