Console logs won't clear

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Level 1

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Console logs won't clear

When I try to clear a log in the console, it reappears after I clear it.
I have some that are over a year old and want to remove them, but cannot clear any.

Any suggestions? Help is greatly appreciated!

Mac OS X (10.4.11)

Posted on Jul 20, 2010 4:39 PM

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Answer 1

BDAqua

Level 10

238,799 points

Jul 20, 2010 4:54 PM in response to i.r.a.c.h.

Hi, are you rinning in an Admin account?

See if this does it...

Safe Boot from the HD, (holding Shift key down at bootup), run Disk Utility in Applications>Utilities, then highlight your drive, click on Repair Permissions.

Try it in Safe Mode.

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Answer 2

i.r.a.c.h. Author

Level 1

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Jul 20, 2010 7:27 PM in response to BDAqua

Yes, I am running admin.
I followed your instructions BDAqua, but the logs still won't clear.

I have also booted from the install disc and repaired the HD to no avail.

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Answer 3

BDAqua

Level 10

238,799 points

Jul 20, 2010 7:38 PM in response to i.r.a.c.h.

In finder, select Go menu>Go to Folder, and go to...

/Volumes/Macintosh HD/Library/Logs/

Can you trash them in the Finder?

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Answer 4

i.r.a.c.h. Author

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Jul 20, 2010 8:07 PM in response to BDAqua

It says "the folder cannot found"

So I went to HD>Library>logs and found the folder.
Is that the same one? and should I drag it to the trash? I started to, then it
prompted for a password, so I canceled, thought I'd ask
first! 😉

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Answer 5

BDAqua

Level 10

238,799 points

Jul 20, 2010 11:02 PM in response to i.r.a.c.h.

Those are likely other logs, but it's asking for an admon PW is all, I'd do it.

It says "the folder cannot found"

Something is greatly amiss on your HD then.

There's a slight chance Disk Utility, fsck, or Safe Boot could fix it.

Your best bet is DiskWarrior, you need the CD/DVD though.

http://www.alsoft.com/DiskWarrior/

But others that may work…

Drive Genius 2…

http://www.prosofteng.com/products/drive_genius.php

TechTool Pro 4…

http://www.micromat.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=83

BTW, you might enjoy these DiskWarrior review/recommendations...

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=9645801&#9645801

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=10541019#10541019

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=11918925&#11918925

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Answer 6

i.r.a.c.h. Author

Level 1

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Jul 21, 2010 7:32 AM in response to BDAqua

I realized I needed to remove Macintosh from the folder name and it found the folders.

I was able to manually remove the logs which cleared them from my console as well.
However, most of the logs were not there, such as system.log and var/log.

I will check out the links you provided. Thank you for your time, I appreciated the help!

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Answer 7

BDAqua

Level 10

238,799 points

Jul 21, 2010 12:47 PM in response to i.r.a.c.h.

I'd get EasyFind...

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/11706

Use it to searh, including hidden, for...

system.log

You can Show in Finder there, or Trash from there.

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Answer 8

i.r.a.c.h. Author

Level 1

0 points

Jul 21, 2010 2:03 PM in response to BDAqua

I downloaded EasyFind and it mounted... when I eject it, it just leaves a .dmg file on my desktop - I can't find it anywhere else. Do I have to click on the .dmg when I want to use it? (blushes for ignorance)

Also, it did not find the system.log either. However, when I ran sudo periodic daily weekly monthly in terminal, the system.log cleared, so it must be related to one of those.

Thanks again BDAqua!

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