Cannot empty trash because item is in use

Jan 20, '11 07:30:00AM

Contributed by: MacTipster

Sometimes it is not possible to empty the trash because an item is in use. There are many possible causes for this; here is one thing to try to eliminate the error.

This fixed it for me.

[crarko adds: I found this thread in the MacOSXHints forums where the Locum process is discussed. It references a good source for finding out more information about this process. By the way, the word 'Locum' means 'place-holder' or perhaps 'temporary proxy' is more applicable in this case. Apparently it fills in for the Finder in the background while emptying the Trash. It also can consume quite a bit of memory while doing so with a large number of files.]

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Mac OS X Hints
http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20110105041622966