data transfer to external hdd problem

mak · Jul 26, 2005

hi,

i am trying to back-up some data to an external hdd. i keeping getting the following message when i drag my data to the hdd

"you cannot copy the item "Icon" because the name is too long or includes characters that the disk cannot display."

i have never had this problem before.

i have re-named the files to various different things but still no luck

e.g.

****.doc
*** ***.doc

what are valid characters?

any help would be great

thanks,

superbovine · Jul 26, 2005

mak said:

hi,

i am trying to back-up some data to an external hdd. i keeping getting the following message when i drag my data to the hdd

"you cannot copy the item "Icon" because the name is too long or includes characters that the disk cannot display."

i have never had this problem before.

i have re-named the files to various different things but still no luck

e.g.

****.doc
*** ***.doc

what are valid characters?

any help would be great

thanks,
Click to expand...

few questioned first before i can answer your question.

exactly how are you trying copy the files and what specific files are you trying to copy? Also, are you using custom icons? What filesystem is your external disk FAT32, HFS+, etc?

mak · Jul 27, 2005

i am copying the files by dragging them to the external hdd.

i have a mixture of files. some of the files simply transfer then the 'error' appears. documents and images seem to transfer fine i think. the files i am having trouble with are the files linked to my imovie projects and other video work.

i do not know what custom icons are.

the file system works on both osx and windows.

thanks,

superbovine · Jul 27, 2005

my guess is you are using FAT32 filesystem, and your are using HFS+ on your mac which have different file naming conventions.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/fileio/fs/fat32_file_system.asp

Quote

FAT32 File System

The FAT file system organizes data on fixed and floppy disks. The main advantage of FAT file system volumes is that they are accessible by MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows, and OS/2 systems. The FAT file system is the only file system that is currently supported for floppy disks.

The FAT32 file system is the most recently defined file system based on the FAT file system format, which is included with Windows 95 OSR2, Windows 98, and Windows Me. The FAT32 file system uses 32-bit cluster identifiers, but reserves the high 4 bits, so it has 28-bit cluster identifiers.

Valid file names have the following syntax:

[[drive:]][[directory\]]filename[[.extension]]

The drive parameter must name an existing drive and can be any letter from A through Z. The drive letter must be followed by a colon ).

The directory parameter specifies the directory that contains the file directory entry. This value must be followed by a backslash (\) to separate it from the file name.

If a specified directory is not in the current directory, directory must include the names of all directories that are in the file path, separated by backslashes. The root directory is specified by using a backslash at the beginning of the name. For example, if the directory ABCD is in the directory SAMPLE, and SAMPLE is in the root directory, the correct directory specification is \SAMPLE\ABCD. A directory name consists of any combination of up to 8 letters, digits, or the following special characters: $ % ' _ @ { } ~ ` ! # ( )

A directory name can also have an extension that is any combination of up to 3 letters, digits, or special characters that are preceded by a period (.).

The filename and extension parameters specify a file. The filename can be any combination of up to 8 letters, digits, or the special characters previously listed. The extension can be any combination of up to 3 letters, digits, or special characters that are preceded by a period (.). The filename can also include embedded spaces, which are spaces preceded and followed by 1 (one) or more letters, digits, or special characters. For example, disk 1 is a valid value for filename.

The FAT file system volumes are case insensitive, and do not distinguish between uppercase and lowercase letters.
Click to expand...

data transfer to external hdd problem

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