norton@extro.ucc.su.OZ.AU (Norton Chia) (06/04/91)
If there is a report or tech note on the often discussed issue on the Folder from Hell, could someone please direct me to it? I'm after the sequence of things to try. Many thanks, -- // Norton Chia || I can be reached via e-mail --> norton@extro.ucc.su.OZ.AU / / Micro Support || Yes, this is Australia calling. ////// AppleLink: AUST0240 / / Uni of Sydney || No, I haven't got anything to say but "Thanks", if I forgot //// When I'm talking half way around the world, my employers can't hear me ///
bobert@Autodesk.COM (Robert Murphy) (06/11/91)
In article <norton.675991836@extro> norton@extro.ucc.su.OZ.AU (Norton Chia) writes: >If there is a report or tech note on the often discussed issue on the >Folder from Hell, could someone please direct me to it? I'm after the >sequence of things to try. This seems to be a FAQ, so here's a response. The "Folder from Hell" is a folder that, no matter how hard you try, you can't get rid of. You put it in the trash, try to empty the trash, and the Mac complains about it having something inside of it that's locked or in use... but there's nothing in it! The usual Mac utilities also won't get rid of it. As I understand it, this occurs because of a bug in the Mac file system. Each folder has a count of how many items are contained in it, as well as links to the items it contains. Once in a while, the count gets off, so the folder thinks it contains more items than it really does. When you try to delete such a folder, the Mac OS tries to delete that last item... "wait, where is it? I'm sooooo confused! I guess I'd better not delete that folder"... and gives you an error message. The fix is to synchronize the count with the number of items in the folder. The easiest way to do this is to hold down the command and option keys while rebooting your Mac. For each drive, you will get a dialog asking if you want to rebuild its desktop; say yes. This will not only rebuild the desktop (and get rid of any notes you've made in "Get Info" windows), but it will also do a file system check and synchronize these count values. You will then be able to throw away the ex-"Folder from Hell". Bob Murphy bobert@autodesk.com
owen@lloyd.Camex.COM (Owen Hartnett) (06/13/91)
The new Disk First Aid that comes with System 7.0 seems to repair the "Folder from Hell" - at least, it fixed one that I had. -Owen