Unable to delete hidden file blocking backup

From ChatGPT:

You’re seeing a file that looks something like:
d????????? ? ? ? ? ? .mount_CollabZbeFLI/

In Linux, the ls -l output with d????????? suggests something strange:

• d means it's (or was) a directory.
• ????????? instead of normal permissions (rwxr-xr-x, etc.) indicates the file's metadata cannot be read — possibly because:
  • The filesystem is corrupted.
  • The mount point is gone or half-broken.
  • The underlying device disappeared.
  • You don't have permission or there's a "stale" resource.

Now, about .mount_CollabZbeFLI/:

• Hidden (starts with a dot .mount_...).
• Random-looking suffix like CollabZbeFLI — typically these are autogenerated temporary mount points.
• Common suspects:
  • AppImage apps (they create .mount_* temporary directories under /tmp usually).
  • FUSE-based mounts (e.g., Google Drive, Dropbox, rclone mounts).
  • Flatpak applications sometimes create transient mounts.
  • snapd can create .mount_* too, when snap packages run.

Specifically:

• .mount_ directories are almost certainly from AppImage when you run an AppImage file.
• The random part (CollabZbeFLI) is generated per mount to avoid conflicts.

When the AppImage runs, it mounts itself to a hidden location like /tmp/.mount_something/, then executes from there. If it crashes or is forcibly killed, the mount might stay orphaned and weird like you're seeing.

TL;DR:
✅ This looks like a leftover AppImage mount.
Alternative but less likely: FUSE mount (like Google Drive, rclone, or similar user-space mounts).
Quick check:

• Run mount | grep CollabZbeFLI — see if the system thinks it's still mounted.
• Look inside /tmp — AppImage .mount_* usually lands there.
• Try lsattr or stat — see if it gives errors or more info.
• lsof might show a process using it.
  

Alright! Let's clean this up safely and carefully.
Here’s a step-by-step plan you can follow:

1. Check if it’s still mounted
First, let's see if it's an active mount:

mount | grep CollabZbeFLI

or more generally:

mount | grep .mount_

If it shows up, it means it's still mounted. If nothing shows, it's likely a stale broken entry (not mounted anymore).

2. If it is mounted, try to unmount
If the previous step shows it's mounted, try to unmount it cleanly:

sudo umount /path/to/.mount_CollabZbeFLI

(Replace /path/to/ with the actual directory — or just sudo umount ./.mount_CollabZbeFLI/ if you're inside that folder.)

3. If umount fails (for example: "target is busy")
You might need to force unmount:

sudo umount -l /path/to/.mount_CollabZbeFLI

where -l means "lazy unmount" — disconnects now, cleans up later when the system is ready.

If still stubborn, even more aggressively:

sudo umount -f /path/to/.mount_CollabZbeFLI

(-f = force. Be cautious — only use this if nothing else works.)

4. If it’s not mounted anymore (but directory is stuck)
You can simply remove it:

sudo rm -rf /path/to/.mount_CollabZbeFLI

✅ That should fully remove the ghost directory.

5. Final check
Make sure it's gone:

ls -la /path/to/

(no .mount_CollabZbeFLI should be listed anymore)

Bonus Tip
If you encounter many .mount_* folders and want to clean all old broken ones at once (be careful!), you can:

sudo find /tmp -maxdepth 1 -type d -name ".mount_*" -exec rm -rf {} +

(Only if you know these are all AppImage leftovers.)

Summary

• If mounted → sudo umount.
• If stuck → sudo umount -l or sudo umount -f.
• If not mounted → sudo rm -rf.
• Double check and you're done!
  

Would you like me to also give you a small script to automatically detect and clean such orphan .mount_* folders in the future?
It can be really handy if you often run AppImages!

 

yes. I just asked it:

Code:

Linux, which software might be responsible to create such a hidden file:

"d????????? ? ? ? ? ? .mount_CollabZbeFLI/:

 

I just saw that you asked for the script that ChatGPT offered to create; here it is. Please note that I have not tested it

Code:

#!/bin/bash

# Script: clean_mounts.sh
# Purpose: Clean up leftover .mount_* directories safely
# Supports --dry-run and custom scan directory with error handling

DRY_RUN=false
SCAN_DIR="/tmp"  # Default scan directory

# Help function
usage() {
    echo "Usage: $0 [--dry-run] [scan_directory]"
    echo "  --dry-run        Only show what would happen, do not modify anything."
    echo "  scan_directory   Directory to scan (default: /tmp)."
    exit 1
}

# Parse arguments
while [[ $# -gt 0 ]]; do
    case "$1" in
        --dry-run)
            DRY_RUN=true
            shift
            ;;
        -h|--help)
            usage
            ;;
        *)
            if [ -z "$SCAN_DIR_SET" ]; then
                SCAN_DIR="$1"
                SCAN_DIR_SET=true
                shift
            else
                echo "Error: Unexpected argument: $1"
                usage
            fi
            ;;
    esac
done

# Check if directory exists
if [ ! -d "$SCAN_DIR" ]; then
    echo "Error: Directory '$SCAN_DIR' does not exist."
    exit 2
fi

echo "Scanning directory: $SCAN_DIR"
if $DRY_RUN; then
    echo "Running in DRY-RUN mode: No changes will be made."
fi

# Start scanning
FOUND=false
for dir in "$SCAN_DIR"/.mount_*; do
    if [ -d "$dir" ]; then
        FOUND=true
        echo "Found: $dir"

        # Check if it's mounted
        if mount | grep -q "$dir"; then
            echo "Directory is mounted: $dir"
            if $DRY_RUN; then
                echo "Would unmount: $dir"
            else
                echo "Unmounting: $dir"
                sudo umount -l "$dir"
            fi
        fi

        # After unmount (or if not mounted), remove it
        if [ -d "$dir" ]; then
            if $DRY_RUN; then
                echo "Would remove: $dir"
            else
                echo "Removing directory: $dir"
                sudo rm -rf "$dir"
            fi
        fi
    fi
done

if ! $FOUND; then
    echo "No .mount_* directories found in $SCAN_DIR."
fi

echo "Cleanup process finished."
if $DRY_RUN; then
    echo "(No actual unmount or delete actions were performed.)"
fi

You can do a dry-run with:

Code:

clean_mounts.sh --dry-run /mnt

or a live run:

Code:

clean_mounts.sh /mnt

where /mnt is the directory where the mount points are that you would like to clean up.