Trash wont completely empty

[StudioAKT Conor]

Hey guys,

I'm having an annoying problem here with the trash. I was cleaning out my external HD, trash deleted everything except for this one folder which has absolutely nothing in it. It keeps saying it cant delete because its currently in use. I dont understand what could be using it as its just a folder with nothing in it?

I tried restarting, but that didnt work. When i unmount the external hd, the trash shows nothing in it, but when i mount again, it comes back. I also tried unmounting and then restarting but it still shows up in the trash, only when the drive is mounted.

Does anybody have any other things i can try to get rid of the folder?

Thanks for any help in advance.

 

[2nyRiggz]

Whats the name of the folder so i can tell you if you are making a mistake.


Bless

 

[Artful Dodger]

You can select the Secure Empty Trash by clicking Finder in the upper left corner of the menu bar. Just make sure you don't need it, then you should be all set.

 

[StudioAKT Conor]

Whats the name of the folder so i can tell you if you are making a mistake.


Bless

Its just a random folder i labeled "maryland pics", nothing system related, the contents inside were moved from the folder a long time ago. I noticed the folder was empty today so i deleted it.

 

[StudioAKT Conor]

You can select the Secure Empty Trash by clicking Finder in the upper left corner of the menu bar. Just make sure you don't need it, then you should be all set.

Tried that but it still tells me the folder is in use and cannot be deleted.

 

[2nyRiggz]

Try this(i'm trying to picture it) drag the folder to your desktop then unmount the HD....then delete it and tell me what happens(one of my tricks)


Bless

 

[jared_kipe]

Reboot. I've never had a mounting or trash problem a simple reboot won't fix.

 

[StudioAKT Conor]

Reboot. I've never had a mounting or trash problem a simple reboot won't fix.

Same here, but this time its not working.

Try this(i'm trying to picture it) drag the folder to your desktop then unmount the HD....then delete it and tell me what happens(one of my tricks)


Bless

When i drag it only copies the folder from the trash into my desktop. When the hd is unmounted, the trash is empty, it only shows up in the trash when the hd is mounted. I dont know what it could be doing with the folder, but its killing me.

 

[plinden]

Are you viewing the contents of the folder (from before you deleted it) in a Finder window? That's what that error message usually means.

 

[dsharits]

Are you viewing the contents of the folder (from before you deleted it) in a Finder window? That's what that error message usually means.

I have this same problem with a folder from my main drive, and I have no windows open, no programs open and nothing in the folder. I have tried logging out, restarting, cleaning with Onyx, force emptying the trash and copying it and moving it around etc. Nothing works.

 

[plinden]

Ok, how about dragging it from the Trash to the desktop, opening Terminal, then:
cd Desktop
rm -f <filename>
Be careful to include the filename.

 

[StudioAKT Conor]

I have this same problem with a folder from my main drive, and I have no windows open, no programs open and nothing in the folder. I have tried logging out, restarting, cleaning with Onyx, force emptying the trash and copying it and moving it around etc. Nothing works.

How did you force empty the trash?

Ok, how about dragging it from the Trash to the desktop, opening Terminal, then:
cd Desktop
rm -f <filename>
Be careful to include the filename.

When i drag it from the trash to the desktop it only copies it.

 

[dsharits]

How did you force empty the trash?

TechTool Pro has that function.

When i drag it from the trash to the desktop it only copies it.

Same here.

 

[dsharits]

I'm sorry, I meant to say Onyx, not TechTool Pro.

Anyways, I went back to that after nothing else worked, and I just tried force emptying it a few more times and it worked. Try that, it should work for you too.

 

[StudioAKT Conor]

I think i fixed it.

When i did get info on the folder in trash, it told me it was in a /.trashes folder on my external, i searched for this folder, opened it and it was empty.

I dragged the folder from the trash, into this folder and it emptied from the trash.

Im not sure what the purpose of the /.trashes folder is (in relation to the actual trash on my main) but it seemed to fix the problem.

 

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

Hold down option while Emptying the Trash... works (almost) every time...

Edit: Too slow...

 

[dsharits]

I think i fixed it.

When i did get info on the folder in trash, it told me it was in a /.trashes folder on my external, i searched for this folder, opened it and it was empty.

I dragged the folder from the trash, into this folder and it emptied from the trash.

Im not sure what the purpose of the /.trashes folder is, but it seemed to fix the problem.

Ahh, ok. I believe that /.trashes folder lets the finder know what files were in the trash from that hard drive, so each time you plug it in, the same files will be in the same places. It must have been corrupted somehow.

 

[StudioAKT Conor]

Ahh, ok. I believe that /.trashes folder lets the finder know what files were in the trash from that hard drive, so each time you plug it in, the same files will be in the same places. It must have been corrupted somehow.

Thats what im thinking as well. It still wont delete from the trash if i try, but as long as its in that folder, its not showing up in my trash bin, so it doesnt bother me at all.