Suddenly I have file on my Destop, titled EEB43000 which cannot be moved to the Trash "because it can't be deleted." Nor can I open it nor get any info from Cmd-I. Re-start it is still there. Huh?
MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.4), 4GB SDRAM; 500GB HD
so you clicked on finder. then clicked on desktop. then can you delete it from there ? or do any thing with it through finder?
Yes, all the usual methods of deleting a file from desktop. Note that it cannot be opened nor respond to Cmd-I.
Select it, click the Enter key, copy the highlighted name, launch the Terminal app in /Utilities, type this command into the window that pops up, CMD+V to paste in the file's name, and hit the return key.
rm ~/Desktop/
If you get back you don't have permission to do that, use this one:
sudo rm ~/Desktop/
and at the Password: prompt, carefully type in your admin password, since nothing shows up on the screen, and hit the return key. One of these should do the job.
Thank you for reply.
When I select the icon and then click the Enter key, nothing happens - totally unlike the other icons: clicking Enter highlights the name and I can copy (or change) the name. In this case selecting the icon and hitting Enter does nothing, just changes the color of EEB43000 but not to the same ordinary color change which normally permits me to copy (or change) the printed name.
So I opened Terminal and typed in the name EEB43000, hit the return key and got this-->
pwwMBP-113:~ pwwmini$ EEB43000
-bash: EEB43000: command not found
pwwMBP-113:~ pwwmini$
Same after typing EEB43000 rm ~/Desktop/
I'll try again. Select the file icon, hit enter, that copies its name. Type in the commands I posted, paste in the copied name, and hit the return key.
One of these should do the trick:
rm ~/Desktop/EEB43000
sudo rm ~/Desktop/EEB43000
It's not rocket science, but does require paying attention.
Last login: Thu Aug 30 07:16:24 on ttys000
pwwMBP-113:~ pwwmini$ sudo rm ~/Desktop/EEB43000
WARNING: Improper use of the sudo command could lead to data loss
or the deletion of important system files. Please double-check your
typing when using sudo. Type "man sudo" for more information.
To proceed, enter your password, or type Ctrl-C to abort.
Password:
1 - Cliick on icon & Enter does NOT accomplish copying the name (I had t type into Terminal)..
2 - Terminal will not allow me to type in my Password (or Ctrl-C).
I previously mentioned
…at the Password: prompt, carefully type in your admin password, since nothing shows up on the screen, and hit the return key.
so, I have no idea what this means:
Terminal will not allow me to type in my Password
What happens when you do and hit the return key?
I have Terminal active through
sudo rm ~/Desktop/EEB43000
Terminal says:
To proceed, enter your password, or type Ctrl-C to abort.
Password:
When I type my password, nothing is entered, blinking cursor just sits there; no password typed, Return key does nothing. Ctrl-C likewise causes no action at all. End of story. (Quit Terminal.)
Previously, I wrote:
…at the Password: prompt, carefully type in your admin password, since nothing shows up on the screen, and hit the return key.
Done:
Last login: Thu Aug 30 07:19:45 on ttys001
pwwMBP-113:~ pwwmini$ sudo rm ~/Desktop/EEB43000
WARNING: Improper use of the sudo command could lead to data loss
or the deletion of important system files. Please double-check your
typing when using sudo. Type "man sudo" for more information.
To proceed, enter your password, or type Ctrl-C to abort.
Password:
rm: /Users/pwwmini/Desktop/EEB43000: No such file or directory
pwwMBP-113:~ pwwmini$
Entered password and Return after /Desktop/EEB43000: = "no such file...."
Restart the Mac and see if it's still really there.
If so, enter this in Terminal:
sudo rm -R
DO NOT press enter yet. Put a space after the -R and then drag and drop the item from the desktop into the Terminal window. Its path and name will be added to the command.
Now press Enter. You will be prompted for your admin password. Nothing is returned on screen as you type, so make sure to type it in correctly. Press Enter again.
If there was no error entering your password, Terminal will simply move to the next command line prompt, and the file should disappear from the desktop.
Then, what you were seeing is known as a ghost file/folder. If, as Kurt recommended, restarting didn't remove it, then follow his steps.
On Restart the file (+ a 2nd one that had appeared) are both GONE. (I thought I had done a few re-start's for other reasons - ?)
Here is a blow up of the icons; they vaguely look to me like Excel icons:
Thank you both. This was not an earth-shaking problem, but I am glad to get rid of it!
You ran into one of those rare, weird issues. But glad it's solved. 🙂
"File cannot be deleted" ?
