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Hi, i have 3 folders in Trash that will not delete.
I have used lsof in terminal to see what program is using them and nothing shows.
i have booted in safe mode and still unable to delete.
i have 'deleted immediately' and no luck.
the 3 folders are a Library folder from an old user account on the computer that was deleted a long time ago.
they take up zero bytes but it's irritating having the same error pop up whenever i empty trash.
thanks for your help.
MacBook Pro Retina
If you are running Catalina you will have to disable the SIP:
Turning Off Rootless System Integrity Protection in OS X El Capitan 10.11.x or Later
Again, the vast majority of Mac users should not disable rootless. Disabling rootless is aimed exclusively at advanced Mac users. Do so at your own risk, this is not specifically recommended.
Reboot the Mac and hold down Command + R keys after the startup chime, this will boot OS X into Recovery HD. When the Utility Menu appears, select the Terminal from the Utilities menu in the menubar. Paste the following command into the terminal then hit return: csrutil disable; reboot.
You’ll see a message saying that System Integrity Protection has been disabled, and the Mac needs to restart for changes to take effect. The Mac will then reboot itself automatically.
Once the Mac boots up again, System Integrity Protection will be disabled entirely in OS X.
How to Re-Enable Rootless System Integrity Protection in OS X
Simply reboot the Mac again from the Recovery HD as directed above, but at the command line use the following syntax instead: csrutil enable; reboot
If you are running Catalina you will have to disable the SIP:
Turning Off Rootless System Integrity Protection in OS X El Capitan 10.11.x or Later
Again, the vast majority of Mac users should not disable rootless. Disabling rootless is aimed exclusively at advanced Mac users. Do so at your own risk, this is not specifically recommended.
Reboot the Mac and hold down Command + R keys after the startup chime, this will boot OS X into Recovery HD. When the Utility Menu appears, select the Terminal from the Utilities menu in the menubar. Paste the following command into the terminal then hit return: csrutil disable; reboot.
You’ll see a message saying that System Integrity Protection has been disabled, and the Mac needs to restart for changes to take effect. The Mac will then reboot itself automatically.
Once the Mac boots up again, System Integrity Protection will be disabled entirely in OS X.
How to Re-Enable Rootless System Integrity Protection in OS X
Simply reboot the Mac again from the Recovery HD as directed above, but at the command line use the following syntax instead: csrutil enable; reboot
My Mac Won't Empty the Trash | Easy PC Tutorials
You can't empty the Trash or move a file to the Trash
Can't empty the trash after deleting backups via the Finder
Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on solving Trash issues. You can also try using Trash It! 5.1 to fix the problem. Or you can try this:
Open the Terminal in the Utilities' folder and paste the following at the prompt:
sudo rm -Rf ~/.Trash
Press RETURN. Enter your admin password when prompted. It will not echo to the screen. Press RETURN again.
If nothing has worked thus far, then try this:
Fix permissions on Trash folder
Select your Home folder and press COMMAND-I to open the Get Info window. Be sure you have "read & write" privileges in the Sharing & Permissions panel. Check under "General" panel to be sure it isn't locked. If that is correct, launch the Terminal on the Utilities folder, and at the prompt copy and paste this command:
mkdir ~/.Trash
Press RETURN. If you get a message that the folder already exists, copy & paste this command:
sudo chown $UID ~/ .Trash
Press RETURN. Enter your admin password (it will be invisible) Press RETURN. Then copy and paste this command:
chmod u+rwx ~/.Trash
Press RETURN. Log out and back in, or restart.
Thanks for your reply Kappy,
When i do the first suggestion i get a response on Terminal "Operation not permitted"
the folder exists and upon the chmod command i get the same "Operation not permitted"
I have full access to Read & Write, i too am admin
Sorry i do mean sudo Chown command
Trash won't delete
