Not sure about "token" however you can empty trash as a last resort
by restarting the computer. And to be sure things are OK elsewhere,
start in SafeBoot mode (shift key held) and log in, then run Disk Utility
in 'repair disk permissions' and then restart the computer normally.
There will be more in the trash after that; and it can be emptied.
I've no experience with Token items in the trash. Sometimes, a file that
won't go away in the trash may have ownership or privilege issues; or
may need to be unlocked. After logging out a user account some items
that may not trash-empty could be removed. A restart often resolves a
matter of the file being in use; even if it never really was.
In a few instances, you could see if a process in Activity Monitor may be
related to some odd file that won't trash or an application that won't quit.
You can quit some items or parts of them, in Activity Monitor even if the
main item does not appear to be running and Force Quit is unavailable.
Hopefully this will be of some help...
Good luck & happy computing! 🙂
Try opening Activity Monitor in Applications>Utilities. Select "Active processes" and look for anything with Token in the name, highlight it and quit or Force Quit. Then see if you can empty the trash.
The terminal allows access into the system at another level
and with some experience, skill and confidence, some of it is
easier to deal with than finding a graphic user interface path.
A determined person could probably get by without using the
Terminal to resolve OS X issues; I know I have, through my
experiences in OS X 10.0 through 10.5, so far not needing it.
Sometimes, you can change a file name and get rid of it; at
some point some of them may not let you due to ownership.
And you can sometimes change ownership of a file in Get Info.
Anyway, hopefully you can be rid of the 'token' file. Some of
those odd items would not appear in a search. Maybe it is
of a class of files not normally visible in the Finder. Usually
routine and preventative maintenance keeps problems away.
PS: When you booted into SafeBoot, how long did the wheel
spin before you could log-in and run Disk Utility's repair disk
permissions? You can boot from install disc for other repairs.
It looks like I didn't wait long enough in safe mode. I tried again to time it, and it took 7 minutes until I was able to log-in. When I did log in, I forgot to repair disk permissions and went directly to empty trash, and it worked. The file is gone.
Should I reboot in safe mode again and run disk utilities? Or is it ok to run disk utility in normal mode?
Great news. Maybe it's time now to change your user name to "myheadfeelsgreat" 🙂 It's OK to run Permissions Repair booted normally. It WILL take a LONG time. Mine takes almost an hour.
The process is one you can do even if you don't suspect anything
may be wrong. However, repairing disk permissions without a start
up in SafeBoot may do OK. After starting up in SafeBoot, though,
the Mac OS X system is not fully running; so when done with any
processes performed in SafeBoot, the computer should be restarted
in order to get the entire system up and running. It may also do some
more fixit tasks automatically after the more manual ones you can do.
When I run anything involving the need to restart the computer, I try
and time the events together; since my computer is on all the time
but when not doing a task, is put to sleep. So, it may be two months
between restarts on my Macs. And I have a UPS uninterruptible power
supply (APC with automatic voltage regulation) in-line as a buffer for
any power variants. This is not a primitive surge protector.
Another thing to get and try, for preventative maintenance, is a
free running (donation ware) utility by the name OnyX available
by download from Titanium Software; there are versions for the
last few Mac OS X system levels, so note the one for 10.5. I have
and occasionally (maybe once each two months or so, depending
on frequency of computer use and type of tasks it is made to do)
run OnyX in my Macs; usually in Automation mode and have most
items check-boxed to run. Also, in that utility's preference settings,
you can select to have it restart the computer automatically after
it runs the chosen tasks. Yet, some tasks may not require a restart.
General and preventative system maintenance (in my experiences)
has helped keep most versions of OS X and earlier Mac OS, well.
And also booting from the OS X installer disc to run that included
version of Disk Utility to repair disk and repair disk permissions,
as well as verify disk, can also catch an unseen minor issue and
help keep the system working. However, be careful to not launch
the Installer itself (there are options in its drop-down menu) since
that can start the process of an unnecessary installation, when &
if only the use of Disk Utility was desired.
Being familiar with what can help the computer run well before a
crisis moment, and also learning how to make backup clones of
the complete (and healthy) content of the computer's hard disk
drive, to a suitable externally enclosed drive that supports clones
and also supports booting Mac OS X, can save you some grief.
I use Carbon Copy Cloner, download from Bombich Software, to
do complete bootable backups of my Mac's total HDD content.
Newer Macs with Intel processors can use USB2.0 drives, and
older Macs with PowerPC (PPC) processors use FireWire drive
enclosures (some enclosures offer USB2.0/FW400/FW800 in one)
in those the bootable FireWire for Mac should have an Oxford chip.
If you have any other questions, feel free to start a new topic in
the area mostly likely to be applicable. The odds are fair someone
will understand or if not, they'll ask for more info, to help figure it out.
