(I mistakenly posted this question in HARDWARE previously, sorry.)

Hello,

I have been trying to empty the trash from my desktop, but it won't empty.

I have an iMac desktop, running 10.6.8

When I select "secure empty trash", this message pops up:

"The operation can’t be completed because you don’t have permission to access some of the items."

There are 85 items in the trash. One file is ∼WRL1020.tmp, I'm not sure what that it. When I tried to remove it from the trash, I was able to copy it, but not drag it out. I can't get it out of the trash. The other files I recognize as jpeg, pdf, and Pages files I have trashed.

Has anyone seen this problem before?
How can I empty the trash?
Any idea what the .tmp file might be?

Any help is appreciated. Thanks.
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Model Name: iMac
Model Identifier: iMac11,2
Processor Name: Intel Core i3
Processor Speed: 3.06 GHz

See my reply to your original post.

Is there a way to do it without installing a new utility? I can't afford to have the computer messed up right now... I wouldn't have time to work on a problem, and I have so much work to do on my machine. Is there any other way to fix this?

Often an item "stuck" on the Desktop or in the Trash (usually a .tmp [= temporary] file) will succumb to simply force-quitting/relaunching Finder.
Should that fail, OnyX will do the trick, and it takes no time at all to install and clean up the place you're concerned about.

See this XLab article

Just dropping in to say hi, and welcome to FineTunedMac.

OnyX is a very safe utility, and free. If nothing else, use it to empty the trash and keep it around in case it's needed again. I have had it for years and it has never caused any problem for me.

What Jon says is true as long as you use the version that is specifically for the version of OS X you are running. Neither earlier or later versions are safe to use. Of course that is equally true of virtually all utilities that perform system functions.

Yes, Onyx is a reliable, useful utility that has been around for quite some time. And yes, you must get the appropriate version for the OS you are running. I don't think Titanium Software is upgrading any versions of Onyx prior to the one for El Capitan. But, as long as you have the last version for the OS you are using, you will be fine.

I count on Onyx as part of my disk maintenance/repair arsenal (the other one is TechTool Pro (I also have Disk Warrior)). And, I will not upgrade to a new Mac OS until Onyx (and at least 4 other critical products) are either OK, "as is", or until an update comes out.

I have OnyX, but have never used it to empty the trash.

I have peeked around, but keep overlooking that feature.

Ergo, where is that feature?

Go to the Cleaning tab and click Trash.

Gottit, Jon. Many thanks!

Musta been that cursed cooking sherry (again)...

Cooking? It's supposed to be used for cooking? Uh, oh…..