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tkowalski

macrumors member
Original poster
May 29, 2011
50
1
I am not able to empty my trash completely for some reason.
The file that is in there is a old back up file on my external hard drive that is tied to time machine.
I am getting error message -36, also :
The operation can’t be completed because the item “Library” is in use.
The operation can’t be completed because the item “Data” is in use.
The operation can’t be completed because the item “com.apple.iChat” is in use.

I recently deleted some of my back up files on time machine because the older ones were not automatically deleting.
This is how I was overriding and deleting trash before when I was not able :

To do so, first open Terminal (in /Applications/Utilities). Typecd ~/.Trash and press Return. Then, type sudo rm -R followed by a space (don’t leave out the space character—it’s essential). Don’t press Return yet.

Next, click the Trash icon in your Dock to open a window displaying the contents of the Trash. Select everything in that window and drag it into the Terminal window; this action adds the paths of all those files and folders to the rm(remove) command. Now, press Return and enter your administrator password when prompted. In a moment or two (depending on how much was in your Trash), the Trash icon should return to its empty state.
This worked every time before and not it doesn't.

Please help me figure out. Thanks in advance.
 
I am not able to empty my trash completely for some reason.
The file that is in there is a old back up file on my external hard drive that is tied to time machine.
I am getting error message -36, also :
The operation can’t be completed because the item “Library” is in use.
The operation can’t be completed because the item “Data” is in use.
The operation can’t be completed because the item “com.apple.iChat” is in use.

I recently deleted some of my back up files on time machine because the older ones were not automatically deleting.
This is how I was overriding and deleting trash before when I was not able :

To do so, first open Terminal (in /Applications/Utilities). Typecd ~/.Trash and press Return. Then, type sudo rm -R followed by a space (don’t leave out the space character—it’s essential). Don’t press Return yet.

Next, click the Trash icon in your Dock to open a window displaying the contents of the Trash. Select everything in that window and drag it into the Terminal window; this action adds the paths of all those files and folders to the rm(remove) command. Now, press Return and enter your administrator password when prompted. In a moment or two (depending on how much was in your Trash), the Trash icon should return to its empty state.
This worked every time before and not it doesn't.

Please help me figure out. Thanks in advance.

First of all it is not a good idea to manually delete backups from a Time Machine drive as it could mess up Tine Machine. There are hidden files in the backup that you don't see. Have you tried doing a Secure Empty trash?

By the way, "rm -R" is a very dangerous command to use. It is easy to not realize what directory you are in and wipe out an entire system.
 
First of all it is not a good idea to manually delete backups from a Time Machine drive as it could mess up Tine Machine. There are hidden files in the backup that you don't see. Have you tried doing a Secure Empty trash?

By the way, "rm -R" is a very dangerous command to use. It is easy to not realize what directory you are in and wipe out an entire system.
Yes I've tried secure empty.
 
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