Can't delete a Mac burn folder - problem solved

By Alvin J. Alexander, devdaily.com

I just had a problem on Mac OS X where I couldn't delete a burn folder. Something happened during the process of trying to burn a DVD ... frankly I can't remember what the problem was. (I had one problem with a DVD during the verification process, so that may have been it.)

Regardless of how it happened, the problem left me with a burn folder on my desktop named "Untitled DVD.fpbf" that I can't delete. Every time I try to delete it by dragging it to the trash can I get this error message:

The operation cannot be completed because the item "Untitled DVD.fpbf" is locked.

It took me a little while to figure this out, but the solution is pretty simple. Just follow these steps:

  • Click the burn folder once on your desktop to select it.
  • Press the keystroke [Apple][i] to bring up the "Get Info" dialog for the file.
  • If the "General" panel isn't already open, click the flippy triangle to open it.
  • On this panel there is a checkbox named "Locked", and in this case it is checked. Click it to de-select it, then close the dialog.
  • Drag the burn folder to the trash can and you should be able to delete it now.

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