can't delete iphoto library

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Level 1

8 points

can't delete iphoto library

hey all, I'm using mojave 10.14.2 on iMac. I'm cleaning it up and moved my photos and iMovie libraries to external HD. All fine. But, I still had old iPhotos library that was (is) taking up 250GB, and I want it gone now that I have everything on Photos which is on ext HD (and backed up on another HD). I moved the iPhotos library to trash, but trash won't let me delete. Says it's still in use. I restarted computer (several times)/ with no other apps running it still gives me same message. It lets me delete everything else but the iPhotos library.

Any advice?

Thanks

Posted on Jan 7, 2019 4:54 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Theoden_King

Level 2

354 points

Jan 7, 2019 6:35 PM in response to thisoldfish

What I would do:

Take the Photos library out of the trash.
Right-click (or Control-click) the library and choose Show Package Contents from the pop-up menu.
Delete every item inside it separately, until you come to the file or folder that it won't let you delete.
If it's a folder, do the same thing inside, deleting all the contents until you've isolated one single file it won't delete.
Take that file out of the trash and place it in your Home folder (the one with your username that contains the Desktop, Downloads, Pictures folder, etc.)
Go to the terminal and type "sudo rm" followed by a space, followed by the exact name of the file, including its extension. When it asks for your password, enter your login password.

This should completely eliminate it. There may be an easier way, but this is what I've done successfully in the past.

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Answer 2

Old Toad

Level 10

215,688 points

Jan 8, 2019 3:13 PM in response to thisoldfish

Select the "empty" folder and use the following key combination: Option + Command + Delete. That will give you this window:

That should get the stubborn folder deleted.

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Answer 3

Jan 9, 2019 5:20 AM in response to Theoden_King

Alternatively, if you have another Mac to connect to with Target Disk Mode or File Sharing, you can go in and delete the directory from the other computer. I don't think the other computer will check whether or not the file is in use before deleting it.

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Answer 4

Old Toad

Level 10

215,688 points

Jan 9, 2019 10:14 AM in response to thisoldfish

Does the folder still have the old extension on it? If it does remove it and try again.

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Answer 5

thisoldfish Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 8, 2019 2:52 PM in response to Theoden_King

So I tried this- and what I'm left with is a folder. I tried the sudo rm command (copied name into) and it doesn't delete- says it's a directory.

It's strange- I don't see anything in the folder. But, when it's in the trash, I can see that my trash now takes up 200GB... when I try to empty trash it still tells me that it can't..

any other ideas? Or, did I not do this correctly?

thanks

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Answer 6

thisoldfish Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 9, 2019 6:38 AM in response to Theoden_King

still can't get rid of it...

But, maybe I'm focusing on wrong thing here; when I look at size (see screenshot) it looks like it's truly empty. So I just don't know where this 200GB of photos is? I thought it was hidden in this folder but I guess not since trash is zero (and "problem" file in trash).

Is there a way for me to easily locate this 200GB of photos? I've looked in all the typical places for an old library I forgot about etc- can't find anything. All my libraries (that I care about) are on external HD- so there's some folder or library floating around that's taking up such a chunk.

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Answer 7

thisoldfish Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 9, 2019 6:40 AM in response to thisoldfish

but here's another weird thing: when I go into "about this mac" and look at storage, it doesn't show anything let alone photos taking up 200GB (when I hover over each various color on the bar, largest component is IOS files (red) which takes up like 100GB).

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Answer 8

thisoldfish Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 9, 2019 10:09 AM in response to Old Toad

I don't know if I'll be able to get another mac to try.

But- I also don't think that "problem" is a library- it's just an empty folder that for some reason I can't delete. But no matter- if it's not taking up memory then who cares.

I'm now trying to find the origin if the 200GB of photos that's somewhere.. it shows up when I click on "manage storage" but not when I look at the storage breakdown.

It's frustrating. I've cleaned out enough other crud that I'm fine now, plenty of space, but it's frustrating to not locate the 200GB discrepancy.

Thanks for the help

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Answer 9

thisoldfish Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 10, 2019 8:27 AM in response to Theoden_King

Yes- of course- the math speaks for itself.. thanks. So, I'll consider the computer cleaned out for now (it was chock full of accumulated stuff before..) and unfortunately I have these glitch remnant files that I have to ignore since they don't appear to really take up space. I'll try the other account move and see, and if that doesn't work just forget about it.

thanks so much- all the help is really appreciated!

brad

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Answer 10

thisoldfish Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 7, 2019 6:43 PM in response to Theoden_King

Thanks- I’ll try that tomorrow and hopefully works. Appreciate the assist!

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Answer 11

thisoldfish Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 8, 2019 3:49 PM in response to Old Toad

thanks for the help

still getting this "in use" stuff..

doesn't help if I restart either. AAgh this is a frustrating thing.. if it wasn't accounting for 200GB I wouldn't care!

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Answer 12

thisoldfish Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 9, 2019 4:50 AM in response to Theoden_King

thanks, and sorry to keep bugging you. That didn't work either.. here's what I got (I renamed the offending file "problem"). This file has some staying power..

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Answer 13

thisoldfish Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 9, 2019 10:48 AM in response to Old Toad

no extension- just the name

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Answer 14

Jan 8, 2019 5:55 PM in response to thisoldfish

Ok. It's full of hidden files. Then you need to use this command:

sudo rm -rf irritatingfolder

(Replace irritatingfolder with the name of the folder to delete, and remember to be sure the folder it is in your home folder, not the trash, when you run the command.)

If that fails, replace "rm" with "rmdir".

One of these two should do it.

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Answer 15

Jan 9, 2019 5:19 AM in response to thisoldfish

Try:

sudo rmdir -rf problem

I just tried it on my computer, and the first one you tried-

sudo rm -rf problem

-is what was supposed to do it.

Failing that, you'll have to go into the folder and find what's inside.

Enter:

cd problem

This moves you into the problem directory. Then enter:

Ls

This will give you a list of all the hidden files inside. Delete each file and folder inside with the command:

rm -rf filename

If you get to one that gives you the same error, go inside it and do the same thing. Hopefully there won't be too many layers, and worst case scenario you're stuck with only the one offending file, which is probably not 200 GB.

(I don't think the sudo part is necessary, but if it says you don't have permission, you can use it.)

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can't delete iphoto library

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