I keep getting a -36 error transferring files from one drive to the other. both drives are formatted mac journaled. If I restart the computer and try again the issue goes away for a few minutes but then the issue resurfaces later. it happens with little files and big files. Sometimes there is no issue sometimes there is. I was transferring stuff from a light blue colored sandisk 4tb SSD to a Lacie rugged. i thought the issue was with the orange lacie but when i took the orange drive out of the equation and saw that the error was still persisting with the blue drive i panicked. (i was trying to move a 3.7mb adobe premiere project file off of that blue drive and it was acting up). so I restarted the computer, and only then i was able to take the premiere project file off the drive and back it up to dropbox. Disk utility first aid failed the first time I tried to run it on the blue san disk ssd. The 2nd time it succeeded. I think issues persisted. So I wiped the light blue san disk ssd in disk utility. I was surprised how long it took to erase it back to mac os journaled. that brought me to the conclusion that the light blue ssd was the issue..... but now im trying to transfer files from the orange lacie rugged to a teal colored san disk 4tb ssd and i'm getting the same error after a few smooth transfers. something isnt right. please help. I have a 128gb mac studio.
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error code -36
- Thread starter rachelcenter
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How to fix error code -36 on Mac
Seeing an error message when using a Mac is rare, but one of those you might see is error code -36. We’ll tell you what it is and show you how to deal with it.
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My interpretation of the error code you posted above is that you are trying to transfer files that are corrupt in some way. Something about them just "isn't right".
A quirk about the finder:
If you try to copy a group of files using the finder, and just ONE file is "bad", the finder will abort the entire process and nothing will get copied.
You could try to copy the files in smaller "groups" (say, 10 or 20 at a time), but you will need to keep notes to track down the files that won't copy and are interfering with the process.
There is another, BETTER way.
First I must ask:
Are both the drives in question (the "source" and the "target") data drives only?
By that I mean, you do not boot from them? But just store data on them?
I would recommend CarbonCopyCloner for this job.
REASON WHY:
As noted above, the finder will fail when it tries to copy a bad file, and can't.
With CCC, however, if you're copying/cloning files, and if CCC encounters a bad file, IT WILL NOT STOP the job. Instead, it makes a note of the bad file (or files), and completes copying all the GOOD files.
When done, CCC will give you a list of the "problem files".
CCC can also be set so that when it clones or copies, it will not erase old files on your target drive.
(bombich calls it "safety net").
Also...
With CCC, you can designate that some files (not all) be copied/cloned. I use this feature and it works well.
CCC is free to try for 30 days.
I strongly suggest that you DO "give it a try"...
A quirk about the finder:
If you try to copy a group of files using the finder, and just ONE file is "bad", the finder will abort the entire process and nothing will get copied.
You could try to copy the files in smaller "groups" (say, 10 or 20 at a time), but you will need to keep notes to track down the files that won't copy and are interfering with the process.
There is another, BETTER way.
First I must ask:
Are both the drives in question (the "source" and the "target") data drives only?
By that I mean, you do not boot from them? But just store data on them?
I would recommend CarbonCopyCloner for this job.
REASON WHY:
As noted above, the finder will fail when it tries to copy a bad file, and can't.
With CCC, however, if you're copying/cloning files, and if CCC encounters a bad file, IT WILL NOT STOP the job. Instead, it makes a note of the bad file (or files), and completes copying all the GOOD files.
When done, CCC will give you a list of the "problem files".
CCC can also be set so that when it clones or copies, it will not erase old files on your target drive.
(bombich calls it "safety net").
Also...
With CCC, you can designate that some files (not all) be copied/cloned. I use this feature and it works well.
CCC is free to try for 30 days.
I strongly suggest that you DO "give it a try"...
I've taken the orange Lacie drive out of the equation and havent seen the error since. Let me test that theory this week to see if it holds up.
per your note "You could try to copy the files in smaller groups (say, 10 or 20 at a time),".... thats what i was trying early on and even one file would fail. so i would try another and another and each one, same issue. but it wasnt consistent. like if i would restart the computer, i could move those files again without issue but the issue would still return.
"Are both the drives in question (the source and the target) data drives only?" Both were external hard drives that i'm not booting from. I had put the files on the SSD drive that I intended to edit video from. and then the lacie external hard drive was supposed to be the '2nd copy' drive in case the ssd went down.
if I run into the issue again, I'll try to remember to give Carbon a swing.
"Are both the drives in question (the source and the target) data drives only?" Both were external hard drives that i'm not booting from. I had put the files on the SSD drive that I intended to edit video from. and then the lacie external hard drive was supposed to be the '2nd copy' drive in case the ssd went down.
if I run into the issue again, I'll try to remember to give Carbon a swing.