Can't Empty Trash: WTD?

[mivara]

I've run out of space on my external harddrive where I keep my backups (using CrashPlan) so I located the backups on the drive and deleted some old backups. I hoped to do so at least. I can't so right now they are just lying around in the trash can. They can't be deleted and I can't move them back to their orignial folder either.

Some of the backups got deleted in the process but there are still six packages left. When trying to empty the trash can, I just get an error message saying: "The action cannot be done since "Applications is still in use" (freely translated from Danish).

What can I do now?

 

[Weaselboy]

Try a reboot to safe mode while holding the shift key down. This will stop all startup or launch items like Crashplan from starting. Then try to empty the trash. Restart afterwards.

 

[mivara]

Try a reboot to safe mode while holding the shift key down. This will stop all startup or launch items like Crashplan from starting. Then try to empty the trash. Restart afterwards.

It didn't work

 

[LOLobo]

Had this issue recently.

Was over 65+ nested folders. I literally went in via Terminal to move sets of 60 folders at a time out of their parent folder.

 

[mivara]

Had this issue recently.

Was over 65+ nested folders. I literally went in via Terminal to move sets of 60 folders at a time out of their parent folder.

Wow, that sounds like a lot of work

Luckily, my issue solved itself somehow. All of a sudden, I was able to empty the trash. Weird.

 

[satcomer]

Wow, that sounds like a lot of work

Luckily, my issue solved itself somehow. All of a sudden, I was able to empty the trash. Weird.

That means one of the files was locked or you had a System file/service or running third party service file in Trash.

 

[mivara]

Darrrrrrn! The problem didn't solve itself. The thrash just vanished since I disconnected the external harddrive. Whenever I plug it in, the undeletable trash comes back. Sigh.

 

[rhett7660]

Have you contacted Crash Plan? This sounds like the same issue I had when a few of the Time Machine files were deleted. I couldn't get the trash can to delete without going into the command line. Maybe the folks over at Crash Plan have seen this before and have a way of doing this.

 

[mivara]

Have you contacted Crash Plan? This sounds like the same issue I had when a few of the Time Machine files were deleted. I couldn't get the trash can to delete without going into the command line. Maybe the folks over at Crash Plan have seen this before and have a way of doing this.

Nope, but that might be the way to go. I'm trying that. Thanks.

 

[mivara]

- UPDATE -

I tried everything. Every silly solution. Without any luck. I even had a long correspondence with the CrashPlan support crew but all they fired at me was useless in my case apparently So I ended up copying all my other files onto another external harddrive so that I could wipe the one with the corrupted files clean. Not that it came as a surprise, but that did the job Finally!

 

[ProjectManager101]

Nope, but that might be the way to go. I'm trying that. Thanks.

Today so many developers are so in rush to develop updates because there is so much competition that they are releasing a lot of bugs too. I have that problem with Adobe. Now if your software works do not touch it, update after you are very sure that version really works and contact the developer in no time specially via Facebook, they respond quicker that way.

 

[Toutou]

next time:

"sudo rm -r /PATH/TO/THE/FOLDER"

rm doesn't ask questions. It deletes.