Hi Tom, if you are interested in using Single User mode, you can probably delete that recalcitrant folder while in that mode.
First please determine the fully qualified pathname of that item (file or folder) in the Trash. You will need to print or write it down carefully, because you can't copy / paste in Single User Mode.
To do that, select (single-click) the item in the Trash, then hold an option key while selecting the Finder's Edit menu. There will be a menu selection "Copy <the item> as Pathname". The file or folder's fully qualified pathname will be copied to the Clipboard. Paste in somewhere, anywhere, such as in a word processing document like Pages or TextEdit where you can read it, then either print it or write it down because you will need to type it carefully while in Single User Mode.
For example, I dragged an empty folder to the Trash. Its fully qualified pathname happens to be:
/Users/john/.Trash/untitled folder
Spaces and punctuation are important which is the reason you need to write it down or print it.
Then, Start up your Mac in single-user mode. Log in to your account as usual. A cascade of very tiny text will ensue. Wait for it to stop, then press the Return or Enter key until you get a prompt localhost:/ root# that repeats each time you press Return. localhost:/ root# should come back each time. When it does, it's ready for you to type something. The text will be so small you may need a magnifying glass to read it.
- It's possible these instructions won't work for a variety of reasons. If something unexpected happens in Single User Mode don't panic. You can always exit that mode by typing exit. That would be the most conservative action if you have an "OMG what have I done" moment and want to bail out.
- Your Time Machine backup is the last line of defense, which everyone ought to have anyway.
At that localhost:/ root# prompt, type the following line exactly as written, ending with the Return key:
mount -uw /System/Volumes/Data
There are exactly two space characters in that line.
- You should get the localhost:/ root# in response.
- You may get some lines beginning with "spaceman" or something like it. That's normal. Press Return again and the localhost:/ root# prompt should reappear.
- The system might rudely interrupt what you're typing as you're typing it because it does things in the background even in Single User Mode. If that happens just press Return and type the line from the beginning.
If you get a response like "read-only file system" or "unknown file system" you might as well bail out at that point. Skip to the end of this reply where you type exit and the system continues to start up. Your system will continue to start normally and will remain unaltered, meaning you're no worse off than you are now.
Assuming you made it this far, you're ready to delete that item. To do that using my above example, you would be typing the following:
rm -rv /Users/john/.Trash/"untitled folder"
- Notice I had to enclose the fully qualified pathname in quotation marks. That's only necessary because "untitled folder" has a space character in it, but if the item you want to delete doesn't have space characters in its name using quotation marks is optional. It won't hurt to use them.
You should get a response echoing that item's fully qualified pathname, which ought to be familiar to you by now.
If you do, great! You're done. You will be looking at the localhost:/ root# prompt again. Type exit and the system will continue to start. Examine the Trash and you will no longer find that item in it.
If you got something else, write it down, take a picture, whatever, come back here and report what happened.
In any event typing exit will allow the system to continue starting up.
