Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Level 5

5,556 points

OS trashed boot.efi but won't let me empty it

I recently had to restore my system from TM Backup. After the restore, there's an old backup TM file in the trash which I can't remove. The principle reason I can't remove it is there's boot.efi file in there which is locked. Here's what I've tried

1. Changing the permission to read & write in the Get Info window.

This has no effect because the Locked option remains greyed out even after unlocking the permissions.

2. I've tried the advice given here: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1402

The commands aren't accepted in Lion

3. sudo rm -rf ~/.Trash

Doesn't have any effect

4. From an earlier (2008) post about this problem, it was suggesed by Kappy to try advice from this site: http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/trash.html

Their advice basically ends up advising one of the first three things I tried.

Any other suggestions? Ten points for the winning postcard.. 🙂

MacBook Pro 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, Mac OS X (10.7), 4GB 1067 MHz DDR3

Posted on Sep 10, 2011 5:18 AM

50 replies

Oct 25, 2014 9:19 AM in response to softwater

Thanks!!

Nov 4, 2014 7:08 PM in response to softwater

Thank you much for this solution. Worked like a charm!

TripleX

Level 1

0 points

Dec 29, 2014 8:01 PM in response to softwater

Thank you, this worked great for me!!

iamkappa

Level 1

13 points

Mar 23, 2015 11:33 PM in response to softwater

Hello softwater,

Had the problem initially listed here some years back - i.e., the file boot.efi refused to empty from the trash. Read your suggestion that is as follows:

softwater

softwater Mar 3, 2013 9:46 PM
Re: OS trashed boot.efi but won't let me empty it in response to gwilanne

I suspect that the file is in the .Trash folder of your Time Machine (TM) or some other disk (see my screenshot above), and so you don't have the permissions.

To find out if that's so, follow this procedure:

1. Open Terminal.app, copy and paste the following command into the Terminal window

defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE

Then press 'Return'. Then copy and paste this command:

killall Finder

Then press 'Return'.

2. Open a Finder window. Navigate to the TM disk starting from its icon in the left hand column. You should see some greyed out folders called .Trash and .Trashes. Click on these and have a look for the boot.efi file that we're hunting down. If you can't open these folders (if they have a red 'no entry' icon on them), post back here.

To remove the boot.efi file from the hidden trash, try the following:

3. Go back to Terminal and copy and paste the following:

sudo rm -rf

Do NOT press 'Return'. Instead, press the Spacebar once, then use your cursor to drag the boot.efi file from the hidden folder in Step 2 and drop it in the Terminal window. Now press 'Return'. You will be asked for an administrator password and given a warning which you can ignore. Type in your password, but notice that your typing will be invisible, so type carefully. Press 'Return'.

4. If you typed your password incorrectly, repeat step 3. If you typed it correctly, hopefully, your Trash is empty! If not, post back here with any messages from Terminal.

5. Last thing is to hide all the hidden files again, copy and paste this:

defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles FALSE

Then press 'Return'. Then copy and paste this command:

killall Finder

You can close Terminal now.

Good luck! 🙂

GREAT NEWS!!! Your suggestion(s) and remedy(s) worked, even tho' am running OX 10.9.5 – Mavericks. Accordingly, this is to express many thanks for your long ago help.

W/best regards,

iamkappa

Jan 26, 2017 1:40 PM in response to softwater

Amazing, thanks! That totally worked!

OS trashed boot.efi but won't let me empty it