Move files/folders from trash

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Level 1

8 points

Move files/folders from trash

I have folders and files in the trash bin and what I want to do is, move them to an external drive and then reformat the drive. I have old TM backup files that I am afraid to delete fromtrash as it says I have to unlock my bootx file which I believe is a pointer to the actual fiule on my startup partition and do not want to trash my machine.

24" IMAC, Mac OS X (10.5.8)

Posted on Aug 24, 2009 7:58 PM

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Answer 1

Aug 24, 2009 9:09 PM in response to grandpamike

I don't understand some of what you wrote, but is there a reason you cannot drag the folders and files from the Trash and drop them onto your Desktop. From there, copy them to the external drive, wherever you want them to be stored. Then delete the folders and files from the Desktop.

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Answer 2

grandpamike Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 25, 2009 8:09 AM in response to Kenichi Watanabe

I created a folder on desktop, then I moved most of the folders/files from trash to it and then copied it to external, but there are some folder/files still left in trash. The only concern I have is when the TM backup is almost completely copied, I get a msg saying bootx is locked do you want to unlock it. I am concerned that if I do that, I will not be able to bootup if I delete the bootx file in my trash, as it seems to be a pointer to the file on my drive.

I also tried making a folder on the desktop, moving files, etc into it and then trying
sudo rm -rf <name of folder>from terminal but it asks for a password, which I have never set. So I am still confused as how to get the backup TM files out of my trash. I hope I am explaining it correctly.

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Answer 3

Aug 25, 2009 11:38 AM in response to grandpamike

I don't think Time Machine backs up files that are in the Trash.

I don't think the system will use anything that is currently in the Trash during startup.

So I think there is another bootx file that is not currently in the Trash that is being used and backed up. How did that file end up in the Trash?

What happens if you do a +Repair Disk Permissions+ first (in Disk Utility) and then run a Time Machine backup?

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Answer 4

grandpamike Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 25, 2009 2:05 PM in response to Kenichi Watanabe

I stopped over to an Apple store today and explained what I did and how would I be able to rectify it. I was told that just do a delete in the trash and when the warning msg came up re bootx, told me that just OK to unlock it and it would have no impact on the bootx on the main drive. I will try tonight . He said if anything does go wrong and the bootx on the main drive is deleted, just boot with the install disk, hit "C" while doing that and do a restore from the newer TM backups. Thank you for all of your elp. I will post again when it is complete.

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Answer 5

grandpamike Author

Level 1

8 points

Aug 26, 2009 8:50 AM in response to Kenichi Watanabe

What I did was erase and format the disk that the files were in and they also disappeared from the Trash. Apple assured me that the bootx on the main drive would not be impacted if I did this as the files that were in the Trash were only backup files. Thanks again for all your help.

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