Downloads Folder

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Level 1

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Downloads Folder

Hey,

Every time I try to click on my downloads folder the macbook crashes, the rainbow colour circular cursor appears and my macbook fan gets louder and I have to turn the system off at the power button. Does anyone know how I can go about deleting the files in my downloads folder without accessing the folder directly? It has been fine previously, I was deleting some files out of the folder, emptied the trash, but now I can't get back into the downloads folder without this happening. Any ideas? Thanks!!

MacBook (13-inch Aluminum Late 2008)

Posted on Mar 23, 2012 11:08 AM

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Answer 1

Mar 23, 2012 12:03 PM in response to rlm7490

Hi ...

Go to ~/Library/Safari

Move the Downloads.plist file from the Safari folder to the Trash, empty the Trash.

See if that helped ...

~ (Tilde) character represents the Home folder

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Answer 2

rlm7490 Author

Level 1

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Mar 23, 2012 12:03 PM in response to Carolyn Samit

Thanks for the reply, it didn't help and has crashed again! I know that it is possible to delete things through the terminal but I don't want to have a go at that anbd accidentally erase everything!

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Answer 3

Mar 23, 2012 2:12 PM in response to rlm7490

This is a rare situation. I see 2 basic ways to solve it:

1. Delete the Downloads folder the the Finder window, and recreate one, eventually one with another name, e.g. My downloads, and set Sarfi and Mail.app and other to download there.

2. Create a new account with admin privileges, and transfer all your files and settings there, when done, delete the old [= current] account.

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Answer 4

X423424X

Level 6

14,271 points

Mar 23, 2012 2:30 PM in response to rlm7490

Have you tried to repair/verify your drive with Disk Utility?

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Answer 5

rlm7490 Author

Level 1

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Mar 23, 2012 2:33 PM in response to Cattus Thraex

Thanks for getting back to me guys. I have tried to delete the Downloads folder from the finder window, but I get a message that says it can't be delete or modified as it is needed for Mac OS X. Creating a new account seems a bit long winded, but at the moment I'm not seeing any other solution. I've verified my drive with disk utility as well, no issues popped up, the repair option is not available though. I'm really stuck and have no idea why this has happened!

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Answer 6

Mar 23, 2012 11:12 PM in response to rlm7490

Yes, I think you cannot deleted Downloads folder in Lion (was possible in earlier generations). Creating a new user and migrating data there is not a complicated operation and quite fast.

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