Mac Pro trash won't empty

BAsciHayes wrote:

When I choose Empty Trash, it seems to work and the trash bin appears empty. Then in about 5 seconds, all the files are back in the bin.

Coincidentally, this happens only to 31 files. Anything else I put in the trash bin subsequently will delete when I hit Empty Trash -- but all 31 of the files that were placed there a week ago remain. They are PDFs, JPGs, folder of files, etc.

Am I looking in the wrong place? Are the files in iCloud or somewhere else?

Many thanks for help anyone can give!

You do not say where these files came from...an external drive(?)...plug that drive back in and try again.

Moving forward —

you can try dropping all those stuck files into a new folder.. then Control click>Compress the folder;

now try deleting that .zip file

BAsciHayes wrote:

Hi Leroy,

Thanks for your reply. My external drive gave up about a year ago, so that is not the issue.

And dropping the files into a separate file does not work. As soon as I move them, into the new file, they repopulate in the Trash. Then when I empty the trash again, the new zip file is deleted but the 31 files still remain.

Beth

Folder...(?) dropping all those stuck files into a new folder

You can try a Safeboot and delete from there: SafeBoot Use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support

login and compare your results

BAsciHayes wrote:

Yes, I did mean "folder" rather than "file."

I followed your instructions and started up in SafeBoot, emptied the Trash and the files disappeared. But then when I restarted the computer, the 31 files reappeared in the Trash.

Your next step may be to disable SIP. and try again.

It is important to enable SIP immediately afterwards.

Disabling and Enabling System Integrity Protection

ref: Disabling and Enabling System Integrity Protection | Apple Developer Documentation