How To Fix Mac Error Code 43: Quick and Easy Fixes

By Nicholas J. Johnson | October 21, 2019

The Mac error code 43 can appear while trying to delete a file or an application and attempting to move it to the trash. The complete error message reads as:

“The operation can’t be completed because one or more required items can’t be found (Error code-43).”

A corrupted NVRAM or PRAM settings form the primary reason behind the occurrence of this error. Apart from that, locked files, corrupt files, or problems with the loading of the Finder application can also lead to this error.

The issue is annoying but it’s generally easily fixable. Here, we have detailed down the fixes to this particular error code 43 on Mac and explained each fix in a step by step manner. So, follow and apply them to get rid of this issue from your Mac.

Methods to Fix the Mac Error Code 43

In this section, we will discuss the methods that will surely help you get rid of the error code 43 from your Mac. Follow the fixes and apply them one by one for a quick and complete fix of this Mac error 43.

One: Quit the Finder Application Forcefully

If the core program files of the ‘Finder’ application does not function properly, then there is a chance for you to encounter this error. The best answer to resolve this problem is to quit the ‘Finder’ application.

To do it in an easy manner, follow the steps below.

First, start the Mac computer and then go to the top bar on the desktop.
Next, move to the left corner of the bar and choose the ‘Apple’ logo. This action will reveal a drop-down menu, in it, locate and choose the ‘Force Quit’ option.
As soon as you do that, a dialog box with a list of all the applications will appear having the heading ‘Force Quit Applications’.
From that list, find and choose the ‘Finder’ option. Then, at the bottom of the dialog box, click on the ‘Relaunch’ button.
At last, once the ‘Finder’ application opens up, delete a file and see whether this issue fixes or not.

Two: Remove the Locked Files

If a file that you want to delete is locked, then due to that reason too, you can face this error code 43 on Mac. The most feasible answer to resolve this problem is to forcibly delete the locked file from the system via ‘Terminal’.

First, from the ‘Dock,’ select the ‘Spaceship’ icon to open up the ‘Launchpad’ window.
After that, inside the window, locate and choose the folder named ‘Other’.
From this folder content, locate and choose ‘Terminal’.
When the new window having a name ‘Terminal’ comes up, run the following command – “chflags -R nouchg”
Next, launch the ‘Trash’ application. Now, press the keys- ‘Command + A’ to choose all the files inside the ‘Trash’ folder.
Next, drag those chosen files and drop them on the ‘Terminal’ window and hit the ‘Return’ button.
At last, if a confirmation box comes up, click the ‘Secure Empty Trash’ button to remove every file present within ‘Trash’.

Three: Reset the NVRAM or PRAM

The non-volatile random access memory or NVRAM is a small amount of memory in the Mac which contains specific settings in order to access them quickly.

Now, if the NVRAM or PRAM settings get corrupt somehow, you can face the error 43 on a Mac device. Now, the best solution to resolve this problem is to reset the NVRAM or PRAM settings of your Mac. Follow the steps below.

If the Mac is powered on, first shut it down properly.
Next, start the device and as soon as the boot sequence begins, press and hold the keys ‘Option + Command + P + R’ for twenty seconds until the machine reboots once again.
When the Mac reboots, all your saved settings like time and date settings, screen resolution, volume, etc. will be lost.
At last, to use the Mac computer properly set all the settings according to your preferences.

Four: Delete the ‘DisplayState.plist’ from Alternatives and Resources Folders

If somehow the file ‘DisplayState.plist’ present inside the Resources and Alternatives folder gets corrupt, then also you can face this issue. You can try deleting the ‘DisplayState.plist’ file from the two folders mentioned above.

Here are the steps to do that:

First, find the saved session files of the Mac and then right-click on them. This action will open up a popup menu.
Now, from that menu, locate and select the ‘Show Package Contents’ option. As soon as you click on that option, a new window will appear with three following folders – ‘Media, Resources and Alternatives’.
Next, within the Resources and the Alternatives folders, find a ‘DisplayState.plist’ file and delete it. If you get more files with the same name, then delete those files as well. It is recommended to keep the ‘DisplayState.plist’ file as a backup on the ‘Desktop’ before you delete them.
Finally, check if this error code 43 comes back or not when you try to delete a file from your Mac.

Five: Utilize the Disk Utility

If none of the above four methods fixes this issue for you, then as the last solution, all you can do is use the Disk Utility and check if there is some kind of issue with the storage device or not. Follow these steps:

First, go to the upper left side of the screen locate the ‘Apple’ logo and click on it. This action will open up a drop-down menu. From that menu, choose the ‘Restart’ option.
As soon as you click on that option, the machine will restart. Now, when the boot screen appears, immediately press and hold the keys ‘Command + R’ until the ‘Apple’ logo comes up.
Next, select the ‘Disk Utility’ option and then click the ‘Continue’ button. Now, a new window having the title ‘Disk Utility’ will come up.
Inside that window, move to the side panel and locate and choose the disk partition that you want to repair. After that, move to the top of the window and choose the ‘First Aid’ button and begin the disk check process.
You can get several types of reports from the Disk Utility. If the report suggests that hard disk is about to fail, then back up all the data within it and purchase a new one. But, if the report says that there is some issue with the drive which was rectified, then check that issue.
If you get a report that says ‘Overlapped extent allocation’, then that means that more one file occupies the same space on the disk. Out of those files, one of them is corrupted. Thus, the only solution to resolve this problem is to go to the ‘DamagedFiles’ folder and delete the problematic file.
At last, if the ‘Disk Utility’ suddenly stops running and reports ‘The underlying task reported failure’ message, then re-run the ‘First Aid’. If after rerunning the checking process, the same message appears again, then take backup and format the drive.

Concluding it

To fix the Mac error code 43 quickly, follow and implement the methods mentioned above one by one. If you know some other fixes to this particular error, you can leave that in the comments for helping other Mac users.

Posted in Mac