Ghost Files On Mac Osx

ikonogramma · ikonogramma #1 (**permalink**)

02-04-2007, 01:49 PM

Im very lost with this strange thing. I have some files and folders on my Mac OSX 10.4.8 that I trashed and still appear on my desktop or inside the folder. You can see the name of them but no icon, when I try to click tehm and drag them to the trash again, the icons dissapear and dont come back until you put another thing around and then it pops again.

I ve been doing all the maintenance with ONYX, erasing cache, rebooting, and practicually doing everything. Even I used Disk Utlility and verifying all permisions and the HD with no problem.

of course I ran virus detector, finding nothing.

Im a little worry I have back up everything, but I dont want to loose any files.

PLEASE HEEEELP!!!!

Thx
A.

cazabam · cazabam #2 (**permalink**)

02-04-2007, 04:04 PM

Interesting ... try this:

Open Terminal (Applications/Utilities/Terminal) and type these commands:

cd Desktop
ls -a

See if anything shows up. If you've got nothing on your desktop there should be nothing in there. If there are things in there, do this:

rm -f <name of mystery file>

If there is nothing displayed there, I'm at a bit of a loss. Try going to Finder and your Home directory, then navigate to Library/Caches/Desktop and delete all the files in there (well, move them to the Trash) and restart Finder. You can do this by pressing command-option-escape, clicking 'Finder' in the list that appears and pressing the 'Relaunch' button.

novicew · novicew #3 (**permalink**)

02-04-2007, 04:36 PM

We can help you more if you make a screenshot of the files and post it here.

There are certain files like .DS_Store which will be created by the system to store Windows position, Size, etc. If that case you don't have to worry at all.

ikonogramma · ikonogramma #4 (**permalink**)

02-04-2007, 06:57 PM

did what you say and this is what I got:

rm: illegal option -- .
usage: rm [-f | -i] [-dPRrvW] file ...
unlink file

It appear a strange file without a name but with a long number

karudzo · karudzo #5 (**permalink**)

02-04-2007, 09:19 PM

You likely are seeing hidden system files. Somehow you turned the viewing of hidden files on. Do the following to turn it off:
1. Open Terminal.
2. Type:
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles FALSE
killall Finder
3. Finder will restart and the files should disapear.

ikonogramma · ikonogramma #6 (**permalink**)

02-05-2007, 09:18 AM

I thank you for you answer, but now it is getting worse!!! Im loosing some mp3 files. In iTunes I see the files with an exclamation sign when I double click them the system says the files cannot be used because it cannot find the orginal file. AND IT IS NOT IN my HD!!! I did not deleted them!! or move them, what the heck is going on??

cazabam · cazabam #7 (**permalink**)

02-05-2007, 12:43 PM

It sounds like you're suffering some serious file system corruption. Boot off your installation CD or DVD and when it starts, choose Disk Utility and run a scan on your hard disk.

ikonogramma · ikonogramma #8 (**permalink**)

02-05-2007, 02:27 PM

I did that the HD is all right. It pass the test. Still lost!

MacHeadCase · MacHeadCase #9 (**permalink**)

02-05-2007, 05:41 PM

You should buy Alsoft's DiskWarrior. It works wonders on big problems.

ikonogramma #4 (permalink)
Member Since: Feb 04, 2007 Posts: 17	02-04-2007, 06:57 PM did what you say and this is what I got: rm: illegal option -- . usage: rm [-f \| -i] [-dPRrvW] file ... unlink file It appear a strange file without a name but with a long number Last edited by ikonogramma; 02-04-2007 at 07:00 PM.
	QUOTE Thanks

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ikonogramma #1 (permalink)
Member Since: Feb 04, 2007 Posts: 17	02-04-2007, 01:49 PM Im very lost with this strange thing. I have some files and folders on my Mac OSX 10.4.8 that I trashed and still appear on my desktop or inside the folder. You can see the name of them but no icon, when I try to click tehm and drag them to the trash again, the icons dissapear and dont come back until you put another thing around and then it pops again. I ve been doing all the maintenance with ONYX, erasing cache, rebooting, and practicually doing everything. Even I used Disk Utlility and verifying all permisions and the HD with no problem. of course I ran virus detector, finding nothing. Im a little worry I have back up everything, but I dont want to loose any files. PLEASE HEEEELP!!!! Thx A.
	QUOTE Thanks

cazabam #2 (permalink)
Member Since: Jun 06, 2006 Posts: 1,153 Mac Specs: MacBook 2.0GHz White, 512MB RAM, 60GB HDD	02-04-2007, 04:04 PM Interesting ... try this: Open Terminal (Applications/Utilities/Terminal) and type these commands: cd Desktop ls -a See if anything shows up. If you've got nothing on your desktop there should be nothing in there. If there are things in there, do this: rm -f <name of mystery file> If there is nothing displayed there, I'm at a bit of a loss. Try going to Finder and your Home directory, then navigate to Library/Caches/Desktop and delete all the files in there (well, move them to the Trash) and restart Finder. You can do this by pressing command-option-escape, clicking 'Finder' in the list that appears and pressing the 'Relaunch' button.
	QUOTE Thanks

karudzo #5 (permalink)
Member Since: May 27, 2006 Location: Concord, NC Posts: 445 Mac Specs: Macbook Pro 17" 2.6GHz 4GB RAM	02-04-2007, 09:19 PM You likely are seeing hidden system files. Somehow you turned the viewing of hidden files on. Do the following to turn it off: 1. Open Terminal. 2. Type: defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles FALSE killall Finder 3. Finder will restart and the files should disapear.
	QUOTE Thanks

ikonogramma #6 (permalink)
Member Since: Feb 04, 2007 Posts: 17	02-05-2007, 09:18 AM I thank you for you answer, but now it is getting worse!!! Im loosing some mp3 files. In iTunes I see the files with an exclamation sign when I double click them the system says the files cannot be used because it cannot find the orginal file. AND IT IS NOT IN my HD!!! I did not deleted them!! or move them, what the heck is going on??
	QUOTE Thanks

cazabam #7 (permalink)
Member Since: Jun 06, 2006 Posts: 1,153 Mac Specs: MacBook 2.0GHz White, 512MB RAM, 60GB HDD	02-05-2007, 12:43 PM It sounds like you're suffering some serious file system corruption. Boot off your installation CD or DVD and when it starts, choose Disk Utility and run a scan on your hard disk.
	QUOTE Thanks

ikonogramma #8 (permalink)
Member Since: Feb 04, 2007 Posts: 17	02-05-2007, 02:27 PM I did that the HD is all right. It pass the test. Still lost!
	QUOTE Thanks

MacHeadCase #9 (permalink)
Guest Posts: n/a	02-05-2007, 05:41 PM You should buy Alsoft's DiskWarrior. It works wonders on big problems.
	QUOTE Thanks

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