Can't unlock/delete files on external drive

Discussion in 'Mac Basics and Help' started by Bl4kShuk, Dec 1, 2007.

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  1. Bl4kShuk, Dec 1, 2007

    Bl4kShuk macrumors newbie

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2007
    #1
    I've just plugged my external drive into my new mac and there seems to be a number of locked folders that it will not allow me to unlock. Even worse I trashed one of these folders and when I tried to empty trash I got a message along the lines of "cannot delete because file is locked". Now not only do I have many locked files I can't unlock on my external drive, but I also have I file in my trash that i cannot unlock, although this disappears (and then reappears) when i turn my external drive on and off!

    Any Ideas
     
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  2. Fleetwood Mac, Dec 2, 2007

    Fleetwood Mac macrumors 65816

    Fleetwood Mac

    Joined:
    Apr 27, 2006
    Location:
    Canada
    #2
    Right click on a locked file, click Get Info, look and the Ownership and Permissions section and change it to allow your shortusename to read/write. You may need to authenticate.

    The files appear and disappear from your trash when you plug in and unplug your external because they are actually stored on your external. It would be silly to copy files over to the internal drive just to delete them afterwards wouldn't it? :D
     
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