[daaaarla]

and after a while go to move them to the trash, it says the file is being used by another task right now. I'm not using them in anything, one is an mp3 and one is a .zip file, and it won't let me move them to the trash, or to any folder because it's "being used by another task right now." I've tried restarting, etc, nothing will work. Any ideas?

[ebsidohw]

log in as root, navigate to the home folder -> desktop of whichever user has the problem files, and then trash them.

or, in terminal, login as SU, and delete the files via terminal.

[daaaarla]

i'm sorry, i'm a little slow and don't understand. how do i log in as root? i'm just assuming you mean actually "log in" to the computer via the log in screen, which only has my name. and i can't "log in" as anything else ?

[Rev-O]

I've found that if I DL something (like a game demo), and install it and trash it, I get the same song and dance when I try to empty my trash. Sometimes, if you wait awhile, then try and delete it or, better yet, leave it in the trash can until after you've done a restart, it usually goes away just fine.

[scottiB]

You're not slow--the above poster's suggestions are if you're familiar with the Unix command line. Some at this board are; some aren't (I fall inbetween).

I found this solution by opening Sherlock, selecting the AppleCare channel (white cross) and typing "being used by another task right now."

Article ID 107426

Mac OS X 10.2: Cannot Delete an Incomplete Copy or Download

TOPIC
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.

Symptom
You cannot delete (or use) an incomplete file. An alert message may appear:

"The item <file name> is being used by another task right now. Try again when the other task is complete."

You cannot move the file to the Trash.

Solution
If the partial file is a download

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.

You should now be able to delete the file in the Finder.

----

If the item is any other kind of file, or the above instructions do not work...

1. Rename the file to "remove.rtf"
2. Launch TextEdit (/Applications/TextEdit)
3. Choose File menu > Save As
4. Type: "remove" in the Save As field
5. Select the location where the file is located
6. Click Save, then Replace
7. Quit TextEdit
8. Drag remove.rtf to the Trash

Note: If the issue persists, quit open applications, which are marked in the Dock with a small triangle (you cannot quit the Finder). Repeat the above steps.

It may be that these files are incomplete (even by a few kilobytes) and the "task" being used is the completion of the downloads. By deleting them from the Download Window (essentially a download queue), there's no need for the system to continue its task of completing the download.

[daaaarla]

I figured out how to do the root thing by searching around, but that didn't work, still. So, I did what ScottiB suggested, and the second part of renaming the files worked. Thanks!

[iREZ]

Move your items to Trash, click Finder on the top left of the screen, then click Secure Empty Trash. It might take a little longer but it should do the trick.