I have just discovered a strange bug. I can’t keep the trash can empty. I empty it, and about 7-10 seconds later, the deleted files reappear. Rebooting does not solve the problem.
I decided to start a separate topic from this one so that any responses can focus exclusively on this issue.
I found this with a Google search:
The reason why Trash won’t empty on your Mac may be that something that’s in Trash is still being used . It can be some file or part of the application. To fix it, you need to terminate every active process on your Mac. A simple restart of your MacBook should help you out.
UPDATE: that was the problem. I deleted Ulysses, which apparently caused the problem.
Well, I followed the directions and even used CleanMyMac. The problem has returned. This is strange.
I asked ChatGPT for a solution. It suggested several options, all of which I tried, including terminal commands, closing processes in Activity Monitor, etc. Nothing is working.
I’ve never seen this. I had an issue in the past where something was still in use and it threw an error saying it couldn’t delete the file as it was still in use.
I did a screen recording but remembered that I could not upload videos to this forum. At any rate, I’m doing a Nuke and Pave. I thought about it anyway before installing Sequoia but decided not to. It looks like it is good I held off; otherwise, I would’ve gone through the hassle twice. At this point, my app stack is minimal, so I suspect after the fresh install of my apps that my OS will be good to go for as long as I have the M1 MBP.
This actually sparks a fun separate question: how frequently do people empty their [computer!] trash cans?
I used to be a serial emptier because of the silly icon showing if there were items in there, but then I watched a YouTube video of a guy reviewing an early Apple OS (I forget who or why, sorry), and he went off on a tangent about how Apple did us all a mischief with their trash icon. Computer trash cans are just meant to hoard all our rubbish, so that if we delete something in error we can go retrieve it a month later. The trash can was not meant to elicit any behaviour from the user, it was meant to be “out of sight out of mind” until we realised we’d made an error. Apple’s altering of the icon design to show when there is something in there prompted a change in user behaviour that changed the function of the utility. As users we’re worse off for this because if we follow their nudge and empty the trash can whenever it has things in it, we don’t have the file if we change our minds a day later.
Anyway after watching that video I was a trash can convert and now I leave it untended for months at a time until I feel like having a clear up! I actually find myself deleting stuff more regularly (e.g. download files etc.) because I know if I’ve made a mistake I can go fetch the file back (I rarely need to).
I use the Hazel setting to delete anything after 7 days and if it gets over 10GB (I think) After a few days I’ve never gone back into the trash to retrieve something or been caught out.
If I ever was I have Time Machine backups and Backblaze keeps a copy of everything for 12 months.
I was just wondering about that today. Maybe, Apple should change the icon depending on much/how long things are in the trash. Maybe after a few days there should be flies around the can, then, later, rats.
I posted a while back about having a similar issue (a zombie file folder that keeps reappearing in the trash), so your thread caught my eye. Did the folks at Apple Support happen to tell you what they did in iCloud? I’ve tried all sorts of things to no avail. People here had great suggestions that I would not have thought of, but no luck. I’m curious if whatever Apple did can be reproduced by the user.
