Files Application crashes whenever I try to empty the trash can

mintnewbee · 10-15-2015, 03:36 AM

hi all,

my files application c/ Nemo rashes whenever I try to empty the trash can. I if recall properly, this problem ocurred after I once used the xkill command to terminate a stalled program and I suspect this caused the trash can problem. I would be grateful for advice how to make the trashcan work again and how to abort stalling problems without causing collateral damage such as this.

thanks for your attention.

JeremyBoden · 10-17-2015, 05:25 PM

Try browsing (with nemo) to

Code:

/home/username/.local/share

(where username is your user name).
Switch on "show hidden files" in nemo.

You should find a directory called 'Trash' (or similar name).
Delete it. This will also delete its sub-directories.

Your Trash icon should now show your bin is empty.
That Trash folder will be automatically recreated whenever it is needed in the future.

Quote:

xkill - kill a client by its X resource

Don't do this!

Try installing htop - a fancy version of top,
or if you wanted to (for example) kill firefox, try something like

Code:

ps aux | grep firefox

This would display several lines, the last of which is your command entry, so you ignore that one.
Example:-

Code:

jeremy@hector ~ $ ps aux | grep -i firefox
jeremy    8178  5.7  5.1 1364396 413368 ?      Sl   16:17  23:56 /opt/firefox/firefox
jeremy   10328  0.0  0.0  12724  2108 pts/0    S+   23:16   0:00 grep --colour=auto -i firefox

That 8178 is the PID, so you enter

Code:

kill 8178

mintnewbee · 10-22-2015, 07:25 AM

great, that worked nicely. thanks for the concise description, jeremy

mintnewbee · 12-30-2015, 07:09 AM

hi,

here is a follow up on a recurring problem i keep having: nemo keeps crashing on my laptop whenever i try to empty the trash can, which means that i cannot empty the trash can at all. unfortunately, when i go to local/share in terminal, where the trash can folder used to be which i would then delete according to jeremys advice (see above), there is no trash can folder anymore. thus i cannot delete it and jeremys advice no longer works for me. my computer is now kind of crammed with folders that arent really in the trash can and that arent visible in their previous locations either. i can deduct that from the indication of free memory space which should be much higher of those folders i tried to delete had actualy been deleted.

the problem seems to habe to do with an external HD which i had plugged in and on which i tried to delete various folders. can anyone suggest how to fix this problem which seems to go from bad to worse ?

thanx

JeremyBoden · 12-30-2015, 08:40 AM

If you have an external disk or USB key containing a Linux filesystem (such as EXT4) on which you have deleted some files and you umount it (so that it can be removed safely), you might get asked if you want to "empty waste basket" - but if not, have a look on the external disk for hidden files/directories.
You should hopefully see a .Trash (or similar) directory at the top level - delete this using nemo.

If you have deleted files from nemo whilst signed on as root (or using nemo "open as root"), the Trash directory ought to be in

Code:

/root/.local/share/

This won't appear on your desktop on your machine with a normal signon.

You could try creating a dummy file on your desktop, then delete it using nemo - which should create a Trash directory - which can then be deleted.

Otherwise, you are going to have to do a file search to find a known deleted file.

mintnewbee · 12-30-2015, 09:03 AM

thanks, jeremy.

i don´t have my laptop on me at the moment, but i will try it later. i seem to remember though that there was no trash-folder on the external HD´s top level, but this might have been the case in nemo application, i am not sure i actually checked this in terminal.

the idea with the dummy file i have had myself already, the thing is that i can move it into the trash can in nemo but i cannot open the trash can to delete it.

i searched for "trash" (in nemo though, not quite sure how to do it in terminal) but did not find the trash can i am looking for. good idea though to search for a "deleted" file with a known name. will try that, too.

one thing i definitely did not try yet is searching in the root register. since i am the only one who uses the computer i did not bother defining any users, i just start the computer or type in password when it has gone into suspension-mode. so i have only be searching

Code:

/mikey/.local/share/

not in

Code:

/root/.local/share/

i will try that, too. thanx for now.

mintnewbee · 12-31-2015, 08:34 AM

if i open the root folder in nemo there is only the empty folder desktop and if i click on the trash can icon, it says

Sorry, could not display all the contents of "trash": Operation not supported

however, i found the hidden trash file on the external HD and deleted it - i am quite sure i had the Show Hidden Files option on but maybe it does not automatically apply to external HDs? anyway the problem is solved for now and i hope it won't come back in any other disguise. thanks, jeremy, and a good year 2016 to everybody.

JeremyBoden · 12-31-2015, 10:09 AM

Happy New Year!

Nemo has a switch CTRL+H to show/hide hidden files.
Maybe you pressed it twice.

But I'm guessing there is a bug - Trash ought to have a link to the disk & nemo shouldn't crash if the disk is temporarily disconnected.