How can I delete a file/folder when Finder says it is "in use" although it is not (nor has been since 2016 at least!!)?
macOS Sierra (10.12.5), Calendar 9.0,Mail 10.3,Contacts 10.
Open the Terminal from the Utilities’ folder. Enter the following at the prompt:
sudo rm -rf <---- Drag the file to this point. But first, add one space at the end of the line.
Press RETURN. Enter your admin password which is not echoed to the window. Press RETURN again.
Thanks John. Sorry to be slow replying.
In fact Kappy's Terminal command worked beautifully.
FYI though, I was trying to delete some (but not all) old Time Machine backup folders from an external hard drive, following migrating to a new iMac, and the simple "Empty trash" button required constant monitoring (for hours!) to click the Skip or Continue buttons every time Finder encountered an "In use" item and paused for input.
The Terminal command just continues (still for hours, but I don't have to watch over it :-).
The answer depends on what it is. Can you identify that file/folder by name?
Many thanks Kappy: that works!
How can I delete a file/folder when Finder says it is "in use" although it is not (nor has been since 2016 at least!!)?
