how to restore files from trash mac os x

Enter your Mac's administrator password to authorize the command.Go back to the Trash and drag the files you want to delete to the Terminal window.This is the command to force-delete files. Type Terminal and press Return to launch it.You should therefore proceed with caution when using the nuclear method described below: You may have accidentally sent something to the Trash that's important for a certain app to operate. However, it might be that macOS is preventing you from deleting files for a good reason. It also gets around any other errors that prevent the Trash from emptying.Īs such, it's an effective way of permanently deleting files. This overrides any locks on your files and deletes files that are still in use. This is quite useful if your Mac won't let you unlock any files.Īnother option is to use a Terminal command to force the Trash to empty. Go back to Trash and drag the file you want to delete to the Terminal.This command means list open files and displays a list of files in use with the processes that opened them. If not, another option is to use Terminal to check which app has the file locked. This will delete the file if a startup app was using it.

Click the Empty button (in the top-right corner).Once you've booted up in Safe Mode, open the Trash.

Turn on your Mac and immediately hold Shift.

To boot your Mac in Safe Mode and empty the Trash: This stops some software from booting up automatically. You can get around this by starting up your Mac in Safe Mode. Advanced File Usage TroubleshootingĪlternatively, a startup or login item might be using the file in question. Now close any additional programs that you think might be stopping you from clearing the Trash on your Mac. To test whether this is the case, press Option + Cmd + Esc to open the Force Quit window. In these cases, perhaps a background process is using it. Occasionally, you might not be able to identify exactly where the file is open.

How to restore files from trash mac os x