Moved lost+found to trash, and now can't empty it or move it back

[Dennis74]

I was having problems backing up files to my external Seagate drive using Time Machine. After many error messages, I went online to see what others had done. Someone said I should find my lost+found folder and move it to trash. I did that and now can't empty it from Trash. I can't move it back, either. I was able to copy the lost+found folder back to where it used to be. But, I still have it in the Trash. It's big, with hundreds of thousands of items in it. HELP.

 

[honestone]

First, what OS are you using? If it is not El Capitan (OS 10.11.x), than there should be a "Secure Empty Trash" under the Finder menu.

If that does not work, give the excellent freeware application Trash It! a try. You can get it from here:

http://nonamescriptware.com/

 

[oldscribe]

Hi,

You can use terminal but make sure you have fully backed up first.
Some of the files may be in use so you will need the chflags command to change the flags of all files in the Trash
Only for advanced users so make sure the syntax is correct, launch Terminal found in /Applications/Utilities/ and then proceed.
cd ~/.Trash
chflags -R nouchg *
Once done empty trash in normal way.

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello and welcome.

Normally, that folder is hidden, and OS X fixes any minor issues on its own. If it appears at the root level of your HD, chances are you have some form of disk corruption, especially if there are GBs worth of files in the folder. This kind of disk corruption can happen for several reasons - power failure, incorrect power off/restart, failing hard drive, etc.

In addition to the above suggestions, sometimes you can hold the Option key down while emptying the Trash, which will force it.

In your particular situation however, if you are confident you have a complete backup of your data on the Seagate external, I would recommend either performing a reinstall over the top of your current OS X installation, then dealing with the Trash issue, or a complete erase and install to ensure the issue is fixed going forward. Also, it wouldn't be a bad thing to run some diagnostics on the hard drive itself, if you have access to them.

C