.

[unrigestered]

i have some files/folders inside my /library/updates directory that i can't delete

• dragging & dropping to the bin does nothing
• neither does CMD backspace
• according to the get info pop up window, only the system has write permissions which i can't seem to change even when unlocking the lock
• tried it with my basic terminal "knowledge" and (sudo) rm -r says i have no permission
• changing ownership via terminal command "chown" is not permitted

is there still a way to get rid of these, or will i need to learn to live with those inside my updates folder forever?

 

[Slartibart]

Which version of MacOS? “my /library/updates” refers to this folder under your user account or the system folder?

 

[unrigestered]

I'm on Monterey.5 and it's not the system folder, but the straight "volume/library/updates/" one

 

[Slartibart]

Trashing the contents of /Library/Updates is usually not possible - since El Capitan MacOS includes security technology called SIP (System Integrity Protection) that helps protect your Mac from malicious software.

If you MUST delete it - beware “here be dragons”:

Restart your Mac in recovery mode (press and hold Command (⌘)+R at the start-up).

Open a terminal.

Execute the command csrutil disable to getfull unrestricted access to your Mac's entire OS and every file and folder.

Restart

Open a terminal.

execute sudo rm -R /Library/Updates/*

When done, restart your Mac in recovery mode, open a terminal and turn SIP back on using the command:

csrutil enable

Restart your Mac and SIP should be back on.

 

[unrigestered]

wow, that looks awesome!

will try later tonight after work!

 

[bogdanw]

Or directly from Terminal in Recovery, without disabling SIP:

rm -r /Volumes/Macintosh\ HD/Library/Updates/*

If the Monterey volume was renamed to something else than Macintosh HD, use that name. Example:

rm -r "/Volumes/My Monterey Volume/Library/Updates/*"

 

[unrigestered]

originally wanted to take my time, but just tried it even before work and it worked beautifully even without the csrutil commands! 👍



thanks both of you, i just learned a lot!

forgot to mention that i had actually also tried it in safe mode (not recovery) as i somehow thought of both actually being the same thing, just different name



never heard of that csrutil before though



feeling like a h@xx0r now! 😂

 

[gilby101]

i just learned a lot!

Hopefully you will learn that /Library/Updates gets replaced the next time you have system or security updates. Alternatively that you never get security updates again.

Did you have real problem or were you just poking around?

 

[unrigestered]

didn't have a real problem (other than having just a couple of unnecessary kB on my SSD 🥸)

I'm on my quest to learn my new OS better though...
and yes, i also took into consideration that maybe that folder would get cleaned by updates, but i simply want to get a better understanding of how things work - which i now do a bit in this regard, which i probably would not have learned otherwise - and even if... probably much, much later

the other alternative would have been to learn how to make complete swipe and install from scratch via a bootable installer, which i also haven't done yet, as i'm owning my machine(s) just for a couple of months now.
this wasn't a pressing matter either, but still one thing i will be trying out at one point in time

 

[bogdanw]

Alternatively that you never get security updates again.

Sorry, what?!?
Sometimes, Software Update does not delete the downloaded updates after installing them. There is no point in having 2-3GB of your hard drive occupied with trash. Users should be able to delete it and can delete it, as explained above.