Apple Event: May 7th at 7 am PT
I have a video file that I am trying to delete but it keeps coming up "The operation can't be completed because the item "" is in use. So my trashbin will not clean out. I am running a MacBook Pro 13 with Maverick OS. Trying to clean up drive as mov files taking up too much room.
Thanks for any help
73's
Terry Rutland
OS X Mavericks (10.9)
I figured it out in my case (with the QNAP).
It had nothing to do with the QNAP and the files were not yet in the Trash (deleting from the QNAP is immediately permanent and bypasses the Trash).
Anyway, the underlying cause was that the Finder was locking the files open while trying to "Show icon preview" for certain file types. The result was that some file types would never get locked, because the preview would be quickly and correctly created. Other file types, usually .MKV video files, would get locked while the Finder would attempt to create the preview icon. Eventually, the Finder would stop trying and the file would become unlocked on its own.
So, if I change the View Options for just the folder/share in question and uncheck the "Show icon preview," then they are all immediately deletable from the Finder.
They were always deletable from Terminal using rm.
This would also explain why changing the filename extension would work--it would tell the Finder to use some other program to build the icon preview, and that program, whatever it is, would work faster.
I found the suggestion here most straight forward: http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/trash.html#Anchor-Files-37516
Thank you! 🙂
I've been doing a lot of converting old VHS to digital and keep encountering this annoying error. Easiest way I've find "that works" is to drag the offending file from the trash to the desktop, rename it, drag it back to the trash bin, right-click trash and click empty. Works everytime for me.
Quick and Easy: Move files from trash to desktop. Select all, hold option and press cmd+delete and it will delete them permanently (bypassing the trash). I believe only works in El Capitan.
Leave the files in the trash.
Open the trash can window.
Right+Click the file in the trash can.
Select DELETE IMMEDIATELY
Works everytime for me.
NO REBOOTING required.
Same issue for me with simply trying to delete a pdf file that I export from sketch. Changing the extension worked for me. Yay!
The operation can’t be completed because the item “” is in use.
