Can't delete alias moved during Catalina install

[Frank O]

When I upgraded a 2015 MacBook Pro from Mojave to Catalina, a "/Users/Shared/Relocated items" was created with an alias on the Desktop. This included an alias "/Users/Shared/Relocated items/Security/usr/X11R6" which points to "/opt/X11".

When I try to delete the X11R6 alias with "sudo rm X11R6" in Terminal, I get an error "Operation not permitted". In Finder, I'm not allowed to drag it to the trash. How can I delete the alias X11R6?

 

[barbu]

I’d just ignore it. An alias won’t harm anything.

 

[fisherking]

any better after a reboot? or can you at least move it somewhere out of view? or is it stuck to the desktop? (you could also try changing finder settings, ie icon view size, etc... see if anything shakes it loose).

 

[Frank O]

any better after a reboot? or can you at least move it somewhere out of view? or is it stuck to the desktop? (you could also try changing finder settings, ie icon view size, etc... see if anything shakes it loose).

No change after reboot.

I was able to delete the top folder alias from the desktop, it's just the folders and alias under "/Users/Shared/Relocated Items" I'm trying to get rid of.

As barbu says I could just ignore it, and it's pretty far out of view now. More curious than anything, really, about why the alias can't be deleted normally and if there's a workaround. I can understand that in a normal installation it could be an important system item, but in the "Relocated Items" folder I assume it's just expendable junk.

 

[DeltaMac]

macOS is fairly protective about certain parts of the system.
You can likely bypass most "Operation not permitted" by disabling SIP. (google that) Some folks disable SIP immediately, and leave it disabled, but I usually would re-enable SIP after completing whatever task you need.

 

[Frank O]

macOS is fairly protective about certain parts of the system.
You can likely bypass most "Operation not permitted" by disabling SIP. (google that) Some folks disable SIP immediately, and leave it disabled, but I usually would re-enable SIP after completing whatever task you need.

Thanks, that sounds promising. But the online guides to disabling SIP that I found all started with these steps:

• Reboot your Mac into Recovery Mode by restarting your computer and holding down Command+R until the Apple logo appears on your screen.
• Click Utilities > Terminal.

When I reboot into Recovery Mode, it only offers a small selection of actions, such as restoring from Time Machine or reinstalling macOS, etc. There doesn't seem to be any way to get from there to Terminal. No option like that under the Apple menu.

 

[fisherking]

Thanks, that sounds promising. But the online guides to disabling SIP that I found all started with these steps:

• Reboot your Mac into Recovery Mode by restarting your computer and holding down Command+R until the Apple logo appears on your screen.
• Click Utilities > Terminal.

When I reboot into Recovery Mode, it only offers a small selection of actions, such as restoring from Time Machine or reinstalling macOS, etc. There doesn't seem to be any way to get from there to Terminal. No option like that under the Apple menu.

under utilities (along with disk first aid, etc)...

 

[DeltaMac]

Terminal is under the Utilities menu, when you are booted to the Recovery system.

If you see the spinning globe at any part of the boot, then you are booting into Internet Recovery, which will not support disabling SIP. You have to be booted to the normal recovery system (which I suppose you could call "Recovery mode), booted holding Command+R
I don't think you will see First Aid in that Utilities menu now, but you should see the Startup Security Utility, Network Utility, and - the Terminal.

 

[barbu]

But whhhy do any of this? I don’t see a problem to be solved and yet we are already neck deep in disabling SIP from the recovery partition? This is negative value effort.

 

[fisherking]

But whhhy do any of this? I don’t see a problem to be solved and yet we are already neck deep in disabling SIP from the recovery partition? This is negative value effort.

why can't the OP try to resolve this if they want to? & what's wrong with disabling SIP if that solves it? easy enough to reboot & re-enable it (i've done that numerous times).

 

[barbu]

Yeah it’s fine, just... I don’t think it’s worth it.

 

[Frank O]

Terminal is under the Utilities menu, when you are booted to the Recovery system.

under utilities (along with disk first aid, etc)...

Thanks, missed it on the first look but found it later. Disabling SIP, deleting the alias and reenabling SIP worked great. Appreciate the help, and learned something new today (about SIP and how it works).

But whhhy do any of this? I don’t see a problem to be solved and yet we are already neck deep in disabling SIP from the recovery partition? This is negative value effort.

You make a completely valid point -- the "Relocated items"'s existence under /Users/Shared is unlikely to be something I'd ever notice. It was really more a learning experience -- finding the alias undeletable was the first clue that eventually led me to finding out more about Catalina's introduction of the read-only system volume.

 

[Analog Kid]

But whhhy do any of this? I don’t see a problem to be solved and yet we are already neck deep in disabling SIP from the recovery partition? This is negative value effort.

Because it's really annoying to have Apple staple unneeded files to random places in your file system. I had to go through similar gymnastics to move the backup of my 1TB iPad out of my 1TB boot drive.

The protections provided by SIP are quite important and useful-- always reenable them-- but at times like this it's maddening not to have full control over your filesystem. If Apple kept to their own side of the fence it would be fine, but locking down things in the Recovered Items folder is them playing on my side of the fence.