Greyed out folders

[frostygirl]

Hi all,
I have greyed out file in my downloaded folder and I cannot seem to delete it. I dragged it into Terminal and all it says that it is empty. Any other suggestions I can try. It is a M3 max which I just got a couple of months ago. Thank you

 

[MacInWin]

How did they end up there? Did you download them? Files in the process of being downloaded are grey until they complete. They also show zero size until the download is completed and the filesize is finalized. If you started a download and then interrupted it in the middle, they could be orphans. (The interruption could be because of loss of network connection, or an action from you.)

 

[pm-r]

Any other suggestions I can try.

Have you tried the standard Mac computer fixed?:
Shut down your Mac, wait 30-40 seconds and then boot it back up again and see if it has fixed itself.



- Patrick
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[frostygirl]

I originally had air dropped them. Thank you Pm-r, I finally did a shut down and was able to delete them.

 

[OliviaClaire]

Hi all,
I have greyed out file in my downloaded folder and I cannot seem to delete it. I dragged it into Terminal and all it says that it is empty. Any other suggestions I can try. It is a M3 max which I just got a couple of months ago. Thank you

First, try a simple relaunch of Finder or booting into Safe Mode. Sometimes a refresh or a clean system state can do the trick.

If that doesn't work, we can get a bit more technical. Terminal with the rm -rf command can forcefully delete the file, but be very careful! Double check the file path before proceeding, as this action is permanent.

Another option is to use Disk Utility's repair function to check and fix any disk issues that might be preventing deletion.

Finally, if all else fails, consider using a trusted third-party app designed for stubborn file deletion.

Remember to empty your Trash after deleting and check if the file is hidden (press Command + Shift + .) If none of these methods work, back up your data and reinstalling macOS might be necessary, but that should be a last resort.

 

[pm-r]

Remember to empty your Trash after deleting and check if the file is hidden (press Command + Shift + .) If none of these methods work, back up your data and reinstalling macOS might be necessary, but that should be a last resort.

I think if you reread the OP's last post they were able to fix their problem with a Reboot of their Mac.

So I assume there are problem is fixed from what I read on their last post above.



- Patrick
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