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Problem with trash can in OS X Lion

crazy$hark

crazy$hark

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 24, 2011
124
0
After I installed Lion I noticed that whenever I put anything in the trash, it make the trash noise, the file disappeared but the trash can is still empty. There is no way I can Empty the Trash because there are no files there. :confused:

also whenever i try to delete something it asks me for my password
 
Last edited:
The trash noise suggests that it is being emptied automatically. Try relaunching Finder using the Force Quit menu. The FQ menu is found by clicing the :apple: at the top left of the screen.
 
crazy$hark said:
After I installed Lion I noticed that whenever I put anything in the trash, it make the trash noise, the file disappeared but the trash can is still empty. There is no way I can Empty the Trash because there are no files there. :confused:
Click to expand...

This happened to me too. I deleted a file but didn't empty the trash but the file wasn't in the trash for some reason.

I fixed it by opening the trash and creating a blank new folder and moving that folder to the trash. Miraculously, the things I deleted before appeared and I was able to empty the trash.

It seems like a bug.
 
munkery said:
The trash noise suggests that it is being emptied automatically. Try relaunching Finder using the Force Quit menu. The FQ menu is found by clicing the :apple: at the top left of the screen.
Click to expand...

By trash noise, i mean the noise that tells you that a file is put in the trash, not deleted
 
crazy$hark said:
By trash noise, i mean the noise that tells you that a file is put in the trash, not deleted
Click to expand...

Whoops, sorry. Forget there was two trash related noises.

I've had similar issues after running some utilities but a previous post in this thread sound more like the issue you are talking about.

Did that solution work?
 
crazy$hark said:
No, it didn't work for me:(
Click to expand...

What are you trying to delete? If Finder asks for your password, that means that the file is important(most likely) and you shouldn't delete it.

Did you try what I suggested though? Because I had to clean install Lion on two machines and I had this exact problem on both of them. And having the trash open and then moving a useless blank folder to the trash fixed the problem and now it works fine.
 
it asks for my password for anything i try to delete (for example a blank folder or a picture). Yes, i tried your solution but it's still not working :(
 
Can you move a file from the desktop to downloads folder or something or does it also ask for your password when you do that?
 
I am having the exact same problem(s)
just stuff like .dmg files i downloaded for installing apps in the downloads folder.
dragging to the trash doesn't work.
opening the downloads folder, and then right click and move to trash works, but i have to insert a password. very annoying.
Then indeed, the file gets deleted, and nothing in the trash.

edit: Made an empty folder in documents, trashed it using the right click, filled in password, trash still empty, so this method doesn't work for me.
 
Last edited:
This works on Snow Leopard and Leopard, and perhaps on Lion:

1. Quit the "Terminal" application and relaunch it, to make sure that you are NOT logged in as another user (root for example). This is important, because the folder we create will get all the permissions from the parent folder (your "home" folder), and only the user who created the new ".Trash" directory (you) will be able to use it without restrictions.

2. In the Terminal type

sudo rm -frv ~/.Trash

to remove the old ".Trash" directory and all folders and files in the old ".Trash" directory.

3. In the Terminal type

mkdir -v ~/.Trash

to create a new ".Trash" directory in your "home" folder!

4. In the Terminal type

osascript -e 'tell application "Finder" to quit'

then

osascript -e 'tell application "Finder" to activate'

to restart the Finder!

5. Done! You can now move files in the trash!

If the Finder restart does not work on your system, then logout/login to activate the new trash can.
Click to expand...

AppleScript version for Apples Script Editor (comes with Mac OS X):
on run

with timeout of 86400 seconds

do shell script "/bin/rm -fr ~/.Trash" with administrator privileges
do shell script "/bin/mkdir ~/.Trash"

tell application "Finder" to quit
tell application "Finder" to activate

end timeout

end run
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
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Mr. Retrofire said:
This works on Snow Leopard and Leopard, and perhaps on Lion:
Click to expand...

The stopping and relaunching of finder didn't work for me.
Neither did it work when relaunching finder in force quit
But after a log off and log on, it worked like a charm!
Thanks!
 
also when I delete something off an external HDD, it works perfectly, but even then the same thing happens if i try to delete something off my mac
 
I am having the same problem on Mac OSX Lion 10.7.1, ie that I have to enter the password every time I delete files on my system disk and when the file is deleted it doesnt show up in the Trash and it doesnt free up disk space.

I dont get the password window when deleting files on my external HD. And when I create an empty folder on my external HD, move it to the trash and empty the trash it clears all the disappeared/non-visible files in the trash.

Have you heard of any solution to this annoying issue?
 
MattiasN said:
I am having the same problem on Mac OSX Lion 10.7.1, ie that I have to enter the password every time I delete files on my system disk and when the file is deleted it doesnt show up in the Trash and it doesnt free up disk space.

I dont get the password window when deleting files on my external HD. And when I create an empty folder on my external HD, move it to the trash and empty the trash it clears all the disappeared/non-visible files in the trash.

Have you heard of any solution to this annoying issue?
Click to expand...

I solved this problem by reinstalling lion. Hopefully you have a back up of your comp when it had snow leopard. I restored from my snowleopard back up and upgraded back to Lion. Everything work ls fine now.
 
Thanks for the answer, crazy$hark. However I tried the steps in Mr. Retrofire's post and it seems to have solved the problem for me.

You said that the starting and stopping of Finder didnt work for you. When you tried the solution, are you sure that you also wrote the text 'tell application "Finder" to quit' and 'tell application "Finder" to activate' after the osascript commands? I excluded those lines the first time I tried because I thought they were script comments. But obviously the lines are the name of the osascripts and has to be included/written in the command lines.
 
When this happens, usually if I run the trash empty of Lion cache Cleaner, it fixes it.
 
Hello,
I'm pretty new to mac and have never used the terminal before so I was wondering if these steps were correct for fixing my trashcan.

(1) type: sudo rm -frv ~/.Trash after my user name in the terminal
(2) press 'enter' then type: mkdir -v ~/.Trash
(3) press 'enter' again then type: osascript -e 'tell application "Finder" to quit'
(4) press 'enter' then type: osascript -e 'tell application "Finder" to activate'
(5) press return key

Thanks in advance!
 
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