Slashes in Folder/Filenames

[pcinfoman]

I think this is an operating system question.

I am using OS X 10.3.9. I am going to upgrade as soon as I get a good backup.

I have slashes in my file and folder names and it is working fine. However, when I connect my Western Digital MyBook external hard drive, it will not accept the slashes in the file/folder names. I find myself having to rename everything.

Is there a solution to this? My old external hard drive did not have this problem.

How do I get past it?

[motulist]

Your external disk is probably formatted in fat32 format (basically meaning MS Windows format) which cannot have slashes in file names. In disk utility get info on the drive and see what format it's in. If it's in fat32 then reformat it as hfs+ using disk utility and all should be fine. Reformatting will erase the drive completely, so be sure to copy off all the data from the disk first.

[pcinfoman]

Your external disk is probably formatted in fat32 format (basically meaning MS Windows format) which cannot have slashes in file names. I went to Disk Utility and then to "Partition" and it says "Mac OS Extended (Journaled).

What does that mean?

[andy.barron]

That's strange. I agree with motulist, the drive seems to be Windows based....

I would still use his recommendation to re-format to be sure, as I have been using various characters (/, ° etc.) for years NO PROBLEM.:)

[pcinfoman]

That is a valid suggestion. I will give it a shot and get back to you.

Thanks

[pcinfoman]

In the disk utility, I do not see a "format" option. I see "Erase". is that what you mean?

Under "Erase", I can choose a volume format. My choices are as follows: Mac OS Extended (Journaled), Mac OS Extended, MS-DOS File System and Unix File System". I can rule out MS-DOS, but what choice do I need to make to get "HFS" as you suggested?

[andy.barron]

Mac OS Extended (Journaled) without doubt:)

[pcinfoman]

What is the difference between journaled and not journaled?

[andy.barron]

It keeps the file system in good order, a bit like Cocktail used to do.

Imagine fragmentation - its like its stores data with a bit of sense & avoids.

[motulist]

What is the difference between journaled and not journaled?

To the average person, it means practically nothing. Just know that it's better with than without.

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107249

[pcinfoman]

I re-formatted the drive in "Extended (Journaled)" mode and it is working perfectly now.

Thank you for all your help

[motulist]

You're welcome.

[andy.barron]

touché :D