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Question

inProgress file need to delete but 'is in use' ????

Jul 17, 2012 9:09PM PDT

So yesterday my 1TB Buffalo hard drive decided to stop functioning properly after I stopped its daily back-up because things were running slowly.

Now all I can see when I load up my hard-drive is either backups.backupdb with the all the backup folders or all of my folders but no files in them.

When I can view the backup folders I can see two files at the bottom, Alias and my most recent updated .inprogress file. Now, in order for me to repair my hard drive via Disk Utility it needs to unmount which its unable to do because (I think) I'm unable to delete the inprogress. file which states its in use. I don't know how to delete a file in use, but its not in use. Nor do I know if this is even the problem.

PLEASE HELP!!!

Discussion is locked

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Answer
Turn off TIme Machine,
Jul 17, 2012 9:42PM PDT

and with the Buffalo drive connected, reboot the machine.

When it comes back up again, and the Buffalo is mounted on the desktop, try to remove that file again


P

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N/A
Jul 17, 2012 10:01PM PDT

Tried that, but it brings up 'Unable to read the disk' with 3 options: Initialise, Eject and the 3rd I can't remember.

????

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That usually means that the disk is either
Jul 18, 2012 8:29AM PDT

A. On the way out
or
B. Already left the building.

The reason you stopped using it for backups was because of slowness. A clue
You didn't mention whether your backup was a Time Machine one, in which case the disk would be formatted as Mac OS X Extended(Journaled) or whether your backup was using a different method, in which case the disk may still be in the same, Factory Default, state it was when you opened the box.
Assuming you did not format the drive when you connected to your Mac, it just worked, the it may be formatted in that notoriously unstable FAT format.
If that is the case, then initialize may be a repair option but you WILL lose all the data on the drive. This may not be so bad if the internal is functioning well AND the Buffalo initializes nicely AND you do a backup as soon as the drive mounts.

Do you remember formatting the drive before use?

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Answer
Delete in-use files
Jul 20, 2012 11:41AM PDT

To answer your question.

1. Since TimeMachine is supposed to be using the file. Did you try to kill it first.
"System Preference -> Time Machine -> off" would be my first try.

2. Bring up terminal and just delete the file. Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal
First you have to find the File, then it's just "sudo rm -rf <file or directory>"

3. If the Buffalo is only for TimeMachine, you could just do a clean swipe with Disk Utility.

After all is said and done, run Disk Utility and scan the drive for any issues, /Applications/Utilities/Disk Utility.app.