Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

OliviaV.

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 23, 2013
2
0
I downloaded a .rar file from my school's forum, that was supposed to be notes on a subject, but instead after I extracted it and I deleted the .rar file all I had left was an empty folder on my desktop. Now I am trying to move this empty folder to Trash but I get the message: The operation can’t be completed because an unexpected error occurred (error code -8072). When I go to Get Info the Locked button isn't checked and in sharing and permissions it says "you have unknown permissions" instead of the usual stuff..
Not sure if its needed for a solution but I got an iMac from 2010 with OSX 10.8.2 Mountain Lion.
If someone could please help me remove this folder from my desktop and successfully move it to Trash and delete it I'd really appreciate it.
 

LPZ

macrumors 65816
Jul 11, 2006
1,221
2
I downloaded a .rar file from my school's forum, that was supposed to be notes on a subject, but instead after I extracted it and I deleted the .rar file all I had left was an empty folder on my desktop. Now I am trying to move this empty folder to Trash but I get the message: The operation can’t be completed because an unexpected error occurred (error code -8072). When I go to Get Info the Locked button isn't checked and in sharing and permissions it says "you have unknown permissions" instead of the usual stuff..
Not sure if its needed for a solution but I got an iMac from 2010 with OSX 10.8.2 Mountain Lion.
If someone could please help me remove this folder from my desktop and successfully move it to Trash and delete it I'd really appreciate it.

Here is one way. You need to follow the steps carefully.

1) Open Terminal (in Utilities).

2) Type the following into Terminal, and leave a space or two after the f but don't press return

Code:
sudo rm -rf

3) Drag the icon for the folder you want to remove and drop it into the Terminal window. This won't actually move the folder, but it will append the location of the folder to the line you typed in step 2).

4) Now click on the Terminal window to make it active and press return.

5) Enter your password when requested (you won't see the password on the screen) and press return.

The folder should now be gone.
 

OliviaV.

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 23, 2013
2
0
I followed your instructions and at first it appeared nothing had happened but when I restarted my computer the file was gone, thank you very much for the help =)
 

LPZ

macrumors 65816
Jul 11, 2006
1,221
2
I followed your instructions and at first it appeared nothing had happened but when I restarted my computer the file was gone, thank you very much for the help =)

You're welcome, but probably all you needed to do was reboot. Gotta remember to suggest that first. :)
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.