FOLDER FROM HELL - repair utility by John Jeppson.
CAUTION! Before using this utility:
(1) Reboot (restart) your Macintosh. Be sure no applications are running except Finder, or MultiFinder.
(2) Attempt to trash the offending folder with an "Option-Drag". Hold the Option key down while dragging the folder to the trash, and then try to empty the trash. Perform this step twice.
(3) Back-up your disk. This utility works by writing directly to the disk. It is most careful to write to the correct block on the disk, but you should always back-up anything and everything of value on the disk before running the utility.
A "Folder From Hell" is a folder which appears to be empty but cannot be trashed; that is, you can put it in the trash, but you get an error when you try to empty the trash. The problem persists even though you have rebooted your Mac and no applications are running which could possibly be using the folder.
A "Folder From Hell" should not be confused with a folder which also appears to be empty but which does actually contain a file-- a file that is both "invisible" and "locked". A folder containing an invisible, locked file gives an error alert when you drag it to the trash, but can be thrown away with an "Option-Drag" as in step (2) above.
Folders, like files, are organized on the disk in a catalog file. Each folder has a record in the catalog, and that record contains a field called the "valence". The valence normally reflects the number of files and sub-folders contained in the folder, but occasionally gets out of sync. This could happen, for example, when an application has thrown away a file (perhaps an internally generated temporary file) and then the Macintosh crashes or has a power failure before the catalog file can be fully updated. A mismatch between the "valence" and the actual number of files results in a "Folder From Hell" which cannot be trashed.
This utility program repairs the folder's record in the disk's catalog file by setting its valence to zero. You are asked to select the target folder using a varient of the familiar standard file dialog. The utility checks to be sure that the designated folder contains no valid entries and that the valence is, in fact, non-zero.
After repairing the disk the utility program asks your permission to reboot the Macintosh. Even though the disk has been repaired, the corresponding catalog information in Mac's memory is still wrong since the disk's catalog file was read into memory when the disk was first mounted. It is necessary, therefore, to force the system to re-read the catalog file before the repaired folder can actually be trashed; this is most reliably done by rebooting the Mac.
The utility program makes a variety of internal checks as it goes along. If it cannot successfully complete its job it quits with an error message. You may want to tell me about it.
