Applications :: Can't Delete Locked File - How To Fix It
May 31, 2010
After getting my flash drive back from a friend, it had a Win32 virus on it. These are normally locked, and I usually just go into Get Info and unlock it. This particular file, however, doesn't let me unlock it. And since I can't unlock it, I can't delete it.
After I installed OS X I decided to go through my other partitions & do a little spring cleaning. In all, I trashed over 400MB of crap, but one file has refused to be deleted (it's a locked file left over from the old 3Com ISDN modem I had). When I try to empty the trash I get the following message:
"The operation cannot be completed because the item 'IQ320.BIN' is locked."
So, I look through the system help & find out that I either need to log in to OS X as the user who created the document ('root') or restart into OS 9 & unlock it from there.
Well, neither tactic has worked thus far. I restarted into OS 9 but found out that I can't access the file because it's in the trash (in OS X), which is an invisible directory (/Langly/.Trashes/102/). So then I restarted into OS X, logged in as root, but I still couldn't delete it. Desperate, I opened terminal, switched to root (su) found the files, but still can't delete the darned file. I tried rm, mv (thought if I moved it to somewhere that OS 9 could see it...), even chown, but each time I got "Operation not permitted." Any thoughts out there?
i was burning some documents for somebody i know because there CD drive correctly. she gave me all of the files on a thumb drive, and one of them was a locked PDF file, i dragged all of the docs to my desktop, burned them to a CD, then deleted them all, but the locked PDF just gives me an error. how can i unlock it/ delete it?
when trying to unlock the usual way (right click - get info - uncheck the locked box) it will not allow to uncheck, the check mark just keeps coming back. Troubleshooting already done:
- Tried a disk repair, this didn't work
- Logged in as Admin and tried deleting the file, this didn't work
- launching terminal and "sudo rm -f" -- this idea didn't work either
I was helping a friend by reformatting his pc and reinstalling windows because it was slow, when I was downloading the drivers for it on my MacBook Pro (didn't have access to the router since it's downstairs and his pc didn't have a wireless card), it downloaded a folder filled with locked files, it comes several folders deep and all of the files are locked, fun. So I tried to delete it using sudo rm -r, but it says I don't have sufficient privileges, anyone know a command I can use to delete it all? I'd rather not do it by hand, that'd take forever.
I need some guidance getting the items I have on my computer permanently deleted from the trash. When I go to delete them I get the following message below and I can't delete anything. What do I need to do?
Message Received: This operation can not be completed because the item is locked wmphelp.htm wmpicon.gif windowshade.gif whatsnew.htm volume.gif viewinginfo.htm upgradingwmp.htm And the list just goes on .......
So I had this Windows folder on an external HD that I tried to delete on my Mac. I've tried option+click to delete the trash, I tried secure empty trash and they didn't work. I also tried to unlock the folder but it just won't unlock.
How do I delete apps from iPad one? The icons jiggle but there are no x's or lines to click for delete. I read once about resetting to Original condition, which is fine BUT My Passcode ,inside setting Is unknown, locked. I have about 22 failed trials. I am not talking about the password to log onto my iPad.
I'm trying to delete items from my computer that no longer use and need the space and it gives me this message: 'The operation can't be completed because the item AppleWorks 6 is in use". Any idea how I can delete everything even the locked items?
I am working on clearing off some hard drive space, and my first step was to remove some unneeded items from an external HD to make some space there. When I drag the folder I'm trying to delete to the trash, I first get a message that the items will be immediately deleted (I think because my internal HD is quite full?) and that's fine because I do want to delete these, so I say OK. It starts the process of deleting, and counting how many files it's deleting, then gives me a message that the operation cannot be completed because item "xx" is locked. The only solutions I have found on here involve unlocking "xx" but my problem is, when I search the computer and/or the external for item "xx" nothing is found. I'm really not sure if the issue with item "xx" is an issue with the drive or with the computer, or what to do about it?? If it's the drive, I suppose I could back up what I do want to save from the drive then re-format it?
Info: iMac (24-inch Early 2008), Mac OS X (10.6.8)
I was copying some music over from a CD onto my computer and I can listen to it all on itunes but it still says it's copying over. I can't eject the CD because it says it's still in use! What do I do to make this stupid transfer box go away!?
I have a portable harddrive (Western Digital) for my Mac. I plugged it into my buddies Windows computer to copy some movie files that I am editing for our film.
My problem is with 300+ files in 2 folders that are left over from mac 9. They are in the trash, and are now locked, utterly. When I try to empty the trash, the error message says "The operation cannot be completed because you do not have sufficient privileges for some of the items." As you may know, when dealing with multiple "disks" (read: partitions), Mac X puts a .Trash or .Trashes folder on each disk. The trash folders on my computer are located on the following paths:
I have all my photos in folders, and I guess I must have imported some of them into iPhoto a while back because I just found a 2 GB "iPhoto Library" file. I don't actually use iPhoto at all, so I'd much rather use the 2 GB for something I actually use If I deleted that file, is there a chance I'd lose actual photos? All the photos are still located in the original folders, not any special iPhoto folders.
i install some plugins for Premerie and Final Cut. After that a file __MACOSX appears in my applications, does any knows what it is? And can i delete it or it will harm my mac.
Info: MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.3), i7 quad core 2.3GHz,8 Gb Ram
well we bought a second hand micro sd card from ebay. i was using it fine on osx no problems but when my brother put it on his pc there seems to be a worm on the card as his virus protection pops up. using my mac i am able to pinpoint the worm file but its a locked file and osx wont let me delet it or move it to the trash because its a locked file.
my question is how can i delet this file so my brother is able to use on his pc?
When I used to delete a song from my iTunes library it would ask me if I wanted to also remove it completely from my computer. Now it no longer does and I cannot find a option to get that back. Can someone tell me where I can get iTunes to do this again?
I'm trying to edit a .plist file within a application Package (through "Show Package Content"). I edit the file in my favorite XML editor great, but when I go to save it the file is locked. How can I work around this?
Getinfo on the file shows that I have permission and the file is NOT locked.
I unintentionally locked a file in Pages so now when I try to add additional information to that file and try to save it I get the message that I can't alter that file by adding additional information. How do I unlock a Pages file that has been locked?
Using Lion, I have tried to re-size an image using Preview and every time I try to save my edited image it tells me I do not have permission to save this/the file is locked when I have full permissions to do so and the file is NOT locked.
This morning I suddenly found out that, on my new macbook pro, command-delete will delete the file (with the warning window) immediately without putting it into trash first. This function works well yesterday.
I use an external hard drive for Time Machine backups and to store some larger video files in a folder called Videos. The Videos folder on the external drive is now locked and I can't unlock it. I go to Get Info, hit the lock icon and enter my password, but the "Locked" checkbox is greyed out in the General section. In the Sharing and Permissions section, instead of displaying my name, it says "Fetching . . ." and I can't change the Privilege from "Write Only".
Info: MacBook Pro (15-inch Early 2011), Mac OS X (10.7.3)
I am relatively new to the Mac. I have a Macbook Pro 2.2GHz. Today, a file keeps popping up on my desktop. It is named .DS_Store. The icon looks like a text document. I won't open it cuz I'm afraid of what it is, lol (Windows still clogging my brain). Anyway, I can drag it to the trash and delete the trash, but after a bit, it reappears.
when i try to delete items from my trash bin i get the following message even when i hold down the option key (upon which the eye symbol turns into a play button) and try to empty the trash like it instructs me to do it gives me the same error message.
I am trying to delete an XLS file from a network drive and am getting a message that says the file cannot be deleted because it is in use.I can't see where it is in use and have tried to reboot the computer to no avail. I can delete other files but several XLS files are giving me this message.
I can't seem to edit any pictures with Preview anymore since I upgraded to Lion. Every time I try to save an image after resizing or whatever, it says the file is locked. If I check the info of the file the "locked" checkmark is unchecked. And I have all the permissions to the file. Tried everything, switched the "lock after 2 weeks" thing of in Time Machine (even though tha would probably not help: images I took today are still "locked" in Preview), tried copying them and then saving them, and tried to lock them and then unlock them, but I can't seem to edit and save them.