Folders being repopulated after deletion

sparkyvision · sparkyvision #1 (**permalink**)

12-24-2009, 12:14 AM

New MacBook Pro with Snow Leopard.

I've enabled the root user to rename / organize my home directory the way I like it. In this case, I renamed "Movies" to "video", and every so often the folder "Movies" reappears in my home directory, annoying the crap out of my OCD hard drive organization soul. I have to go back and rm -rf it as root or sudo - I can't just drag it to the trash because I get a "(folder name) can’t be modified or deleted because it’s required by Mac OS X".

Yeah, whatever, I'm root, suck it, Mac OS. But I would like to keep this folder from coming back. I'm from a Windows administration background, where I could just set up an auditing log to see what process was creating the file...is there some way to do this on OSX? Or should I just create a hidden folder named "Movies" and chmod the heck out of it so nothing can overwrite it and I don't have to be annoyed by it anymore?

Thanks!

Slydude · Slydude #2 (**permalink**)

12-24-2009, 01:05 AM

The Unix geeks (gurus

) around here may have a better answer but I think that folder is going to keep re-spawning. The OS is expecting that folder to be present. Some other software (such as iMovie and Front Row) expects it as well. I wonder if it would be possible to make the folder invisible? That way you don't see it but it is still present.

toMACsh · toMACsh #3 (**permalink**)

12-24-2009, 09:42 AM

Fix your attitude, and leave the folder names alone. The OS will continue to create those folders, whether you like it or not. That's just the way it is. Accept it.

bobtomay · bobtomay #4 (**permalink**)

12-24-2009, 09:59 AM

Yep, that's a system folder. Anytime something runs that expects that folder to be there, it's going to pop back up again. Slydude has a good idea to try. Rename it with a dot in front of it and see it that'll work.

sparkyvision · sparkyvision #5 (**permalink**)

12-29-2009, 10:36 PM

Solution!

Edited visudo to allow a specific script to be run without asking for permission.

sparky localhost=(root) NOPASSWD: /Users/sparky/scripts/delete-annoying-folders-dammit

Then created the script:

#!/bin/sh
rm -rf /Users/sparky/Movies
rm -rf /Users/sparky/Pictures

Set the execute bit, added the script as a login hook, PROBLEM GONE.

Woo!

sparkyvision #1 (permalink)
Member Since: Dec 24, 2009 Posts: 2	12-24-2009, 12:14 AM New MacBook Pro with Snow Leopard. I've enabled the root user to rename / organize my home directory the way I like it. In this case, I renamed "Movies" to "video", and every so often the folder "Movies" reappears in my home directory, annoying the crap out of my OCD hard drive organization soul. I have to go back and rm -rf it as root or sudo - I can't just drag it to the trash because I get a "(folder name) can’t be modified or deleted because it’s required by Mac OS X". Yeah, whatever, I'm root, suck it, Mac OS. But I would like to keep this folder from coming back. I'm from a Windows administration background, where I could just set up an auditing log to see what process was creating the file...is there some way to do this on OSX? Or should I just create a hidden folder named "Movies" and chmod the heck out of it so nothing can overwrite it and I don't have to be annoyed by it anymore? Thanks! Last edited by sparkyvision; 12-24-2009 at 12:19 AM.
	QUOTE Thanks

Slydude #2 (permalink)
Member Since: Nov 15, 2009 Location: North Louisiana, USA Posts: 4,026 Mac Specs: 2.8 GHz MacBook Pro 10.8,3 8 GB mem, 2.66 GHz Mac Pro - Dead, iPhone 4	12-24-2009, 01:05 AM The Unix geeks (gurus) around here may have a better answer but I think that folder is going to keep re-spawning. The OS is expecting that folder to be present. Some other software (such as iMovie and Front Row) expects it as well. I wonder if it would be possible to make the folder invisible? That way you don't see it but it is still present. Sylvester Roque Former Contributing Editor About This Particular Macintosh No matter what time it is where I am it's early morning somewhere in the world. At that hour of the morning follow my advice at your own risk. Anything sounds good before your first cup of coffee
	QUOTE Thanks

bobtomay #4 (permalink)
Member Since: Dec 22, 2006 Location: Texas, where else? Posts: 22,038 Mac Specs: 15" MBP 2.33 C2D 256 4GB, MBA 13" i7 1.8, MB 2.0 2GB, Nano 4th, 3GS, iPad 1	12-24-2009, 09:59 AM Yep, that's a system folder. Anytime something runs that expects that folder to be there, it's going to pop back up again. Slydude has a good idea to try. Rename it with a dot in front of it and see it that'll work. I cannot be held responsible for the things that come out of my mouth. In the Windows world, most everything folks don't understand is called a virus. Last edited by bobtomay; 12-24-2009 at 10:08 AM.
	QUOTE Thanks

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sparkyvision #5 (permalink)
Member Since: Dec 24, 2009 Posts: 2	12-29-2009, 10:36 PM Solution! Edited visudo to allow a specific script to be run without asking for permission. sparky localhost=(root) NOPASSWD: /Users/sparky/scripts/delete-annoying-folders-dammit Then created the script: #!/bin/sh rm -rf /Users/sparky/Movies rm -rf /Users/sparky/Pictures Set the execute bit, added the script as a login hook, PROBLEM GONE. Woo!
	QUOTE Thanks

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