Stuck Item in the Trash

[saladrax350]

Hi all thanks in advance!

I have this annoying problem in which i have this seeming empty folder in my trash that just doesn't go away. everytime i empty my trash everything seems fine but it's still there. it's kind of hard to explain and it's a bit weird and annoying. does anyone know what's going on? thanks a lot!

 

[Scarlet Fever]

have you tried the Secure Empty Trash option, logging out and restarting?

 

[mad jew]

Definitely try the restarting method. What is the folder's name?

 

[notwist]

Make sure you have nothing mounted

 

[Quboid]

Just restart. It may jsut disappear.

 

[saladrax350]

thanks a lot for replying, umm yeah i've restarted and shut down... it's still there -___-

 

[TheAnswer]

thanks a lot for replying, umm yeah i've restarted and shut down... it's still there -___-

Have you tried both the regular empty trash command or the secure empty trash since you've restarted? If not...try that now.

 

[mad jew]

Okay, open Terminal in the Utilities folder and type the following. Note that there is a space at the end.

sudo rm -rf

Then drag the item from the Trash to the Terminal window and press RETURN.

 

[Scarlet Fever]

thanks a lot for replying, umm yeah i've restarted and shut down... it's still there -___-

have you tried the secure empty trash option? Its in the Finder tab in the menu bar.

 

[blaster_boy]

Don't type that command !!!

That's not very funny "Mad Jew"

The rm command used with those options will delete everything below the current directory, even if it is write-protected.

Unless he knows what he's doing, he will erase everything in his home directory.

Check http://www.computerhope.com/unix/urm.htm on how to use rm.

Did you delete anything on an usb stick but forgot to empty the trash before you removed it ?

 

[mad jew]

Good point mate. I wasn't trying to be funny but I should have placed a bigger warning upon it. If the code I wrote is pasted into terminal (with the SPACE added because the forum software won't let me end in a SPACE) and the item is dragged from the Trash to the Terminal window, it will be deleted but I can't see how the Home folder is related to that.

Nevertheless, I stand by my original question. What is the name of the file/folder stuck in the Trash?

 

[blaster_boy]

Good point mate. I wasn't trying to be funny but I should have placed a bigger warning upon it. If the code I wrote is pasted into terminal (with the SPACE added because the forum software won't let me end in a SPACE) and the item is dragged from the Trash to the Terminal window, it will be deleted but I can't see how the Home folder is related to that.

OK, *now* I understand - by dragging the item FROM the trash TO the terminal window the name of the item will be written there. By typing the command before it you will only delete the item.

Okaaayyyyyyyy - neat trick.

As for the home folder, if he didn't read your instructions correctly (and I didn't at first) and he is newb, he would probably type everything in the terminal window, fail in dragging the file over to it and then press enter. Since the terminal opens up by default in your home folder... poof!

 

[mainstreetmark]

As for the home folder, if he didn't read your instructions correctly (and I didn't at first) and he is newb, he would probably type everything in the terminal window, fail in dragging the file over to it and then press enter. Since the terminal opens up by default in your home folder... poof!

Not really. The rm command wouldn't delete anything because it wasn't told to delete anything. You're thinking of

rm -rf *

 

[blaster_boy]

You are correct, I was thinking of * .

 

[saladrax350]

thanks a lot everyone, i fixed the problem, turned out it was an issue with my external HD. Thanks again!

 

[JDN]

Will this work for files with little padlocks on? My dad sent me some holiday photos, and half of them have padlocks on the file icon, now they remain in the trash and will not leave, ever!

 

[mad jew]

Yep, it should work for anything. That's half the reason people are so worried about using it. It's easy to ditch stuff that you might not want to ditch.

 

[grapes911]

It's easy to ditch stuff that you might not want to ditch.

If you add an i flag to the command (example rm -irf *) you will receive a prompt before deleting each file. It's a pain if you are deleting many files at once, but it can keep you from making a big mistake.