how to delete a file simply without having to be a programer
 

i am trying to free up some space on my hd i have back up files i am trying to delete and can not its taking up 354 gb of space using as example (screenshot 1) screenshot 1 and 2 are the files i am trying to get rid of but can not find a way to do this i do not want to know any thing else except how to delete these files i have been at this for 2 days reading different answers from the net with no joy whatsoever i have done the roasting the files command and auto delete and so many others that do not work i am using zorion

http://thumbnails103.imagebam.com/26...9268592876.jpg http://thumbnails105.imagebam.com/26...4268592878.jpg http://thumbnails105.imagebam.com/26...d268592879.jpg

You haven't told us what you did, and what any error messages were.
Let's presume you tried to do this from the GUI - it probably tries to keep a trashcan for you - but there ain't enough space. I use the CLI, but from a GUI you should be able to highlight what you want to delete, hold the <Shift> key down and hit <Delete> key.
You'll get a prompt probably, but after that they'll be gone - no trashcan copy, no nuthin.

I think you're heading for a world of pain. You do not want to delete things in /var/backups . The reason you're having problems is probably because of permission issues. You need to be root or use sudo to delete files from that folder. If you want to delete things delete them from your own home directory.
jdk

thanks for the reply but no joy on shift delete

ok the problem as stated it will not let me delete from home folder and i have logged in as sudo and no joy did you look at the screenshots they are just old system backup files and as stated taking up 354 gb of space thanks anyway

If nothing really workss try booting a live CD or DVD with GUI and mount your filesystem separately. Check the filesystem for errors before that as well and delete files from there.

The thumbnails you show (the last two I mean) both show the contents of /var/backups, right? What exactly are you trying to delete from your home folder? Can you give its complete path? If you open a terminal and type
how does your system respond?
jdk

again see post #5 /var/backups

I've read it an reread it many times and I don't understand it. I repeat "What exactly are you trying to delete from your home folder? Can you give its complete path?" That should be simple enough, right? No need to be a programmer to answer that, eh? ;)
jdk

the system Backup files that it backs up every day

why is it that everything has to be complicated all i want to know is how to delete some files it should not matter what kind of files i should be able to right click and send to trash and this happens every time i try and get help on this board i ask what time it is and everyone tells me how to build a watch it should be simple like windows right click delete even the most simplest of things is a struggle in linux i can see why so many people stay away from it

Sorry, I have no idea what you're talking about. What system Backup files? If they are system files you need root privileges to access them. Are you running a backup program yourself every day? If yes, why are you backing up the system files? Normally backing up the files from your home directory is sufficient. I do a weekly backup myself. I also don't back up to my own drive. There wouldn't be much point in that. If you're worried about space why not just do your backups to an external drive?
jdk

why is it that everything has to be complicated all i want to know is how to delete some files it should not matter what kind of files i should be able to right click and send to trash and this happens every time i try and get help on this board i ask what time it is and everyone tells me how to build a watch it should be simple like windows right click delete even the most simplest of things is a struggle in linux i can see why so many people stay away from it

Basically there are two (or three) basic reasons why you won't be able to delete a file, first is permission, second is because some processes like backup softwares might be accessing it, third is simply because the filesystem where it resides is in read-only or locked mode. Other reasons perhaps would be related to security measures and virtualizations. Like I said running a live CD or DVD that would handle the filesystem offline from the system could fix this.

And I hope you're not actually trying to "hack" it and expect us to recommend a way to delete it that could bypass security?

If Windows is set up correctly you'll find it equally difficult to right-click and delete files there too.
The easiest way to delete these files would be on the command line using sudo.
The reason you have to jump through hoops to delete these files is that you really ought not to be deleting them since you have no idea why they were created or what they are for. I anticipate your answer that you know they are backups but in that case I would respond "Then why did you set up backups if you don't wan them?".
In order to use any computer system, or any other system or device for that matter, one must understand why things occur.
You might also want to think about the usefulness of right-click and send-to-trash when trying to free up hard disk space.

If your filesystem is actually NTFS try to mount it with ntfs-3g instead of the one provided by the kernel with write permissions and hope for the best that security within the NTFS filesystem won't prevent you from doing that.

thank you for your time and effort but you are missing the point entirely and as usually i am no closer to resolving the issue

Why are you no closer? Do you need help opening a command prompt? Help using sudo?

You should be able to delete from /home even without logging in as sudo (which is a _bad_idea_ anyway).

You arent trying to delete the whole /var/backups folder are you?

The following comamnd should delete all the files in /var/backup-

sudo rm -rf /var/backup/*

BTW, from your screenshot I think you might be using a single partition setup....This sort of thing is one reason why its actaully better to have a 'proper' / and /home setup. If you do end up with huge logfiles/backups, you'll just get some error msg and wont fill your whole drive.....

hmm

get root ( I will assume you have sudo, and your user is allowed to use it )

if you still feel that you are short of space

Oh, and those files in /var/backup , are around 7mb

Yeah, but you can't let facts get in the way of a good rant...

Just hand the kid the razors and be on your way before the screaming starts. :D

wow how witty you are and i am guessing reading comprehension is something you did not master in school now why don't you change out of your pajamas and run and tell your mommy what a big boy you are and how clever you are on the internet and maybe she will give you a cookie and we all know you still live at home with mommy

i am just guessing that none of you read the entire post and just skim it 1 person came up with an answer and understood the post the rest of you told me everything i did not want to know why do you people make everything so complicated ?? the answer that partially worked was highlight hold shift and delete it did not work on all the files but some and thats all i wanted was a simple answer was that so hard ??????

thank you for the answer it worked on all most all the files i was trying to get rid of thanks again for your time and effort

I read the entire post, you wanted to delete files form here:
http://thumbnails105.imagebam.com/26...4268592878.jpg
You could not do this through the GUI. You then, in a later post, mentioned in windows you could simply right-click and send to trash.

I suggest you carefully state exactly what it is you are trying to achieve and why, as well as what you have tried and any error messages, when asking for help.
Computers are complex things but at their core they are very simple and things must be stated exactly in terms more akin to mathematics than human language. It takes a while to learn how to ask questions about technology but it's a skill worth acquiring in this day and age.
Apologies if I sound patronising -- that is not my intention -- I have used computers for most of my life and used them in every job I have had so I live with them daily. I also come into contact with people who have not used computers regularly or who have not trained to use them and, invariably, they ask the wrong questions or ask questions in a way that those of us who are familiar with computers do not understand. People here love to help with problems but they can't answer questions they don't understand and a carefully thought out question will help you get a carefully thought out reply.

The Shift+Delete option after highlighting has always worked for me, at least on all the Ubuntu derivatives like Zorin. If you have a problem deleting, the first thing you should do is to check permissions with either the ls -l command or by right-clicking on a directory/file and selecting Properties, then permissions. Also shows owner:group. If you are doing weekly backups, it would be a good idea to do them to another drive.

I can't read though, apparently.

I do not believe the forum members who replied were making things complicated for you.

So a few posts ago it was 'no joy' and now the same answer is the only one that got you anywhere?

I would liked to have seen whatever error message yougot, just like syg00 asked in post #2.

That is also why I suggested in a consule command to delete the files...taking a screenshot and/or typing out the error message can be a lot more hassle than simply copy and pasting an error message from the console.

I'm a little cofused about how this happened, and the error message might have helped me or some other forum member figure it out.

this is what i came up with to resolve my issues i downloaded and used bleachbit worked great and simple to use no fuss no muss

http://bleachbit.sourceforge.net/