Queenslander_0411

Q: deleted files don't go to the trash

Lately whenever I delete any files by moving them to the trash, the following window appears:

 

Screen Shot 2013-07-20 at 4.32.28 PM.png

After entering the Name & Password, the files completely disappear instead of going to the Trash.

I don't know how to fix the problem. Please help me.

Cheers!

iMac (24-inch Early 2009), OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.4)

Posted on Jul 19, 2013 11:40 PM

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Q: deleted files don't go to the trash

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  • by Eagle Owl,Solvedanswer

    Eagle Owl Eagle Owl Jul 20, 2013 12:44 AM in response to Queenslander_0411
    Level 1 (35 points)
    Jul 20, 2013 12:44 AM in response to Queenslander_0411

    It is possible you have copied some files from another computer and they don't have the right permissions or Access Control Lists (ACL). Try "Get Info" on a file and look at "Sharing and Permissions".

     

    Alternatively, you can use "ls -le" from a terminal window. Normally files and directories will belong to your username and have group "staff". The third flag bit should be "w" to give the username (you) permission to write to the file or directory.

     

    -rwxr-xr-x   1 username  staff       537 Oct  1  2012 hello

    drwxr-xr-x   3 username  staff       102 Feb 28 22:34 world

     

    That would explain the dialog. I am not sure why the files don't end up in the Trash, but that might be a permission problem as well.

  • by léonie,Helpful

    léonie léonie Jul 20, 2013 1:08 AM in response to Eagle Owl
    Level 10 (107,185 points)
    iCloud
    Jul 20, 2013 1:08 AM in response to Eagle Owl

    Eagle Owl, Queenslander is saying "Lately whenever I delete any files by moving them to the trash, the following window appears:"; if it applies to any files it is more likely that it is a permissions problem or access control list problem with the Trash itself than with the files moved to the Trash.

     

    Queenslander, check the permissions on your Trash folder:

     

    In the Terminal type:

    ls -adle ~/.Trash

     

    You should see drwx------   permissions.

  • by Queenslander_0411,

    Queenslander_0411 Queenslander_0411 Jul 20, 2013 3:09 AM in response to Eagle Owl
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 20, 2013 3:09 AM in response to Eagle Owl

    Eagle Owl,

    Thanks a lot for your guidance!

    After applying the "Read & Write" privileges to enclosed items, the trash showed me all the deleted files that previously disappeared. The following screenshot was the turning point:

     

    Screen Shot 2013-07-20 at 7.40.29 PM.png

     

    Cheers mate!

  • by Queenslander_0411,

    Queenslander_0411 Queenslander_0411 Jul 20, 2013 3:15 AM in response to léonie
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 20, 2013 3:15 AM in response to léonie

    leonieDF,

    Thanks for your help! You were right, the problem was a permission issue.

    Fortunately the trash is back to normal now.

    Cheers!

  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Jul 20, 2013 3:31 AM in response to Queenslander_0411
    Level 10 (107,185 points)
    iCloud
    Jul 20, 2013 3:31 AM in response to Queenslander_0411

    Good!

  • by XENiCraft,

    XENiCraft XENiCraft Jul 20, 2013 4:35 AM in response to Queenslander_0411
    Level 2 (265 points)
    Jul 20, 2013 4:35 AM in response to Queenslander_0411

    That's awesome your problem was fixed.

     

    <Edited By Host>

  • by Catherine 8,

    Catherine 8 Catherine 8 Feb 6, 2014 2:30 PM in response to Queenslander_0411
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 6, 2014 2:30 PM in response to Queenslander_0411

    How did you go about changing the Read Write permissions on your enclosed folder? Just with Get Info? I tried this, and permissions seem to be what Eagle Owl has listed, but I still cannot see files in trash. They must be hiding someplace... because the available space on my hard drive does not increase after I select 'OK' from the "Finder wants to make changes..." dialogue you showed in the first screenshot... thanks!

  • by Gnomish8,

    Gnomish8 Gnomish8 Apr 8, 2014 5:41 AM in response to Catherine 8
    Level 2 (350 points)
    Apr 8, 2014 5:41 AM in response to Catherine 8

    Hey Catherine, hopefully you were able to fix your issue! In the future, especially with closed issues such as this one, I'd reccomend creating a new thread for your issue as you'll get a more prompt response and attention to your issue specifically!
    For both Catherine and those coming through Google, you can change the permissions by copying/pasting the following commands into terminal (go -> utilities -> terminal).
    mkdir ~/.Trash


    If your system informs you that the "file exists", you can ignore in and move on.

    Next copy and paste the following line, followed by the Return key:

    sudo chown $UID ~/.Trash

     

    This time Terminal will ask for your Admin password -the one you log into your mac with. As an FYI, this won't appear as if anything is typing, I promise, it is. It's going to be black text on a black background for security reasons, but you won't see the asterisks you're used to. Type slow, and hit return.

     

    Next copy and paste the following:

    chmod u+rwx ~/.Trash

     

    Essentially what we're doing with these commands are:
    1) Making sure that the ~/.Trash directory even exists
    2) Changing the "owner" of that directory
    3) Setting permission level for it.

     

    It should end up looking like this:

    Last login: Tue Apr 08 05:00:53 on ttys000

    YourComputerNameHere:~ yourusername$ mkdir ~/.Trash

    mkdir: /Users/yourusername/.Trash: File exists

    YourComputerNameHere:~ yourusername$ sudo chown $UID ~/.Trash

    Password:    (type your password then press Return)

    YourComputerNameHere:~ yourusername$ chmod u+rwx ~/.Trash

    YourComputerNameHere:~ yourusername$

  • by OniC89,

    OniC89 OniC89 Jul 3, 2014 1:24 PM in response to Gnomish8
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 3, 2014 1:24 PM in response to Gnomish8

    Your detailed direction work accurately for me. Thank you

  • by shalps,

    shalps shalps Jan 27, 2015 9:18 PM in response to Gnomish8
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 27, 2015 9:18 PM in response to Gnomish8

    Your directions worked perfectly.  Thanks for making it so easy to copy and paste!  I have one concern though:  I wasn't asked for my password.  Should I be worried?

  • by dhigan,

    dhigan dhigan Aug 4, 2016 6:21 AM in response to Gnomish8
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Aug 4, 2016 6:21 AM in response to Gnomish8

    Worked perfectly, thank you !