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http://www.insanely-great.com/news.php?id=1662
X-quest: Delete the 'undeletable'
By ron carlson, Insanely Great Mac
February 7th 2003
A new KBase article and an old Classic trick will get the job done!
Have you ever had a file that just can't be thrown away? A new Apple Knowledge Base
(KBase #107426) article discusses how to delete an incomplete copy or download.
Th article explains how to resolve an issue in which you may not be able to delete a
"partial" file, such as an incomplete download or any incompletely copied file that
appears with a generic icon.
Apple offers two possible ways to make such pesky files go away. The first is fairly
straightforward:
A.) These instructions apply to Microsoft Internet Explorer 5, but may be used as a
guide if the issue occurs with a different network-based application.
1. Open Internet Explorer.
2. Choose Window > Download Manager.
3. Select the name of the partially-downloaded file.
4. Press the Delete key. If this does not work, press Command-Delete.
5. Quit Internet Explorer.
On to plan "B"
Should this method fail, Apple goes on to explain how to remove the file from the
(gasp) command line in the Terminal:
B.) Warning: These steps include use of the "rm" command. Be sure to type the commands
exactly. Misuse of the rm command may result in accidental data loss, up to and
including all data on the target disk. To be sure you are reading the commands below
correctly, you may copy and past them into a text editor for verification.
1. Open Terminal.
2. Type: sudo rm -r
Important: You must leave a space following -r, so that it reads " sudo rm -r ". Do
not press Return yet.
3. Drag the file's icon into the Terminal window, which will automatically enter the
file's pathname.
4. Press Return.
5. Enter your Admin user password when prompted, then press Return.
That's pretty slick! Do a partial Terminal command and then dragging-n-dropping onto
it to enter the path name. Is this "old-hat" Unix stuff or is it a big-brained, OS
X-only feature?
Drop Stuff to the rescue!
A third method to remove "undeletable" files is a throwback to Classic and requires
the use of Aladdin's StuffIt Standard Edition, which is available as a free download
(ie you'll be reminded to register every time you use it).
Since November, I had a file on my desktop that just refused to be thrown away. I
tried renaming the file, locking/unlocking, etc to no avail. The Finder just kept
repeating that the file was busy.
However, last week (yes, just a few days before Apple posted the above-mentioned KBase
article) I remembered an old OS 7 trick I used years ago:
C.) Open Drop Stuff, open the preferences and select "delete original item after
stuffing,' close preferences, drag the undeletable file onto the Drop Stuff window and
"voila" the original will be gone, and you can safely delete the resulting compressed
file.
Editor's note: Got a neat little OS X trick you'd like to share? Drop us a line here.
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