Can't do drag and drop backups. Message Error code -36

[Blue Monkey]

Any suggestions as to how to solve this problem?

 

Here's the message I get when I try to drag and drop from one internal drive to another in my Mac Pro.

 

"The finder can't complete the operation because some data in ".DS_Store" can't be read or written. (Error Code -36)"

 

This has never happened before. The only thing I've changed in my system is that I added a 3rd display to my set up. Nothing else has been changed.

 

Any leads or insight will be much appreciated.

[David Nahmani]

Make sure you have read and write permission on that drive?

[Blue Monkey]

Make sure you have read and write permission on that drive?

 

Hi David,

 

Thank you very much for the reply.

 

All permissions are granted as far as I can see (Get Info/permissions). This is the first time I've experienced this and it's quite frustrating. I checked permissions on the files (even though I haven't changed any permissions on anything on this system). I'm completely baffled.

 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[David Nahmani]

Do you get that error independently of the location where you attempt to copy on the hard drive? Make sure whatever enclosing folder you're dragging to also has the desired permissions.

[Blue Monkey]

Do you get that error independently of the location where you attempt to copy on the hard drive? Make sure whatever enclosing folder you're dragging to also has the desired permissions.

 

Hi David,

 

Thanks for replying again.

 

The folder which I was copying to was created just before I tried to drag and drop the backup to the backup drive which is my standard procedure.

 

I also tried to make a disk image of the the drive (my project files) that I am trying to backup (as I do this once a week to copy files to an HD that I keep off premises) and the disk image failed as well.

[David Nahmani]

Try using Disk Utility to verify/repair the drive?

[Blue Monkey]

Try using Disk Utility to verify/repair the drive?

 

I'll give it a try David.

 

I don't know why I didn't think of that earlier.

 

I'll report back soon.

 

Thanks!

[Blue Monkey]

I ran Disk Utility (Verify and Repair) and the result is.

 

"The volume Blue Monkey appears to be o.k."

 

I'm stumped. This never happened before and as stated above, I haven't changed anything on this system since the last backup except adding the third display.

[Blue Monkey]

Still struggling with this problem.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

I have no idea why this happened as I did not change anything on my studio system/setup.

[triplets]

I found this on apple's discussion forums:

 

I had this problem, and it seems that the cause for me was the corruption of the hidden "._*" files that get stored on a ms-dos formatted usb drive. If you clear out those files using the dot_clean console command it seems to work (at least for me). Check out this link for more info:

 

http://www.macyourself.com/2010/01/07/solution-to-finder-error-code-36-in-10-6-when-copying-folders/

[Blue Monkey]

I found this on apple's discussion forums:

 

I had this problem, and it seems that the cause for me was the corruption of the hidden "._*" files that get stored on a ms-dos formatted usb drive. If you clear out those files using the dot_clean console command it seems to work (at least for me). Check out this link for more info:

 

http://www.macyourself.com/2010/01/07/solution-to-finder-error-code-36-in-10-6-when-copying-folders/

 

Thank you very much for the reply triplets.

 

Did you have this problem even after you updated to 10.6.8?

 

The reason I ask is because the article states:

 

"UPDATE – 4/4/10: Apple’s 10.6.3 update has indeed finally fixed this bug! If you installed the update and are still experiencing a Finder error, it’s likely you are suffering from a different issue that is beyond the realm of this article."

 

I'm always a bit shy about getting into Terminal. I'm afraid the fix for one issue could cause another issue. What's your thoughts about that?

 

By the way, I do occasionally use a USB flash drive which is formatted MS-DOS (FAT 32) to transfer files between machines. Is that the cause of this issue as stated in the article?

[triplets]

It's a Finder issue that always happened with Fat32 (windows/DOS) drives or partitions.

One of the hidden files on your drive might be corrupt. Unless you use a fat 32 partition on your 2nd internal drive, which I don't think you do.

[Blue Monkey]

It's a Finder issue that always happened with Fat32 (windows/DOS) drives or partitions.

One of the hidden files on your drive might be corrupt. Unless you use a fat 32 partition on your 2nd internal drive, which I don't think you do.

 

Thanks triplets.

 

You're correct, no FAT 32 partition (no partitions at all).

 

I'll try the Terminal solution suggested in the article you provided.

 

I've never experienced this before with the flash drive, I've been transferring files between 4 machines for quite some time. Not sure why this issue just started.

 

Would it be best to reformat the flash drive that I use to a Mac format since I use it exclusively on Mac machines/drives?

 

Thanks again triplets.

[triplets]

Would it be best to reformat the flash drive that I use to a Mac format since I use it exclusively on Mac machines/drives?

 

I would definitely do that if you're not dealing with Windows computers.

 

Logic does NOT like FAT32 drives.

[Blue Monkey]

I would definitely do that if you're not dealing with Windows computers.

 

Logic does NOT like FAT32 drives.

 

Thanks triplets.

 

I'll give these suggestions a try and report back with my results.