Trashcan stuck, won't empty

MacInWin · Oct 30, 2019

Nope, those don't work on any file protected by SIP. We do have control, we just have to disable SIP to get to them. I'm ok with that now that I know it works. SIP protection is worth the hassle.

pm-r · Oct 30, 2019

Nope, those don't work on any file protected by SIP. We do have control, we just have to disable SIP to get to them. I'm ok with that now that I know it works.

I don't know why, but I thought you had disabled SIP before Bob mentioned it, and would've done so just out of habit with the macOS' habits that seems to disobey the users wishes for some actions.

Anyway, glad to hear it worked.

- Patrick=
=====

MacInWin · Oct 30, 2019

Nope, SIP never crossed my mind (or that of the Apple Tech) as a way to get permission to delete. Again, thanks to Rod for thinking of it.

Randy B. Singer · Oct 30, 2019

MacInWin said:
Randy, Trash-it! did not work. No error messages, just didn't work. Asked for my password, then closed (not crashed, just closed). I guess it's not Catalina-ready.

I'm sorry to hear that. It was worth a shot. Trash-It! is usually a reliable option.

Lifeisabeach · Oct 30, 2019

I’m late to the conversation, but I was going to suggest booting macOS off another volume, then going to the main partition and removing the file that way. A CCC bootable backup would work. I used to keep a bootable copy of OS X on a USB thumb drive just for emergencies, but that’s going way back. I tried making one recently (to get rid of that pesky Relocated Items folder), but that was painfully slow so I wound up booting off my CCC backup instead.

justfixed · Nov 19, 2019

Here is the fix:
YouTube

- - - Updated - - -

Here is the fix, easy with a few of steps:
YouTube

MacInWin · Nov 19, 2019

@justfixed, welcome to the forum. The problem was solved as in post #16 of this thread.

Rod · Nov 20, 2019

Randy B. Singer said:
I'm sorry to hear that. It was worth a shot. Trash-It! is usually a reliable option.

I second that, you also have to give it system access via Security an Privacy prefs.

Sent from my iPhone using Mac-Forums

MacInWin · Nov 20, 2019

Rod, maybe that was it, but cancelling SIP, emptying the trash and then re-engaging SIP solved the problem without a third party app that needs system access.