This is one of the situations where I find the Finder substitute "Pathfinder" to be a godsend. Pathfinder has a Command built in that you can select called Secure Delete. You just select the file or folder and select "Secure Delete." It comes up with a window that lets you Delete normally or securely (overwritten). It also has a checkbox titled "Delete with Root privileges." Just check this and after you enter your password anything that gives you problems will be gone. jg