tech support help plz

[tasty]

since others post their problems here and seem to get good help for them, i thought i would bring up a problem that has plauged me for a while:

about a month ago, i downloaded some mp3s to my desktop from internet explorer (all from the same website). when i was transferring them to my iTunes music folder, two of them could not be moved from the desktop. they say:
"the item (X) is being used by another task right now. (Other tasks include moving, copying, or emptying the trash)."

i can honestly say i am doing none of those things. i have shut down and restarted my computer countless times since this problem arose. does anyone know how i can move, or at least delete these two damn mp3s to get them off my desktop? (and no, they are not still downloading from internet explorer)

i would like to preemptively thank anyone for any help they may give  

[jn.loudnotes]

Thankfully this has never happened to me    so all I can do is guess.

First, I would try rebuilding your desktop, just to see if that makes a difference.  If that doesn't work, try restarting with extensions off.  It may be that some background application (a firewall, anti-virus software, etc) could mistakenly be using the files.  With extensions off you will hopefully be able to delete them, although you probably won't be able to get them to play.

[Ace]

If this is in OS X, open up the terminal and type:

rm -f ~/Desktop/filename.mp3

where filename.mp3 is the name of the file you want to get rid of. If it doesn't let you do that, try running the same command using sudo, so type:

sudo rm -f ~/Desktop/filename.mp3

[tasty]

ace, oddly your trick worked with one of the files but not the other? and LN, i cant use your tips because im in jaguar. guess im stuck with a soft boys mp3 on my desktop for all eternity.

[jn.loudnotes]

I'm still running 9.2 so sorry I can't really help.

Although can't you still boot into Classic mode with Jaguar?  Maybe not. . .oh well.  And if you try everything and still can't get rid of it, I'd suggest putting another icon on top of it so you can't see it anymore

[Ace]

Tasty, what did it say when you tried to delete the one that won't delete? If the filename has a space (or some other special characters) in it, you need to include a \ before the character. For example, to get rid of "Stupid Song.mp3" you need to type:

rm -f ~/Desktop/Stupid\ Song.mp3

[tasty]

thx ace, it did have spaces in it. i should have known it was something like that, i really dont know how to use unix/darwin at all.

go hawkeyes!~

[Mr. Lothario]

i really dont know how to use unix/darwin at all.

     <guilt-trip>For shame. For shaaaaaame.</guilt-trip> And you with "root" in your name, even. (Note: the "root" account in *NIX OSes has special significance.) Just goes to show you how useful it would be to learn UNIX. ; )

     In all seriousness, even picking up the rudiments of UNIX is a Good Thing?, and taking a UNIX class or two at a community college would be well worth your time. UNIX is the proverbial rocket-powered sledgehammer. You can do literally anything with it, and the more you learn, the easier it is to not demolish your house while trying to crack a walnut.  

[tasty]

all i know is that mac os X has respect for the clan r00t? when i try to move system files, an error message comes up that says "this action cannot be performed because it is owned by root."

[Ace]

But tasty, when OS X tells me that, I say, "Listen up bitch, I don't give a fuck about root, move the damn files like I told you." And you know what? It listens to me. Loth speaks the truth. Even if you have a basic understanding of the command line, you can make your life a lot easier. There are some pretty good books out there, and also some decent online tutorials.

[kos.viper]

Ace, I had a file that was saying the same thing but it ended in an exe which made me think it might have been a virus.  Thanks to this thread i finally got rid of it.  What causes this to happen?

[|MP|Cringe]

im not completely sure if this works, but in jag i think that instead of Messing with the Terminal, you can go to Get Info on the file, and go to Ownership & Permissions, make yourself the Owner, give yourself read+write permission, and trash it.

[tasty]

hey cringe? thx for the help. just a few days too late.  

btw ur trick doesnt work anyway, at least it didnt on these files cuz i had already tried it.

[KoS PY.nq.ict]

Ace is my hero....he helped me with a little dl problem I was having. When I downloaded speed download and installed it...it took control over all downloads made from all my browsers. When I deleted the program, my browsers wouldn't dl. It kept saying "Download sent to Speed Download". I tried everything I knew until I talked to Ace. He told me to check if there were any prefrences or plugins left over. That's when I felt like a retard. I forgot to check for preference files. So anyway he helped me out and that's my tech problem story.

....yea