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Why can't i open my trash? I click open and nothing opens in finder.

Just got a new imac with mountain lion and for some reason i cant open my trash. The only answer i've been able to find is to:

"Open a finder window and press cmd+shift+g then i that window type "~/.Trash"

Theres no reason i should have to type this everytime to access the trash.

Anybody else have this problem?

Posted on Aug 9, 2012 6:17 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jun 2, 2013 9:12 AM

Try rebuilding the Trash...


Go to /Applications /Utilities/Terminal and launch it.

At the prompt, copy and paste this command

sudo rm -rf ~/.Trash

Press Return.

You will be asked to enter your admin password. It will be invisible.

Enter it and press Return.

Log out and back in or restart.

5 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jun 2, 2013 9:12 AM in response to Goatmud

Try rebuilding the Trash...


Go to /Applications /Utilities/Terminal and launch it.

At the prompt, copy and paste this command

sudo rm -rf ~/.Trash

Press Return.

You will be asked to enter your admin password. It will be invisible.

Enter it and press Return.

Log out and back in or restart.

Jun 2, 2013 9:15 AM in response to Goatmud

If macjack's suggestion didn't work:


Do a backup, using either Time Machine or a cloning program, to ensure files/data can be recovered. Two backups are better than one.


Try setting up another admin user account to see if the same problem continues. If Back-to-My Mac is selected in System Preferences, the Guest account will not work. The intent is to see if it is specific to one account or a system wide problem. This account can be deleted later.


Isolating an issue by using another user account


If the problem is still there, try booting into the Safe Mode. Shut down the computer and then power it back up. Immediately after hearing the startup chime, hold down the shift key and continue to hold it until the gray Apple icon and a progress bar appear. The boot up is significantly slower than normal. This will reset some caches, forces a directory check, and disables all startup and login items, among other things. If the system operates normally, there may be 3rd party applications which are causing a problem. Try deleting/disabling the third party applications after a restart by using the application unistaller. For each disable/delete, you will need to restart if you don't do them all at once.

Safe Mode


Safe Mode - About


General information.


Isolating issues in Mac OS X


Troubleshooting Permission Issues



Step by Step to Fix Your Mac

Aug 9, 2012 6:18 AM in response to Goatmud

Try repairing your permissions. Go to applications then to the "other" folder then go to disk utility, on the left hand side you will see a white box. Select the second option, usually called "mac HD" with that selected click on "repair permissions" in the center towards the bottom of the screen. Wait for it to complete, then see if this fixes the issue.

Why can't i open my trash? I click open and nothing opens in finder.

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