Cannot empty trash because vcoicetrigger etc in use

[fbx89]

I apparently deleted an old user (mbpro18) from my current install of Monterey on current iMac. This mistake is apparently common enough for there to be loads of discussion to Google, none of which seems to solve my problem.
Now, when I empty the trash, most things are emptied but I get the "This operation can't be completed because the item "VoiceTrigger" (and 2 others in sequence) appears.

Anyone here (Weaselboy?) know how to deal with this effectively?

Bubblehead

 

[MacInWin]

Most of the time, items that can't be emptied from trash are actually on drives that are no longer attached, so the empty cannot complete. Is that a possibility for you? Were these three things on external drives? If so, and you have the drives, attach then and Empty the trash again.

 

[fbx89]

Alas, I've made so many changes, reinstalls, starts from scratch, reinstalls from CCC copies of prior backups, and so on that it's not possible to track the particular install working on the iMac at present.

I know this sounds silly. I have 6 or 7 SS external drives with recent (days or weeks) backups of the system that I can't tell which one the current setup is copied from. I also had a terrible time trying to set up a new 24" iMac that I could get right and eventually return and fell back to my 27" 2019-20 iMac (whose screen I much prefer to the new 24" iMac's, by the way).

In fact I think this setup dates back to an old MacBook Pro that I must have had several years ago, prior to buying and setting up the 27" iMac, to which I cloned (via CCC) the op sys and drive contents.

I guess I then setup a new install of an op sys upgrade and a new user. Two days ago I noticed that there was an old legacy user folder named MPPro1118 or similar and deleted that. Before deleting that folder I had no issue with these items being in trash.

Also note: the items no longer show up in Trash Can, only when I try to delete. They are now "hidden files" that show up when you turn on the "show hidden files" switch in Terminal.

 

[MacInWin]

What is the problem, then? The title of the thread is:

Cannot empty trash because vcoicetrigger etc in use​

But you say they aren't in the Trash. So what is the real issue? Are these large files? If not, why worry about them?

 

[fbx89]

They don't appear in the trash, but if I empty the trash,

 

[MacInWin]

Open Activity Monitor (In Utilities of the Applications folder) and look to see if the files are listed there. If so, boot into Safe Mode (that blocks any third party software from being loaded) and try emptying the Trash in Safe Mode. You can also use Etrecheck (search for it) to see if it's being loaded as a part of booting, in which case the Safe Mode should stop that loading and let you empty the trash. If none of that works, I'm stumped.

 

[fbx89]

What I get when emptying the trash. The general trash IS EMPTIED, however then I get the three error msgs onscreen, one at a time, shown in the image below. If I look in the trash I see the topmost picture of the mbpro1118 folder which, if opened via the arrow at left, is empty.

This is apparently a known problem as I have found it widely reported with Google searches, but no joy as how to remedy. I appreciate all the help I can get. Many thanks.

fb

 

[MacInWin]

Try a Safe Boot. Then when booted (it will be slow), see if the trash will empty. Safe Mode blocks all non-Apple products from loading, so those should not be in use.

 

[fbx89]

I did this (found somewhere online) and it seems to have worked.
If this was a terrible mistake, pls advise.

 

[chscag]

We normally do not recommend disabling SIP since it requires a Terminal command and may cause harm to your system if left that way.

But it appears you followed the directions correctly. Thanks for letting us know.

 

[MacInWin]

That was a bit of "sledgehammer to kill a fly" approach, but glad it worked. As said, disabling SIP is not recommended.