4injas

Q: Cannot Empty Trash

I've tried absolutely everything to empty the trash including the Terminal commands and nothing has worked. These are files/folders that have been corrupted along with corrupted file names that I cannot change. When I tried to change the names they keep reverting back to the original mess of punctuation marks, chinese characters and gibberish. The files names are excessively long and gives me an error message when I try to change the name.

 

I cannot pull the files/folders from the trash they will only copy to the desktop.  1 folder with files is from the startup hard drive and 1 folder with files is from an external hard drive. I've tried starting from another disk and still cannot empty the trash.

 

I'm at a complete loss as to how to rid my computer of these files. Anyone else have this problem.

 

El Capitan 10.11.5

MacPro mid 2010

Mac Pro, OS X El Capitan (10.11.5), Mid 2010 and Early 2008

Posted on Jul 5, 2016 3:54 PM

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Q: Cannot Empty Trash

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  • by cdhw,

    cdhw cdhw Jul 5, 2016 5:21 PM in response to 4injas
    Level 4 (2,653 points)
    Servers Enterprise
    Jul 5, 2016 5:21 PM in response to 4injas

    Make a backup of your files as a matter of urgency - it's possible, maybe likely, that your hard disk is failing.

     

    Have you tried running Disk Utility and using it to verify / repair the disk?

     

    C.

  • by 4injas,

    4injas 4injas Jul 6, 2016 4:30 AM in response to cdhw
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 6, 2016 4:30 AM in response to cdhw

    I've used Disk Utility, Disk Warrior and Tech Tool all saying the startup drive is fine. The startup SSD drive is about 2 months old and running excellently. I have it backed up. What did happen is another drive failed/erased itself of sorts. It renamed the partitions to Untitled and showed no files and a zero count used. I ran Disk Warrior and recovered enough to see what died (I have several externals for backups). I erased the drive and started over. These trashed files came from that drive.

  • by cdhw,

    cdhw cdhw Jul 6, 2016 4:59 AM in response to cdhw
    Level 4 (2,653 points)
    Servers Enterprise
    Jul 6, 2016 4:59 AM in response to cdhw

    Okay, if you've tried everything here:

     

         You can't empty the Trash or move a file to the Trash - Apple Support

     

    Then it's time to fire up

     

         Utilities > Terminal.app

     

    then copy-and-paste this command:

     

        ls -len  ~/.Trash/

     

    into the Terminal window at the command line prompt. The command will run when you press the 'return' key. Copy the output produced and paste it here.

     

    C.

  • by 4injas,

    4injas 4injas Jul 6, 2016 5:55 AM in response to cdhw
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 6, 2016 5:55 AM in response to cdhw

    Thanks and yes, I've tried everything I've found on the web with no joy. It will not allow me to rename any file or folder. The files and folders are still in the trash and they are not locked. I also get Error Code -50 when trying to empty.

     

    Terminal Results:

     

    MacPro-2:~ XXXXXXXX$ ls -len  ~/.Trash/

    total 0

    drwxrwxrwx  13 501  20  442 Jul  6 07:21 RI

  • by cdhw,

    cdhw cdhw Jul 6, 2016 6:44 AM in response to 4injas
    Level 4 (2,653 points)
    Servers Enterprise
    Jul 6, 2016 6:44 AM in response to 4injas

    Okay, that's a folder called 'RI' with about a dozen things inside. Results from:

     

           ls -ailen  ~/.Trash/RI/*

     

    , please.

  • by 4injas,

    4injas 4injas Jul 8, 2016 9:44 AM in response to cdhw
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 8, 2016 9:44 AM in response to cdhw

    I'm not understanding what you're asking of me in your last post.

     

    Yes, that folders contains several files with insanely long names with foreign characters.

  • by cdhw,

    cdhw cdhw Jul 8, 2016 10:12 AM in response to 4injas
    Level 4 (2,653 points)
    Servers Enterprise
    Jul 8, 2016 10:12 AM in response to 4injas

    I was asking you to open

     

         Utilities > Terminal.app

     

    then copy-and-paste this command:

     

        ls -ailen  ~/.Trash/RI/*

     

    into the Terminal window at the command line prompt. The command will run when you press the 'return' key. Copy the output produced and paste it here.

     

    This will list the files with their low-level inode number identifiers, which will be used in the next instruction.

     

    C.

  • by 4injas,

    4injas 4injas Jul 8, 2016 10:25 AM in response to cdhw
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 8, 2016 10:25 AM in response to cdhw

    Thought so but wanted to clarify before playing with Terminal.

     

    Tried to post the files and this site keeps giving me the error:  The message contains invalid characters.

    UNBELIEVABLE! I will post what it will allow me. I replaced the offending characters with astericks.

     

    3226639 -rwxrw-rw-  1 501  20  5094350 Sep 29  2011 /Users/XXXXXXXXXX/.Trash/RI/ng (Disc 2)********* Let Yourself Be Breathed.apk

     

    /Users/XXXXXXXXXX/.Trash/RI/€****************************

         Chicory Tip:

    total 16

    3226612 drwxrwxrwx   4 501  20   136 Jul  4 15:01 .

    3226611 drwxrwxrwx  13 501  20   442 Jul  6 07:21 ..

    3226613 -rwxrw-rw-@  1 501  20  6148 Jul  5 15:35 .DS_Store

    3226614 drwxrwxrwx   3 501  20   102 Jul  3 13:38 Unknown Album

     

    /Users/XXXXXXXXXX/.Trash/RI/****************************

    total 0

    3226616 drwxrwxrwx   2 501  20   68 Mar 18  2022 .

    3226611 drwxrwxrwx  13 501  20  442 Jul  6 07:21 ..

     

    /Users/kXXXXXXXXXX/.Trash/RI/**************************** Spa Moods:

    total 0

    3226620 drwxrwxrwx   2 501  20   68 Apr  8  2022 .

    3226611 drwxrwxrwx  13 501  20  442 Jul  6 07:21 ..

     

    /Users/XXXXXXXXXX/.Trash/RI/****************************

    total 0

    3226617 drwxrwxrwx   3 501  20  102 Aug 23  2015 .

    3226611 drwxrwxrwx  13 501  20  442 Jul  6 07:21 ..

    3226618 drwxrwxrwx   3 501  20  102 Jul  3 13:38 80s Chart Toppers

     

    /Users/XXXXXXXXXX/.Trash/RI/Missing Folder 1187:

    total 31920

    3226635 drwxrwxrwx   3 501  20       102 Jul  4 12:11 .

    3226611 drwxrwxrwx  13 501  20       442 Jul  6 07:21 ..

    3226636 -rwxrw-rw-   1 501  20  16341311 Nov 12  2015 **************************** Country of Lemon Flowers.mp3

     

    /Users/XXXXXXXXXX/.Trash/RI/agle Eye Cherry€****************************Eagles:

    total 16

    3226621 drwxrwxrwx   5 501  20   170 Jul  4 15:01 .

    3226611 drwxrwxrwx  13 501  20   442 Jul  6 07:21 ..

    3226622 -rwxrw-rw-@  1 501  20  6148 Jul  4 15:01 .DS_Store

    3226623 drwxrwxrwx   3 501  20   102 Jul  3 13:38 **** Freezes Over

    3226625 drwxrwxrwx   3 501  20   102 Jul  3 13:38 Unknown Album

     

    /Users/XXXXXXXXXX/.Trash/RI/he Charlie Daniels Band€****************************

    total 0

    3226627 drwxrwxrwx   4 501  20  136 Aug 23  2015 .

    3226611 drwxrwxrwx  13 501  20  442 Jul  6 07:21 ..

    3226628 drwxrwxrwx   3 501  20  102 Jul  3 13:38 Hey Love, Vol. 2

    3226630 drwxrwxrwx   3 501  20  102 Jul  3 13:38 Were A Lover_ Brunswick

     

    /Users/XXXXXXXXXX/.Trash/RI/otti€****************************>Luciano Pavarotti; Kurt Adler_ National Philharmonic Orchestra:

    total 16

    3226640 drwxrwxrwx   4 501  20   136 Jul  4 15:01 .

    3226611 drwxrwxrwx  13 501  20   442 Jul  6 07:21 ..

    3226641 -rwxrw-rw-@  1 501  20  6148 Jul  4 15:01 .DS_Store

    3226642 drwxrwxrwx   3 501  20   102 Jul  3 13:38 The Ultimate Relaxation Christmas Album II

     

    /Users/XXXXXXXXXX/.Trash/RI/reg Jones€****************************Greg Kihn Band:

    total 16

    3226644 drwxrwxrwx   4 501  20   136 Jul  5 19:26 .

    3226611 drwxrwxrwx  13 501  20   442 Jul  6 07:21 ..

    3248122 -rw-rw-rw-@  1 501  20  6148 Jul  5 19:26 .DS_Store

    3226645 drwxrwxrwx   3 501  20   102 Jul  3 13:38 One Shot '80 - Vol.2

     

    /Users/XXXXXXXXXX/.Trash/RI/****************************Christina Grimmie€****************************Chistina Nilsson:

    total 0

    3226647 drwxrwxrwx   3 501  20  102 Dec  2  2015 .

    3226611 drwxrwxrwx  13 501  20  442 Jul  6 07:21 ..

    3226648 drwxrwxrwx   3 501  20  102 Jul  3 13:38 Last Christmas (Pure & Cool Relaxing Xmas Instrumentals)

    MacPro-2:~ XXXXXXXXX$

  • by cdhw,

    cdhw cdhw Jul 8, 2016 11:04 AM in response to 4injas
    Level 4 (2,653 points)
    Servers Enterprise
    Jul 8, 2016 11:04 AM in response to 4injas

    Try this Terminal command:

     

        find ~/.Trash/RI/ -inum 3226639 -exec rm {} \;

     

    and see if it successfully deletes 'Let Yourself Be Breathed.apk'.

     

    C.

  • by 4injas,

    4injas 4injas Jul 8, 2016 11:16 AM in response to cdhw
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 8, 2016 11:16 AM in response to cdhw

    Nope, still there.

     

    MacPro-2:~ xxxxxxxxxxx$ find ~/.Trash/RI/ -inum 3226639 -exec rm {} \;

    rm: /Users/xxxxxxxx/.Trash/RI//ng (Disc 2)H␀ο!2-06 Let Yourself Be Breathed.apk: Invalid argument

  • by cdhw,

    cdhw cdhw Jul 8, 2016 12:07 PM in response to 4injas
    Level 4 (2,653 points)
    Servers Enterprise
    Jul 8, 2016 12:07 PM in response to 4injas

    Try this variant of the Terminal command:

     

        find ~/.Trash/RI/ -inum 3226639 -delete

     

    and see if it successfully deletes 'Let Yourself Be Breathed.apk'.

     

    C.

  • by 4injas,

    4injas 4injas Jul 8, 2016 12:12 PM in response to cdhw
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 8, 2016 12:12 PM in response to cdhw

    Nope, invalid argument.

     

    I've never seen anything like this and I've worked with macs since the first model hit the streets. This is scary crazy.

  • by cdhw,

    cdhw cdhw Jul 8, 2016 12:12 PM in response to 4injas
    Level 4 (2,653 points)
    Servers Enterprise
    Jul 8, 2016 12:12 PM in response to 4injas

    Did you try using Disk Warrior to rebuild the startup drive's directory even though 'the startup drive is fine.' ?

     

    C.

  • by 4injas,

    4injas 4injas Jul 8, 2016 12:15 PM in response to cdhw
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 8, 2016 12:15 PM in response to cdhw

    Yes, I have rebuilt the directory on the start up drive. I think I'll try it again for sanity sake.

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