Start-up issue on Mac Mini.

Morning all, My late 2012 Mini running El Capitan has started putting a notice on the desktop when starting up. The heading is 8498657-locked. If I can I will post a screen shot but not sure how to do that, I will though give it a try. /Users/keithwells/Desktop/Screen Shot 2016-11-15 at 07.09.43.png Oh golly! I am most surprised as it seems to have worked. The only thing I can recall doing prior to it happening was I deleted a few hundred old contacts from my Yahoo Mail account that we no longer need. It is of no great importance as once the red spot has been used it goes away until tomorrow when I reboot my computer.

Very best regards from Keith in Derby England.

Keith, your picture didn't post. To post a picture, at the bottom of the area where you type in your post, click on Go Advanced, then click on the icon that looks a little like a picture, sort of square-ish, and then "From Computer" and find the file to upload to the server. Once it's uploaded, it will be inserted into your post.

Is "8498657" a name of a file you used and put into the trash? I ask because it could be that when the system tries to empty the trash it cannot empty because that file is showing as in use.

And can you elaborate on this: "It is of no great importance as once the red spot has been used it goes away until tomorrow when I reboot my computer." for me? What "red spot?"

Hello Jake, That will teach me not to get big headed too soon. I have just tried to follow your instructions and I am informed that the file is too big! That being so it looks like I am stuck with it appearing every morning as I start my computer. As for which red button? Well my description is more than likely wrong as I tend to go the simple path not the difficult one. In the top lefthand corner there are three buttons - red - yellow and green. The red button is the one I mean. Jake, sorry mate but you are obviously much to clever to think stupid; where-as I am fully qualified and on top of that "Self Taught" as well!!!

So I will learn to live with it until I take the bull by the horns and do a full restore from Super Duper. Yes I do have one but AGAIN I do not know how to restore off my back-up external HD.

I once entered the local VILLAGE IDIOT competition and I really thought I had a chance because I was the only entrant. Dam me I came second and was not elected.

Very best regards from Keith in Derby England.

Ok, Keith, you can open the screenshot file in Preview, then Click on Tools on the menu bar and "Adjust size" to shrink the picture down and also shrink the file size. It will tell you the size of the file as you shrink it. I would suggest shrinking it about 30-50% and see if that will upload.

I don't think you need a full restore, that's a pretty radical approach. We just need to figure out what is going on with the error message and get that sorted.

I have often been told that my old village wants me to return because it wants the idiot back. I refuse to go, I have responsibilities to my new village....

Morning Jake, after much poking and prodding I have discovered the offending file is in TextEdit. Now how to get there and then What to do I have not got a clue. Talk about trying to knit barbed wire or sweep water into a pile, by gum I am right out of my depth/comfort zone here Jake. It has taken about three hours to get this far and I still do not know if you will get in image but something has appeared at the beginning. Not sure what it might be but the very best of luck.

Very best regards from Keith in Derby England.

Keith, you did so well at shrinking the image that now I can't read the text! But the fact that the locked document is in TextEdit is a help. I suspect that TextEdit may still be running, which means the file is open for edit and hence your system sees the file as locked (because it's being edited) and therefore it's not shutting down completely, so when you wake it up in the morning, you see the locked message.

OK, if that's it, what you need to do is to close the file. To do that, start TextEdit. You can either click on the TextEdit icon on the Dock (The paper and pen icon next to the trashcan on the right) or you can open Finder, go to Applications and launch it from there. Once in TextEdit, either the document will be there and open, or you can look at Recents to see the document and open it. Once that's done, just Click on File on the top bar, and then Close in the drop down menu. Now click on the "TextEdit" on the top bar and Quit to close TextEdit completely. Once it's closed, click on the trash can and see if the offending file is there, and if it is, empty the trash. That should make the doc go away and the error message go away as well.

Hope that helps!

Jake
W1HRE

Hi Jake, I despair, I have followed your instructions and have ended up in TextEdit. There I found a box titled AUX.2016.11.12 down the box were some files. They started as follows
8495257 12NOV2016 00.00 that entry repeats 8 times.
8495307 12NOV2016 00.01 that entry repeats 8 times.
I have a dumper truck full of similar entries each one 8 times every minute until 12NOV201623.59. Sorry and all that Jake but this has gone beyond a joke and my mind has shut down in pure unadulterated undiluted frustration. In all honesty I think I will have to take it to my local Apple shop and pay some folding stuff over to them. It is not an Apple shop but a franchise called KRCS, hopefully they will sort it out. Thanks for your efforts to point me in the right direction but I admit failure yet again.

Very best regards from Keith in Derby England.

Jake, further to the previous message, i searched that list until I found file 8498657 and promptly took it to the trash can. With a complete cavalier attitude of "Who cares" I then emptied the trash can.
I closed down, waited ten minutes and booted up:- glory glory glory the file was not there! I have cancelled the trip to the Apple shop. Without your help I simply could not have completed the task, thank you very much indeed.

Very best regards from Keith in Derby England.

You can also probably safely get rid of the other files that were created in that way. They probably won't make trouble if you don't, but getting rid of them will clean up TextEdit for the next time you want to use it.

Happy that you solved the problem! You're going to lose your certification as Village Idiot if you aren't careful!