I can't delete files and folders in trash sent from external hard drive used by Time Machine

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Level 1

5 points

I can't delete files and folders in trash sent from external hard drive used by Time Machine

I can't delete files and folders in trash sent from external hard drive used by Time Machine. I cleaned up my external Seagate Backup Plus drive by moving items I no longer needed to trash, When I try to empty the trash I get an error message: "The operation can’t be completed because the item “20080208” is in use." on every file and folder in the trash. When I eject the external drive from my iMac the deleted items in the trash disappear, however these items reappear once I remount the external drive. How can I delete these files once and for all?

iMac, OS X El Capitan (10.11.6)

Posted on May 25, 2017 12:39 PM

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Answer 1

macjack

Level 10

111,242 points

May 25, 2017 1:12 PM in response to Black_Koga

Black_Koga wrote:

I'm not deleting ANY TM files or folders.

OK, got it. In that case try holding the Option key while deleting from Trash.

If that doesn't work see this Apple Support Topic:

If you can't empty the Trash on your Mac - Apple Support

Or, try Trash it

http://nonamescriptware.com/downloads/

If still no go, try the original solution I posted.

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Answer 2

macjack

Level 10

111,242 points

May 25, 2017 12:51 PM in response to Black_Koga

Never attempt to delete Time Machine folders via Finder.

Try this: You'll need to turn off System Integrity Protection, delete the items in trash, then turn it back on

Boot up command-R into Recovery

Then, go to the Utilities menu and choose Terminal.

At the prompt copy and paste this command

csrutil disable

Press return.

Then start your Mac and empty Trash

Then re-enable SIP in Terminal with this command:

csrutil enable

Press return.

Restart your Mac.

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Answer 3

Black_Koga Author

Level 1

5 points

May 25, 2017 12:59 PM in response to macjack

I'm not deleting ANY TM files or folders. These are files and folders that reside on the same 1TB ED. TM backups are in a separate folder.

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Answer 4

May 25, 2017 1:00 PM in response to Black_Koga

Stop emailing me

Sent from my iPhone

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Answer 5

May 25, 2017 1:16 PM in response to macjack

Stop emailing me

Sent from my iPhone

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Answer 6

macjack

Level 10

111,242 points

May 25, 2017 1:54 PM in response to Gibbs379g

We are not emailing you. Those emails are being sent by ASC because you turned them on. Click on your icon/name then go to Preferences > Email preferences and uncheck mark all.

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