as administrator don't have permission?

Despite being the administrator of my iMac system I receive error messages when attempting to delete an application indicating that I don't have permission to make that change. How do I correct this?

iMac, ipad, iphone

Posted on Jan 10, 2018 10:27 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jan 10, 2018 1:44 PM

Did it come with an uninstaller? Is the app currently running? Check using Activity Monitor. If you find any associated processes still showing in AM, then use it to kill those processes. Then see the following for removing them:


Basics for Uninstalling Software


Most OS X applications are completely self-contained "packages" that can be uninstalled by simply dragging the application to the Trash. Applications may create preference files that are stored in the /Home/Library/Preferences/ folder. Although they do nothing once you delete the associated application, they do take up some disk space. If you want you can look for them at the above location and delete them, too.


Some applications may install an uninstaller program that can be used to remove the application. If you cannot find the uninstaller then you could download the freeware, Easy Find, to locate files that need to be removed. The places you need to search include:


  1. /Home/Library/Applications Support/ folder. Check if the application has created a folder then delete the folder that's in the Applications Support folder.
  2. Applications may install a startupitem or a LogIn item. Startupitems are usually installed in the /Library/StartupItems/ folder or the /Home/Library/StartupItems/ folder. Login Items are set in the Users & Groups preferences. Open it in System Preferences, then click on the Login Items tab. Select the item from the list and click on the Delete [-] button to remove it.
  3. Some software use startup daemons or agents. Look for them in /Library/LaunchAgents/ and /Library/LaunchDaemons/ or in /Home/Library/LaunchAgents/.

Some applications install a receipt in the /Library/Receipts/ folder. Usually with the same name as the program or the developer. The item generally has a ".pkg" extension. Be sure you also delete this item as some programs use it to determine if it's already installed.There are many utilities that can uninstall applications. Here is a selection:

  1. AppZapper
  2. AppDelete
  3. Hazel
  4. AppCleaner
  5. CleanApp
  6. iTrash
  7. AppBolish
  8. AppUninstaller
  9. Uninstaller


For more information visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on removing software.

12 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jan 10, 2018 1:44 PM in response to shermanss

Did it come with an uninstaller? Is the app currently running? Check using Activity Monitor. If you find any associated processes still showing in AM, then use it to kill those processes. Then see the following for removing them:


Basics for Uninstalling Software


Most OS X applications are completely self-contained "packages" that can be uninstalled by simply dragging the application to the Trash. Applications may create preference files that are stored in the /Home/Library/Preferences/ folder. Although they do nothing once you delete the associated application, they do take up some disk space. If you want you can look for them at the above location and delete them, too.


Some applications may install an uninstaller program that can be used to remove the application. If you cannot find the uninstaller then you could download the freeware, Easy Find, to locate files that need to be removed. The places you need to search include:


  1. /Home/Library/Applications Support/ folder. Check if the application has created a folder then delete the folder that's in the Applications Support folder.
  2. Applications may install a startupitem or a LogIn item. Startupitems are usually installed in the /Library/StartupItems/ folder or the /Home/Library/StartupItems/ folder. Login Items are set in the Users & Groups preferences. Open it in System Preferences, then click on the Login Items tab. Select the item from the list and click on the Delete [-] button to remove it.
  3. Some software use startup daemons or agents. Look for them in /Library/LaunchAgents/ and /Library/LaunchDaemons/ or in /Home/Library/LaunchAgents/.

Some applications install a receipt in the /Library/Receipts/ folder. Usually with the same name as the program or the developer. The item generally has a ".pkg" extension. Be sure you also delete this item as some programs use it to determine if it's already installed.There are many utilities that can uninstall applications. Here is a selection:

  1. AppZapper
  2. AppDelete
  3. Hazel
  4. AppCleaner
  5. CleanApp
  6. iTrash
  7. AppBolish
  8. AppUninstaller
  9. Uninstaller


For more information visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on removing software.

Jan 10, 2018 2:22 PM in response to shermanss

Have you tried any Terminal commands? What are the item's permissions? Select it then press Command-I to open the Get Info window and look at the bottom pane, Sharing & Permissions. Take a snap of the entire panel to post here:


To Post A Screen Shot


  1. Press Command-Shift-4 which will change the cursor to crosshairs.
  2. Hold down the mouse button and use the crosshairs to select the part of the screen you wish to capture.
  3. Release the mouse button and the image will be saved to your Desktop.
  4. Open the editor here and drag the image into the editor's window; or if there is a failure, then go to Steps 5 and 6.
  5. Click on the Camera icon in the toolbar of the forum message editor.
  6. Drag the image onto the Choose File button and click on the Insert button.

Jan 10, 2018 1:32 PM in response to Kappy

There is an application, CrashPlan, that I no longer use, that I want to delete from my system.

I've been unable to. I get messages that I don't have permission or that the app is locked. In the last few minutes I spoke to the tech support people of the developer and they have have been unable to find a way for me to delete the app. Not really a problem. I'll just leave it as it is as I don't use it. Thank you for your help.

Jan 10, 2018 1:55 PM in response to Kappy

Again thank you. There was no uninstall program. The tech support people gave me commands to uninstall that didn't work. Neither did AppCleaner which I've used for some time. It is when I used it that I got the "no permission" error message. It been removed from 'login items' and Activity monitor as well. Not a big deal if it remains on my system.

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as administrator don't have permission?

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