noob problem...

Post by **werldhed** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 8:20 pm

Wow... never ventured in here before...
um... HI

First of all, I don’t regularly use Macs, so I apologize for trying to explain this...

A co-worker was using my computer to get some files off a flash drive. My assumption is that she didn’t eject the drive, because I now have about 5 empty folders on my desktop with the same name as that drive.

The problem is that I can’t get rid of them. I can’t put them in the trash, I can’t delete them, I can’t even change the name.
I tried loading her flash drive again, and then ejecting it, but it says the drive is in use, despite the fact that it isn’t. When I went ahead and pulled the drive out, it admonished me for not ejecting it, and another folder with the same name appeared on the desktop. And again, I can’t get rid of the folder.

I suspect this is a typical occurrence with an easy solution, but I’m not a Mac user, so I’m ignorant.

Any ideas?

tia

Post by **Canis** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 8:56 pm

Are you using OS X or OS 9?

Post by **werldhed** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 3:54 pm

Sorry, work got busy...

It's OSX, v.10.4.5
System is Dual 2.5 Ghz G5

Post by **Canis** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 4:10 pm

If you have root/administrator access to the computer, right-click (or ctrl-click if you have a 1-button mouse) on the folders and choose "get info". Then at the bottom there should be a "Permissions" section of the info window. Click the triangle to expand this section if its not already expanded, and click the little lock. It will prompt you for the administrator login information, so if you have it, provide it, and then you can change the ownership of the folder using the drop-down menu. Using this menu, select your current account, and close the info menu. Then you should be able to edit or delete the folders.

I'm not sure why the folders appeared in the first place. Could be a conflict with the mac and that specific thumb drive.

Post by **werldhed** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 4:31 pm

Hrrmmm... nope.
I already have admin access, and the info box doesn't let me change ownership.
Still can't eject it, though.
Don't suppose you have any other ideas? :icon26:

Post by **Canis** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 5:25 pm

now that's bizarre. I'm not in front of my OS X box right now, so I'm going from memory, but you might try doing it from the terminal. Open the terminal and navigate to those folders, and then do an rm, or an rmdir command with the force options enabled. I'm not sure what they are, but you can look them up using the man pages "man rm" to see the syntax and all that.

Post by **werldhed** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 9:08 pm

I tried to remove the directory, but it keeps saying it's in use. Is there a force-quit command or something?

I tried the -f option but it said that's not cool. (btw, i've never used the terminal nor do I know unix, so this could be all wrong.)

Code: Select all

rm /Volumes/NO\ NAME\ 1/
rm: /Volumes/NO NAME 1/: is a directory

rmdir /Volumes/NO\ NAME\ 1/
rmdir: /Volumes/NO\ NAME\ 1/: Resource busy

rmdir -f /Volumes/NO\ NAME\ 1/  
rmdir: illegal option -- f

Post by **Canis** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 9:16 pm

try doing "sudo rm -df /Volumes/NO\ NAME\ 1/

I think the rm command requires the -d to signify it's dealing with a directory.

Does ejecting the drive and restarting the machine do anything? If not, you can try those commands again when you reboot into single-user mode.

To get to single-user mode, restart and hold down the command and "S" keys at the same time. The command key is the apple key.

This mode will drop you to the command prompt without loading the OS X interface. Navigate to the directory and try those commands again, and then restart the computer by typing "reboot".

When I get home from work I'll take a closer look at the commands and such.

Post by **werldhed** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 10:10 pm

I'm not at the machine any more, but I might go into the lab this weekend. If I do, I'll give that a try.
Thanks for the suggestions. I'll let you know what happens when I try it out.

Post by **werldhed** » Wed Apr 26, 2006 5:51 pm

Huh...
I never got a chance to try. I wasn't on the machine again until today, and I noticed all those folders are gone. wtf?
I don't know what it did to right itself, but apparently it just needed some time by itself.

Thanks for the help, though. I just wish I could tell you what the problem turned out to be. Oh well.

:icon14:

Post by **Canis** » Wed Apr 26, 2006 6:44 pm

Could have been something as trivial as a reboot or a file permissions repair, which some folks do regularly. Glad to see it fixed itself up.