Ok so i have an external HD formatted to FAT32 so i can use it for my dual booting needs. Well i copied some files from my g/f's PC to my external so i could wipe her PC. later i attempted to delete said files from my external while in OSX and i get an error saying i dont have permission to delete this file, so now my trash bin is empty when the external isn't plugged in and it doesn't show the files on the external on any other system but when its plugged into my mac it shows the file in the trash but i cant get rid of it. so can anybody help me out here i tried resetting my permission but to no avail.
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Permissions problem...
- Thread starter Deusnocturne
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Go into Terminal, and type:
sudo rm -r /Volumes/[the name of your drive]/.Trashes
If you still have undeleted stuff on that drive that's giving you trouble, you can run:
sudo chown -R [the name of your home folder, case-sensitive] /Volumes/[drive]/*
sudo rm -r /Volumes/[the name of your drive]/.Trashes
If you still have undeleted stuff on that drive that's giving you trouble, you can run:
sudo chown -R [the name of your home folder, case-sensitive] /Volumes/[drive]/*
No luck, inputting the first string gets me either an operation not permitted or directory not empty error depending on the folder it references, as for the second string it doesn't appear as though it does anything.
"Depending on the folder it references"? What do you mean?
The chown command will have no feedback if it is successful, although the command prompt should be blank for a noticeable period, as much as a minute if there are a lot of files on the drive.
The chown command will have no feedback if it is successful, although the command prompt should be blank for a noticeable period, as much as a minute if there are a lot of files on the drive.
This is what I was going to suggest too... But I would make it "rm -rf" to really force a delete. It can be done on Windows (or Linux if you have access to a running *nix computer) too, which would bypass some permission issues.
The trick with windows is to enable "showing of hidden folders" in the folder properties. You should then see a .Trashes folder in the root of your removable drive (most likely it is slightly grayed out). You can delete the offending files from Windows explorer.
You could alternativly use the command prompt to change to the drive it assigned the device "E:" or whatever.
then "cd .Trashes"
then "del filename"
I personally would do it under OS X but if something is being crazy about the permissions it may be easier to just do it in windows.
Yeah, now that you mention it, using -rf might be more helpful. However, I do want to point out to the OP that rm -rf is one of the most dangerous commands to use on a UNIX-based computer like a Mac. If used incorrectly, it could erase every file on your hard drive without so much as a by your leave. Therefore, be very careful to type this correctly (or copy and paste) and if anyone on a forum ever tells you to rm -rf be sure to find out for yourself what is going to happen.
The correct command to try, then, is:
sudo rm -rf /Volumes/[the name of your drive]/.Trashes
Hear, hear! Use extreme caution with using the -rf flags!
One thing that should also be pointed out is issuing sudo will ask you for your current user's password if one is set.