Trashcan stuck, won't empty

[MacInWin]

OK, Catalina 10.15.1. I had a lot of old installers in the Applications folder, so I moved them off the drive by copying them to an external for storage, then dumped them into the Trash. Emptied Trash, got a message that one, "Install macOS High Sierra" could not be deleted as it was needed by the system. ???? So I looked at it in the trash and what is there is a folder named "Contents" and in it "SharedSupport" and in that is "InstallESD.dmg." Tried to delete that with right click and Delete Immediately, but got the error message that it can't be modified or deleted because it is needed by macOS.

No problem, boot in Safe Mode, run First Aid, reboot. Same results

No problem, boot in Recover, run First Aid on both drives, reboot. Same results.

Download OnyX for Catalina, run the maintenance scripts. Reboot. Same results.

Terminal, cd to ~/.Trash. Run ls, but get message that it is not permitted. OK, run 'sudo ls' to get it, same message.

So now I'm here. Any ideas what I try next? I could put the trash back, then see if I can change permissions, but I suspect that will be blocked as well. While you think about it, I'll go do that. BRB.

 

[MacInWin]

So I dragged it back to the Applications folder, used Get Info to see who can do what, but I'm totally blocked from doing anything because it says I don't have authority. My account is an Admin account, so about the only way I can see to get rid of it is to be Root. Maybe rm will do now that it's not in .Trash?

 

[MacInWin]

Nope. The issue is that it is in /Applications and not ~/Applications and in Catalina those files are on Macintosh HD and not Macintosh HD Data. So nothing I can do is doing anything to change it. HMMM, maybe if I put it back in the trash and drag it to Documents instead of Applications I can get to it. BRB.

 

[MacInWin]

So I tried to drag it from the Trash to my Documents folder that should be on the Data drive. It appeared there, but again cannot be modified in any way. I tried Get Info and tried to add me to the permissions, not permitted. Tried changing name, no. Tried putting it on an external USB stick, but it copied, not moved, and the original cannot be touched.

I guess a call to Apple is in order. Why the #&$*# would Catalina think that an installer from High Sierra was so needed that it cannot be deleted?

 

[pm-r]

Tried putting it on an external USB stick, but it copied, not moved, and the original cannot be touched.

Did you try using the Finders "Secure empty trash"?

Sometimes it will actually work for Deleting some stubborn files.


- Patrick
======

 

[MacInWin]

yes. No change. Doggone thing just won't go away. On chat with Apple

 

[MacInWin]

Stumped Apple Tech support. Being escalated and told to call back tomorrow.

 

[MacInWin]

Did you try using the Finders "Secure empty trash"?

Sometimes it will actually work for Deleting some stubborn files.


- Patrick
======

Let me clarify. There is no "Secure Empty Trash" option any more, and hasn't been for a while. I have been to Terminal and used just about every variant of rm I can think of. I'm thinking of booting back to Mojave from my backup, then seeing if I can get rid of it from there, but I suspect the permissions aren't going to let me do that, either. Somehow, I have to have sufficient permission to change the file, and that may be root. I'm hoping there is still a way to get to root in Catalina.

 

[chscag]

Jake:

Take a look at this:

mac - How to activate root using the Single-User Mode in Catalina - Ask Different

Let me know if that works for you. Supposedly it will allow you to activate the Root user in Catalina.

 

[IWT]

Jake,

You know far more than I do and not only have you tried everything, but apparently baffled Apple (firs tier anyway).

Our Admin, Charlie has provided a Link to Root access.

By contrast, my meagre suggestion is whether downloading the Combo Update for 10.15.1 might overwrite a conceivable problem with the standalone update?? This is the Link to that: Download macOS Catalina 10.15.1 Update

Ian

 

[Rod]

How about turning off SIP? I'm not sure how that operates in Catalina but should be possible.
Here are the instructions for Mojave;

To shut down SIP (System Integration Protection)
Restart holding Command + R
Go to the Utilities Menu
Select Terminal
Type; csrutil disable To restart; csrutil enable

 

[Randy B. Singer]

Any ideas what I try next?

Here is something easy to try and worth a shot.

Download:

Trash It! (free)
Download NoName Scriptware's Trash It | NNSW

If you double-click on Trash It's program icon, it will delete
what is in your Trash with extreme prejudice.

If you drop either a folder or file(s) onto Trash It's program icon, 
it will delete what you dropped on it, no matter where those files or 
folders reside. (They don't have to be in the Trash can.)

 

[Rod]

Oooo! I like that.


Sent from my iPad using Mac-Forums

 

[pm-r]

...Trash It's program icon, it will delete
what is in your Trash with extreme prejudice.

Oh...I like that adverb description.


- Patrick
======

 

[MacInWin]

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 did find out last night how to get to Root, so I'm going to see what I can do with that.

 

[MacInWin]

How about turning off SIP? I'm not sure how that operates in Catalina but should be possible.
Here are the instructions for Mojave;

To shut down SIP (System Integration Protection)
Restart holding Command + R
Go to the Utilities Menu
Select Terminal
Type; csrutil disable To restart; csrutil enable

Winner! Thanks, Rod. I can't give you a reputation bump because it wants me to spread some love around first, but that worked perfectly. Avoided Root, which is, frankly, beyond what I wanted to do. PITA to have to boot three times, but hey, the trash is empty!

 

[IWT]

+1 for Rod.

Ian

 

[ferrarr]

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 did find out last night how to get to Root, so I'm going to see what I can do with that.

Does holding "Option" down when emptying the trash, do a secure erase?

 

[MacInWin]

I did try that, but it didn't empty. Only turning off SIP worked.

 

[pm-r]

I guess that these don't work using Catalina either and I'm assuming you tried???

How to Delete a Single File from Trash on Mac
Can't Empty the Trash on Your Mac? Here's How to Fix It

I'm guessing this also shows how little control we have over anything abnormal on our own Macs, and I guess it is going to get worse with later Mac OS versions and with Apple's idea of security and user "protection" being implemented.


- Patrick
======