Sponsored Links Use third-party utilities There are many third-party utility apps to forcibly empty the Trash folder. For most users, this means that you may never have to manually Empty the Trash again. Note: If you are wondering whether the trash folder has got deleted documents, you need to check the icon which will show crumpled paper. If the issue persists, reply and we will be happy to help you. If you are not Mac newbie, please ignore this section and read on to get to the main point of this article. To free up hard drive space, you need to actually empty your Mac trash.
I would never recommend the use of this command to anyone because I can never be sure that they are as careful as I am. For more information on the same, refer to the following link. I've looked through every thread on every forum I could find on google. Or you can also use command and delete button at the same time for choosing a file and then moving the files to the trash. Sierra thinks they are in use. It will look like nothing has changed. Here we explore these different ways step by step through the different sections.
There are a few reasons that your Mac might think an item is in use when you know that it isn't, including the possibility that the program it was opened with thinks you are still using it. In the drop down, you need to click on terminal. Want news and tips from TekRevue delivered directly to your inbox? If you want to preview a file in Trash before deleting, you'll need to pull the file out of the bin and double-click it to open it up and preview. Because it has attracted low-quality or spam answers that had to be removed, posting an answer now requires 10 on this site the. Or select the item and press Command-Delete. Maybe an item has a special character that makes your Mac think it's too important to just delete. You could also press Command, Shift and Delete buttons in order to remove the trash completely.
Then try to delete the file, if the error message appears again, please restart your Mac. How can I delete the backups? In many but not all cases, troublesome files reside on an external volume or drive. Sometimes, you thought you have closed all app that are possibly using the file while your Mac thought otherwise. How can I get the deleted files back on Mac? Failing all that - I'd be tempted to move your wanted messages to various new mailboxes, in modest numbers per mailbox - perhaps not numbered in the 10 000's? Click on the Trash icon in the Dock to open it in Finder. Please no not laugh, I am not very knowledgeable in this matter. The hidden attribute is not the problem.
Release the keys pressed and held in step 2. I would personally not recommend downloading and using them. Manually deleting Time Machine backups via Finder — which is a big no-no — commonly triggers these problems, for example. If you have them installed, give it a try. A restart can terminate the background processes. Your Mac will enter into recovery mode.
However, if the problem persists and you are unable to empty the trash folder you might want to resort to force clearing of the trash folder on your Mac. When finished, restart your Mac and try to force empty the Trash as described above. It would be really nice if you share your feedback and let us know whether you have found success using these fixes. I got rid of all the. Firstly, make sure the file or folder is not stuck.
Use the mouse to drag the document icons above the trash can in the dock. Even if the files are all relatively small, they can cumulatively add up to many gigabytes of wasted space. These usually pile up in the trash and that can take up space on the hard drive. I tried logging on to the server online and batch deleting from my trash folder. Quit all open applications, and then try to empty the Trash. Can't Empty the Mac Trash? If that does not help, do get back to us and we would be glad to assist you. The Finder menu has the option to empty trash.
Using Terminal to empty Trash is the ultimate solution you should take, only if all of the above have failed. The problem is with these folders. I'm gonna try repairing disk permissions, but before I do, is there something I'm missing here? So even if your folder's busy flag is set, it should still be removable if lsof shows nothing. This content has been , and is no longer maintained by Indiana University. However, you should follow the steps very carefully, otherwise, it will erase all your data.
From the File menu, select Get Info. In the list that appears, simply drag the document back onto the desktop or into the folder where it used to reside. If you actually want the disk space marked as free for other uses, this is usually not enough. Do you receive any error messages? When the Finder asks you if you want to replace it, click Yes or Replace, and then throw the moved item away. I tried deleting the email account and creating a new one on Outlook.