Cannot delete files from CD

Hi,

I am relatively new to the Mac OS. I am using a 2.5GHz Mac G5 PPC for use with Logic Pro. Recently, I burned an MP3 and a .wav file to a blank CD-RW audio CD. When I try to move these files to the Trash I get a message saying that I do not have "permission" to delete them. Can anyone help me with this issue? Thank you!

Hi Frankie909. Welcome to Mac-Forums.

Could you specify the OS version you are using, please?

With the little info you posted, the only ideas that pop into my head right now about your problem is if you on a Mac at work i.e. that's on a network in the workplace. Or you could be using 10.3.x which was finicky with the file permissions.

If you don't know how to find out about your OS version, click on the blue Apple logo in the menubar and select About this Mac in the drop-down menu. The window that opens will tell you how much RAM is installed, which OS version you have, etc.

Is the disk finalised? If so you'd have to reformat it to move any files around. If it's finalised, it thinks it's read only.

Hi MacHeadCase,

The version I am using is 10.4.9 but this problem occurred even when I was using version 10.4.8. This Mac is a home computer and I am the sole user. I am not on a network and only use the computer for music applications. I am not connected to the Internet. This is the exact message I get when I try to delete a file from my CD:

"The operation cannot be completed because you do not have sufficient priviliges for...(filename)."

I tried to use the Disk Utility "Repair" function but this did not help.

Jonnyd: I do not know what you mean by "finalised". Please explain. Thanks!

its a CD-RW, you need to erase it, you can't delete items from it.

Doh! I thought you meant you were trying to delete files that had been burned on CD and were left on your desktop! Didn't know you were trying to delete the files from the CD.

What Stretch says, in that case.

Frankie909 said:

Hi MacHeadCase,

The version I am using is 10.4.9 but this problem occurred even when I was using version 10.4.8. This Mac is a home computer and I am the sole user. I am not on a network and only use the computer for music applications. I am not connected to the Internet. This is the exact message I get when I try to delete a file from my CD:

"The operation cannot be completed because you do not have sufficient priviliges for...(filename)."

I tried to use the Disk Utility "Repair" function but this did not help.

Jonnyd: I do not know what you mean by "finalised". Please explain. Thanks!

Click to expand...

A cd rw (the RW meaning read/write) is capable of being reused many times. What you'd normally do is burn files to it, then 'finalise' it so that it can be read by any other cd drive. That effectively makes it look like a standard CD to all other drives.

If that's the case, you won't be able to delete files from it. You can sometimes 'unfinalise' it, which would allow you to add or remove files, or if you're happy to zap all the files on it, you can just reformat it (often called 'initialise') and it'll be ready to use again.

Depends on what software you're using. If it's Mac finder, I'm sure someone here can expand - I rarely if ever use the drive for burning CDs so I'm not sure.

My thanks to all for the help. Greatly appreciated. And thanks jonnyd for the explanation.