Can't delete alias moved to 'Relocated items' folder during Catalina upgrade

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Can't delete alias moved to 'Relocated items' folder during Catalina upgrade

I just upgraded a 2015 MacBook Pro from Mojave to Catalina. Afterwards, a "Relocated items' folder was created under /Users/Shared with an alias on the Desktop. This in turn contains subfolders /Security/usr that contains an alias X11R6 which points to /opt/X11.

When I tried to delete the "Relocated items" folder I got an error stating it wasn't empty. I traced this problem to the alias above.

When I try to delete the X11R6 alias from the command line in Terminal with "sudo rm X11R6" I get an error "Operation not permitted". In Finder, I'm not allowed to drag it to the trash.

How can I delete the alias X11R6 so that I can get rid of the "Relocated items" folder?

MacBook Pro

Posted on Apr 6, 2020 7:13 PM

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Answer 1

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HWTech

Level 9

55,874 points

Apr 7, 2020 2:13 PM in response to FrankO23

The macOS system files are now located on a read-only system volume "Macintosh HD". You cannot modify this volume while booted into macOS.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210650

You could just delete the alias on your Desktop and leave the "Reallocated Items" folder as is in the "/Users/Shared" folder.

Otherwise you will need to boot into Recovery Mode to use the command line to remove the folder. You may need to temporarily disable SIP as well. Just make sure you use the correct path to the file when removing it. The "Macintosh HD" volume will be mounted under "/Volumes" while in Recovery Mode.

Don't forget to re-enable SIP after you are finished.

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Answer 2

FrankO23 Author

Level 1

52 points

Apr 7, 2020 2:29 PM in response to HWTech

Thanks. Booting into Recovery Mode and disabling SIP allowed me to delete the alias and the "Relocated Items" folder. Also made sure to reenable SIP.

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Can't delete alias moved to 'Relocated items' folder during Catalina upgrade

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