Dennie2356

Q: Trash auto deletes everything without warning

Last week I purchased a Macbook Pro with OSX El Capitan Version 10.11.6. For the first time last night, I deleted some files, however, they went right to the trash and emptied. There was no "are you sure you want to delete?" warning and the bin is empty. None of the trash commands in Finder can be accessed. They're all grayed out.

MacBook Pro, iOS 10

Posted on Sep 14, 2016 6:34 AM

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Q: Trash auto deletes everything without warning

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  • by dialabrain,

    dialabrain dialabrain Sep 14, 2016 6:53 AM in response to Dennie2356
    Level 5 (6,241 points)
    Mac App Store
    Sep 14, 2016 6:53 AM in response to Dennie2356

    As far as the Finder trash commands they would be greyed out if there is nothing in the Trash. Did you delete the files from an external drive?

  • by Dennie2356,

    Dennie2356 Dennie2356 Sep 14, 2016 7:04 AM in response to dialabrain
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 14, 2016 7:04 AM in response to dialabrain

    No. They weren't from an external drive.

     

    I want to be able to manually delete the trash-in case I accidently put something in there. But the files delete automatically, so the bin empties immediately.

  • by dialabrain,

    dialabrain dialabrain Sep 14, 2016 7:34 AM in response to Dennie2356
    Level 5 (6,241 points)
    Mac App Store
    Sep 14, 2016 7:34 AM in response to Dennie2356

    Try running this line in the Terminal then restart.

    sudo rm -rf ~/.Trash

  • by Dennie2356,

    Dennie2356 Dennie2356 Sep 14, 2016 7:50 AM in response to dialabrain
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 14, 2016 7:50 AM in response to dialabrain

    Thanks. I have no idea what the Terminal is or how to access it. Your suggestion is appreciated but out of my league since I'm a new Mac user. I switched from years of a PC because Apple was supposed to be so "user friendly."  In the week that I've had the machine, I've spent six hours on the phone with support, who, by the way, were stumped by my earlier problem, and suggested I go to the store, where I had to wait an hour and fifteen minutes to get to the Genius Bar. I spent another hour on Chat last night for this issue. It appears I'll be making another visit to the store. I'm really beginning to regret my decision to move to a Mac.

  • by dialabrain,

    dialabrain dialabrain Sep 14, 2016 7:59 AM in response to Dennie2356
    Level 5 (6,241 points)
    Mac App Store
    Sep 14, 2016 7:59 AM in response to Dennie2356

    The Terminal is in the Utilities Folder. You would either copy and paste or type the line in the Terminal then hit return. It will prompt you for your password. Type it in and hit return again. Quit the Terminal and restart.

  • by Dennie2356,

    Dennie2356 Dennie2356 Sep 14, 2016 11:20 AM in response to dialabrain
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 14, 2016 11:20 AM in response to dialabrain

    Someone in my office helped me figure it out.

    Thanks

  • by dialabrain,

    dialabrain dialabrain Sep 14, 2016 12:32 PM in response to Dennie2356
    Level 5 (6,241 points)
    Mac App Store
    Sep 14, 2016 12:32 PM in response to Dennie2356

    You're welcome but just to clarify, you figured out how to run the Terminal command and your trash is now working normally or? You didn't mark the command as solving your question so it's hard to tell.

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Sep 14, 2016 12:49 PM in response to Dennie2356
    Level 9 (71,487 points)
    iTunes
    Sep 14, 2016 12:49 PM in response to Dennie2356

    If you would post how the problem was fixed, it might help others.

  • by Dennie2356,

    Dennie2356 Dennie2356 Sep 14, 2016 12:55 PM in response to Eric Root
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 14, 2016 12:55 PM in response to Eric Root

    I'll post tonight...

  • by Dennie2356,

    Dennie2356 Dennie2356 Sep 16, 2016 3:32 AM in response to Eric Root
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 16, 2016 3:32 AM in response to Eric Root

    Hi,

    I apologize for not responding the other night. I feel rather foolish because, and I'm still trying to figure this out for certain, I never had a problem in the first place. As I might have mentioned, I went from being a long-time PC user to buying a Mac and while some things seem relatively easy, others are not.

     

    As I'm still a bit confused about the delete thing, the only way I can describe the answer to the help I received is to hold Command and Delete at the same time to delete something.  Then it goes into Trash, where I'm given the option to permanently delete. Apparently, only then does the warning come up.

     

    Thanks for the responses...I have a lot to learn.

  • by dialabrain,

    dialabrain dialabrain Sep 16, 2016 3:41 AM in response to Dennie2356
    Level 5 (6,241 points)
    Mac App Store
    Sep 16, 2016 3:41 AM in response to Dennie2356

    Just to add, you can also right-click on a file which wil bring up a menu and choose "Move to Trash".

  • by Luis Sequeira1,

    Luis Sequeira1 Luis Sequeira1 Sep 16, 2016 4:00 AM in response to Dennie2356
    Level 6 (12,196 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 16, 2016 4:00 AM in response to Dennie2356

    When things were deleted immediately, what was the method you were using?

     

    There is Command-delete, as you mentioned; dialabrain's suggestion control-click, choose Move to Trash; and both of these methods are equivalent to actually dragging the file to the trash.

    None of those should bring up a warning, and the file should stay in the trash, not be deleted immediately.

    Only when attempting to empty the trash should the warning appear.

     

    To sum up: is everything ok now?

  • by dialabrain,

    dialabrain dialabrain Sep 16, 2016 4:07 AM in response to Luis Sequeira1
    Level 5 (6,241 points)
    Mac App Store
    Sep 16, 2016 4:07 AM in response to Luis Sequeira1

    I always forget control-click. I use wired Apple mice so I just right-click. At least for the last 20-30 years.

    I think I'm allergic to keyboard shortcuts.

  • by Dennie2356,

    Dennie2356 Dennie2356 Sep 18, 2016 10:02 AM in response to dialabrain
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 18, 2016 10:02 AM in response to dialabrain

    Thanks...I'm keeping all these suggestions just in case

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