03-21-2012, 06:49 PM

I copied my documents folder to an external drive and then used the dashboard shredder to remove the files from my imac before I brought it in for service. I should have known something would go wrong since the shredder utility said "not possible" but deleted the contents of each file none the less. The shredder program removed the data in each file but the files are still listed in my Documents folder with zero kb size listed. When I try to drag and drop my archived documents into the computer's Documents folder it wont let me. However, I can copy them anywhere else on the comp and I can copy things into folders that exist in the Documents folder. I figure the shredder app corrupted the current folder. I tried deleting files and folders in in the Documents folder but I am asked for my password and when I enter it, nothing happens.

I looked around but before I do anything I am hoping one of you guru's can confirm my actions before I go making things worse. After investigation I figure I can use the Terminal and delete the whole Documents folder using something like "rm -rf Documents", or, something similar that will force delete everything in the Documents folder (46 files and folders so preferably something where I do not have to type each name). Is this right? Can I create a new Documents folder to replace the one I delete?

Any help much appreciated!

Late 2010 27" imac
OS 10.6.8
2.93 GHz i7

03-21-2012, 07:02 PM

Did you try restarting your machine and see if that sorts the issues?

03-21-2012, 07:08 PM

Yeah, i have restarted. No improvement

03-22-2012, 12:38 PM

Bump,

Anyone?

03-22-2012, 12:48 PM

I tried to drop my back-up documents folder into the home directory in hopes to replace the bad documents folder and i get an error saying documents cant be removed because it is needed by mac OS.

Basically i am looking for help on how to delete my corrupted Documents folder that exists in my home directory with a working back-up i have on an external drive.

As a student, I am desperate to get back to work but this is making it really difficult and I am not proficient enough to solve this issue on my own though it gives me an opportunity to learn more about my machine.

Thanks

03-22-2012, 04:44 PM

Create a new user account and use Migration Assistant to copy your backup into it. When you're sure it's all working, delete your old user account.

03-22-2012, 11:12 PM

After a lot of trial and error I created a new admin user and transferred everything from my original account to the new account except for my documents folder. However I was still unable to copy the backup files into the new documents folder. However, I did learn that it was a permissions error after all.

I found BatChmod Download BatChmod for Mac - Change file ownership & permissions. MacUpdate.com and used it on my back-up folder. For the heck of it I then used it on the original corrupted documents folder and whallah! I was then able to delete all of the corrupted files and then import the back-up into my original user doc folder. Super stoked!

Thanks a lot for the suggestion northrnchimp. I really appreciate it, Very happy to have my machine back.