Hello,
I have 2 folders in the root level of my user folder that I am unable to delete. I have no idea where they come from and what are their use. The also share the same permission protection.
Please help.
iMac Line (2012 and Later)
BobHarris wrote:
rmdir will not work if there are files in the folder.
rm -rf /Users/Nous/"Bureau / iMacIntel"
Should work.
Actually, the slash is not allowed in the POSIX paths, and Finde will probably replace it under the hood with ":", so I would expect the above command will not work. That is why I recommended dragging the folder from the Finder to Terminal instead; the Finder should do the appropriate conversion of the file name.
BobHarris wrote:
rmdir will not work if there are files in the folder.
rm -rf /Users/Nous/"Bureau / iMacIntel"
Should work.
Actually, the slash is not allowed in the POSIX paths, and Finde will probably replace it under the hood with ":", so I would expect the above command will not work. That is why I recommended dragging the folder from the Finder to Terminal instead; the Finder should do the appropriate conversion of the file name.
rmdir will not work if there are files in the folder.
rm -rf /Users/Nous/"Bureau / iMacIntel"
Should work.
Hi Robert,
It looks like you're unable to delete an unknown folder on your Mac. Do you recall downloading any software or applications with this name? If not, try searching for it using Spotlight search: Search with Spotlight on Mac.
You may have a program running that requires this folders access. Try starting in safe mode to see if you're able to delete it there: How to use safe mode on your Mac.
Hope that helps!
There are several issues with those commands.
rmdir only works if the directory to be removed is empty.
If you typed them as in your post, it could not work, as there needs to be a space separating the command name from the parameters.
To make sure that the name of the folder is correctly passed to the terminal, do it like this:
1) Type "rmdir " (without quotes but WITH a trailing SPACE); do NOT press enter
2) DRAG the folder from the Finder and drop it on the Terminal window
3) Press enter
If you get an error, make a screenshot of the command and the error message it and post it here, so we know exacty what is said.
Robert Lesperance wrote:
This is the resulting command: cd /Users/Nous/Bureau \:\ iMacIntel
No error message and the folder is still there.
Not surprising since you just changed the command line location to within that folder. You need to also run the second command @BobHarris listed so that we can see what items may be contained within that folder (I've exaggerated the spacing so it is clear that at least a single space is required, plus don't forget the last character which is a lone "dot" or "period"):
/bin/ls -dleO@ .
Also the "0" in the above command is actually a capital letter "O". You can just copy & paste the command from here into the open Terminal window.
Keep in mind this command will only give the proper results after running the "cd" command first if you have closed and re-opened the Terminal app. Just to be safe it won't hurt to run the "cd" command again. Basically the "cd" command puts the command line into the proper folder and the "ls" command takes a look around the folder.
It helps to copy & paste the Terminal command and its output into the editing window on these forums, then highlight the pasted lines and click the "Code Insertion" icon on the forum editing window toolbar which looks like "<>". This will help to preserve the formatting of the pasted Terminal text to make it much easier to read.
Edit: Removed the suggestion to rename the folder so you can run the commands already suggested since renaming the folder will necessitate modifying the above commands.
It says the folder was created on April of 2020. Does that give you some idea? Also it says it has one file. What is it?
You can probably delete it using Terminal but first you may try “fixing” the permissions. Click the padlock and enter your password. Then add the group (staff) with permissions to read and write. Also change the “everyone” to read. Can you then delete the folder?
Launch Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal
Type
cd <and a space>
Drag and drop the Bureau / iMacIntel folder to the Terminal window
Press the <return> key
/bin/ls -dleO@ .
What does the 'ls' command say?
Can you open it and delete the contents of the folder?
It is unusual to have a slash character in the name, and that may cause a problem. Are you able to rename the folder?
There are other weird things in there.
Some of the standard folders have localized names, but others do not.
You have, for example, Musiques and Images, but Desktop (I guess that should have been "Bureau"). The problem may be related to localization glitch.
the 'ls' command does not trash anything. It tells us what permissions, Access Control Lists, and flags are attached to the file, which might tell us why you cannot remove the file.
Thanks for helping.
I found what the BioConnect folder was for. As for The «Bureau/iMacIntel» folder, it was created by the system when I accidentally initiated an iCloud sync. This folder is empty and is of no use since I moved all it's content to my iMac's physical desktop.
While the permissions gives me (Nous) the right to delete it, the folder is grayed out and I am unable to do so.
How can I go further to delete it ?
When the iCloud sync was accidentally initiated, the OS created the folder, named it and moved all my desktop files to that folder. For what reason ? I sincerely don't know. Maybe it was caused because there was also an active sync made by Dropbox.
When the iCloud sync was stopped, I realized the problem. I moved them back to my physical desktop. So the folder is now empty. I cannot rename or delete it. It is now of no use.
Anyone has an idea how to delete that «Bureau / iMacIntel» folder created by the system when I initiated accidentally an iCloud sync ?
It seems locked by the system. I cannot add users or modify authorizations. I get a message forbidding me of doing that.
I tried the rmdir command in Terminal and it doesn't work. Maybe it's a syntax problem. I have a French Canadian system. I tried:
rmdir/Users/Nous/"Bureau / iMacIntel"
rmdir/Utilisateurs/Nous/"Bureau / iMacIntel"
Anybody have a clue to help me ?
You’re not supposed to actually write the < sign or the word “and”.
You are supposed to type only THREE characters, a lowercase c, lowercase d AND a space, then drag the folder and finally press enter.
Unable to delete folders ...