can not delete contents of security folder after Catalina upgrade

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Level 2

477 points

can not delete contents of security folder after Catalina upgrade

I am unable to delete the security folder that was created in Relocated Items folder when upgrading to Catalina yesterday. Everything deleted but the Security folder and its contents which gave the error the files were needed by the system

Option Delete does not work

another suggestion from Apple cure was to go into Recovery mode and select disk utilities, select disc and run first aid

I ran it on both Macintosh HD and Macintosh HD - data with no success deleting

For now I have moved that folder to another location so I don't get the error message when emptying the trash

[Edited by Moderator]

iMac 21.5", macOS 10.15

Posted on Jan 14, 2020 3:43 PM

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Answer 1

Derryl S Author

Level 2

477 points

Feb 9, 2020 9:14 PM in response to HWTech

After contacting Apple support, it seems the un-deleteable alias files are most likely artifacts from an older system (El Capitan 2015). When I questioned why those 5k alias files could be deleted, they have an answer.

The solution was since over 100 files/folders only have a total size of 126K it was more prudent to move the files into my data area and forget about them. Using Terminal as a solution was discouraged in my case. In the 12 days from moving to Catalina and then migrating to a new iMac brought up at least 10 serious issues that required Apple support assistance to correct including one solution that created a new problem. Unless something happens with the files in question at the next upgrade, it is not worth worrying about.

(Catalina has been, without question, the most problematic OS for me since I started with operating system 2 in 1985!)

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Answer 2

Feb 9, 2020 7:12 PM in response to Derryl S

Try booting into Recovery Mode to see if you can use the Terminal app to use the command line to delete those items. If you are not familiar with the command line, then be very careful as it is very easy to accidentally delete everything! You may want to use the "-i" option so you are prompted for every file/folder deletion. Although this can be tedious, it is a bit safer if you pay careful attention to what you are doing.

Make sure to have good verified working backups before attempting this option.

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Answer 3

babowa

Level 9

78,666 points

Jan 15, 2020 11:37 AM in response to Derryl S

That means it was in what is now a read only volume, no doubt from previous OS versions. However, since it is now a read only volume, I am assuming that is what is preventing you from deleting it. And yes, I agree, it is time to contact Apple - if they have a solution, please do post back with it for other users.

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Answer 4

Barney-15E

Level 10

124,502 points

Jan 14, 2020 8:48 PM in response to Derryl S

I doubt it has anything to do with SIP, but you would enter that command in a Terminal session in Recovery, then restart. Use the opposite, csrutil enable, to restore it after attempting to remove the files.

Are they still in use after a restart?

Have you tried deleting them using Terminal?

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Answer 5

babowa

Level 9

78,666 points

Jan 14, 2020 8:52 PM in response to Derryl S

I do not know which Security folder yours would be, but if it was part of the OS/System, then I don't know how you will be able to erase it since that would be in the Mac HD read only volume which you no longer have access to in Catalina.

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Answer 6

Derryl S Author

Level 2

477 points

Jan 15, 2020 10:59 AM in response to babowa

additional information

The Security folder was placed on the desktop after upgrading to Catalina. Inside that folder is another folder with the address of /usr/x11/bin/ In that bin subfolder are more than 100 small files of 5 bytes. All of those files are aliases. One I got info on had a 2015 creation date.

This morning I upgraded another home Mac and it did NOT have any recovery folder. That Mac was bought about a year ago (model 19,2) and had the info migrated from an older Mac.

My Mac is a model 14,1

I am suspecting the files I can not delete are from a much older operating system and I will have to contact Apple support.

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can not delete contents of security folder after Catalina upgrade

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