Can't copy folders to USB key - HELP

[jon08]

"The operation can't be completed because you don't have permission to access some of the items."

This is what I get when I try to copy a folder (album) with mp3s to my USB key. Why?

I am the only user on this computer and thus the Admin. I've tried creating another account, but I get the same (!) msg there when I try to copy albums to my USB drive.

I'm growing really concerned about this matter. I've repaired permissions several times and even ran "Maintenance" with OnyX, but to no avail. What the heck is all this about?

Please, someone, help! It is really inconvenient....

P.S.: I'm on SL 10.6.2.

Mod note: update after thread merge:

Now this is getting extremely frustrating. It noticed it when not too long ago I tried to copy a music folder/album to my USB key and got the following error: "The operation can't be completed because you don't have permission to access some of the items."

Interestingly enough, it worked if I copied mp3 by mp3, but when it came to copying the folder, I would get that error. I even tried deleting the mp3s from that folder and copying the empty folder, but still got this error.

I tried creating a guest account and copying the same folder(s) from there, but still got the error.

That's when I used terminal and enabled hidden files. It turned out that all problematic folders (the ones I couldn't copy to my USB/external HD) contained ._.DS_Store (Unix Executable File). WTF? I never had any problems copying/moving these folders back and forth to USB or external drives back in Leopard, but now in SL 10.6.2 all of a sudden this crap.

It seems that I can get rid of the ._.DS file if I create a new folder and move the mp3s from the problematic folder to the new folder - that's when I will be able to copy the entire new folder without a problem.

But here's the thing: only a portion of my 900+ music folders/albums contains this damn ._.DS file, which means I'd have to manually check each and every folder to eliminate the problematic ones??

What's more, today I even found the DS file in one of my DOCUMENTS folders!! Which makes me really anxious - how many more folders is there that contain DS file and will thus cause problems whenever I try to make a backup by transferring stuff to my external HD??

I spent almost 2hrs on the phone with an Apple Care technician the other day, resetting permissions and whatnot, but eventually we came to no solution. We suspected that it could have been about some copyright issues, but apparently NOT, since just today I discovered DS file in some of my documents folders! He said he'd contact Apple engineers about this matter, but who knows if they will know anything about this.

I'm really getting desperate here. Does ANYONE have ANY idea what the hell is this crap?

 

[spinnerlys]

Select the USB stick in Finder and open the Get Info window (right click or CMD+I) and see what it says under General > Format and what it says under Sharing and Permissions.

 

[jon08]

For some reason it doesn't display more than this under "Sharing & Permission"... Any idea why??

 

[jon08]

And here's the rest:

 

[durija]

Maybe copy protection of the mp3s is the issue? Perhaps there is no problem with the usb drive. Can you copy anything else to the drive, like an itty bitty text file?

 

[TheHumphries]

Also check there is no sort of security lock or whatever toggle for writing on the SUB drive or not. Seen some out there like that. (Most annoying thing ever to have one like me and have the damn switch toggle on you while in your pocket)

 

[jon08]

Maybe copy protection of the mp3s is the issue? Perhaps there is no problem with the usb drive. Can you copy anything else to the drive, like an itty bitty text file?

I can. I can even copy the mp3s inside this folder, but it's just the folder that it won't copy. Nothing is wrong with the USB drive...

Also check there is no sort of security lock or whatever toggle for writing on the SUB drive or not. Seen some out there like that. (Most annoying thing ever to have one like me and have the damn switch toggle on you while in your pocket)

No security lock here.

 

[GGJstudios]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.DS_Store

Google is your friend!

 

[jon08]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.DS_Store

Google is your friend!

Thank you for stating the obvious, been there before. But the file I'm referring to is ._.DS_Store, NOT .DS_Store.

 

[GGJstudios]

Thank you for stating the obvious, been there before. But the file I'm referring to is ._.DS_Store, NOT .DS_Store.

It's the same thing. They both are .DS_Store files.

 

[jon08]

It's the same thing. They both are .DS_Store files.

Either way, it provides no solution for my problem...

Here is how the file looks like:

 

[GGJstudios]

Either way, it provides no solution for my problem...

Google is still your friend:

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/23991

 

[jon08]

I am not sure whether deleting these DS files is a good idea. I've heard that it could result in corrupting certain files or something.......

 

[GGJstudios]

I am not sure whether deleting these DS files is a good idea. I've heard that it could result in corrupting certain files or something.......

Not true. If you actually read the wikipedia article, you'll see what they are and why they exist. If you delete them, Mac OS X will simply recreate them.

 

[jon08]

Not true. If you actually read the wikipedia article, you'll see what they are and why they exist. If you delete them, Mac OS X will simply recreate them.

What good will deleting them do then? Not that .DS_Store file is a blank white file, while ._.DS_Store is a gray, executable file - I wouldn't equate them.

 

[GGJstudios]

What good will deleting them do then? Not that .DS_Store file is a blank white file, while ._.DS_Store is a gray, executable file - I wouldn't equate them.

If you have permissions problems, either resetting permissions or deleting them may be appropriate. In most cases, however, you should leave them alone and just not display hidden files, so they don't appear in Mac OS X. There's nothing you can do about them appearing on drives that are viewed by Windows.

 

[jon08]

If you have permissions problems, either resetting permissions or deleting them may be appropriate. In most cases, however, you should leave them alone and just not display hidden files, so they don't appear in Mac OS X. There's nothing you can do about them appearing on drives that are viewed by Windows.

The reason why I displayed hidden files was because I wanted to see what prevented certain folders from being copied to my USB / external HD and it turns out that it was ._.DS_Store file's fault. I forgot to mention in my first post, but I ran OnyX Automation (it includes repairing permissions) several times, but to no avail.

I really don't know what this crap is all about.

 

[angelwatt]

From Terminal, this is the command I use to get rid of those ._. files.

cd /Volumes/Drive
find . -name '._*' -delete

 

[jon08]

First I type cd /Volumes/Drive and hit return and then find . -name '._.DS_Store' -delete and hit return again?

 

[angelwatt]

First I type cd /Volumes/Drive and hit return and then find . -name '._.DS_Store' -delete and hit return again?

"Drive" will be the name of your USB drive. It's the name that shows up in the sidebar in Finder.

 

[GGJstudios]

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2181748

 

[jon08]

"Drive" will be the name of your USB drive. It's the name that shows up in the sidebar in Finder.

But the ._. file is not on USB drive... It's on my MBP.....

 

[angelwatt]

But the ._. file is not on USB drive... It's on my MBP.....

OK, then cd (change directory) to where the folder is, then you can run the command, i.e., if you have a folder named "music" in your Documents folder.

cd ~/Documents/music
find . -name '._*' -delete

The second command will only effect files in the current directory and deeper.

 

[JustinVM]

._.DS_Store files can be caused by unzipping an archive

the ._.DS_Store files are most likely caused by unzipping an archive with a third party app. this causes the finder to add a resource fork, so your .DS_Store file became ._.DS_Store.

try a test:
-download The Unarchiver 2.3
-zip 3 or 4 mp3 file in a folder
-then unzip the folder with The Unarchiver 2.3
-now check for invisible files in the folder

The Unarchiver 2.3 is crap, as are some of the others third party unarchivers.

 

[jon08]

the ._.DS_Store files are most likely caused by unzipping an archive with a third party app. this causes the finder to add a resource fork, so your .DS_Store file became ._.DS_Store.

try a test:
-download The Unarchiver 2.3
-zip 3 or 4 mp3 file in a folder
-then unzip the folder with The Unarchiver 2.3
-now check for invisible files in the folder

The Unarchiver 2.3 is crap, as are some of the others third party unarchivers.

Hmm, it actually makes sense then! Not too long ago I switched to The Unarchiver because Stuffit Expander was acting up when it came to unraring password-protected files. But here's the thing: I've found the ._.DS_Store file even in some folders that were never extracted/compressed!

Btw, I just tried to compress a music album/folder by right-clicking on it and selecting "Compress" and then unzipped the file with Unarchiver again - but it did NOT create a ._.DS_Store file though. I have a feeling that it only creates it with RAR files (though not all of them). Also, I've noticed that in some of my music folders where aside from mp3s I also keep a jpg cover of the album, there is also a ._name-of-that-jpg-pic hidden file in there - which will also prevent the folder from being copied to a USB key (even if there is no ._.DS_Store file in there)..... I'm totally confused about all this crap.....