Hey guys, I keep getting this error when I try to empty the trash. There's a folder that I haven't been able to delete for few months now. How can I empty the trash?
Please help me.
Okay. Make sure you have a current back up.
Open your Terminal application. Type "Terminal" in spotlight and it will show up. Enter the following bolded command below. Triple click it, copy it, and paste it into the prompt. Hit return. Enter the command exactly as it appears below. When prompted for your administrative password, type it in. Once the command completes, type "exit" and quit the terminal.
sudo rm -rf ~/.Trash/*
If you aren't comfortable using the terminal or entering this command, ignore this suggestion.
Alright, thanks for your reply.
What's the risk of running this command?
There is no risk if it is run correctly, it's just a dangerous command because you are forcibly deleting the contents of a folder. In this case, it's your trash. If you were to mistype it, you could easily lose a lot of data.
Alright, I'll just leave it for now if that's the case.
There must be something else I can do?
First, of all the dangerous, wrong, computer-illiterate advice that circulates on this site, the advice to empty the Trash in the shell is the worst and most dangerous. Fortunately you had the good sense to ignore that advice. Do not try to empty the Trash in the shell.
Select one of the files in the Trash that you can't delete and open the Finder Info window. What is shown for Where?
Alright, thanks.
I keep getting this error even though this item is definitely not in use: "The operation can’t be completed because the item “SportPsyche” is in use." It's just an empty folder.
Is there a way I can empty the trash when I reboot like when I press CMD + R and enter recovery mode? Can I empty the trash in recovery mode?
Log out or restart the computer and try again.
Yah, I've tried that a few times and still the same issue...
Can I reboot and then empty the trash in 'Recovery Mode'?
You've given two different versions of the error message you see when you try to empty the Trash. Which one is correct?
Well I receive both error messages.
Could someone please help me?
You could just run my command and your issue would be solved.. Linc is probably the most intelligent poster on these forums, but I, along with many other users much more experienced than I, fundamentally disagree with him on this issue. Probably because Mr. Davis never actually gives a reason for his adament disapproval of using such a command. Best of luck.
Alright, thanks.
Is there something else I can try? Can I empty the trash in 'Recovery Mode'?
What are the risks for me running that command in Terminal?
Please help me.
I informed you of the risk. As I said, if you triple click the command, copy it, and directly paste it into your terminal prompt, there is no risk. You should always have a current backup of your machine, regardless.
Okay, thanks.
What's the safest time for me to run this command? Should I do it when my machine has just finished rebooting or can I run it during Recovery Mode or something?
Surely there must be an alternative method I can try?
Do it under normal circumstances. Logged into your account. I just ran it. Here is a screenshot:
Error: "The operation can’t be completed because you don’t have permission to access some of the items."
