problem with moving large amount of files

[bigmat1201]

I've been having this problem where if i try to move a large amount of files, like 10GB or more worth (1000's of files), it will eventually come back and say one of those files already exists (which it don't). And after you hit ok, which is the only option it gives you, it cancels the rest of the copy/paste. This has happened on multiple macs. Most of the time what i'm doing is moving entire external hard drives full of files from the external to my mac (which normally works fine), then i format the external and when i try to put the files back on the external i start having this problem.

i've thought of burning the data to a blu-ray, but it would take multiple disks and that seems like a big waste of time and money. I've thought of putting all the files in an image, but i'm not sure how to get them out, and that also seems like a waste of time.

Is there some sort of application i could buy or get for free that could take care of this problem?

Thanks

 

[GGJstudios]

Why not use Carbon Copy Cloner for backing up/restoring drives and folders?

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Use CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper to make a 1:1 copy.

 

[bigmat1201]

as far as i know carbon copy or superduper does not work with FAT32 which is what the external hard drives are, and being reformatted to.

 

[GGJstudios]

as far as i know carbon copy or superduper does not work with FAT32 which is what the external hard drives are, and being reformatted to.

True, but why not reformat them as HFS+?

 

[bigmat1201]

that would be great but at least one of the drives has to be used on a windows based computer. Not everyone loves Macs 🙁

 

[GGJstudios]

that would be great but at least one of the drives has to be used on a windows based computer. Not everyone loves Macs 🙁

If you're talking about one or a few Windows PCs, there are solutions for that.

FAT32 (File Allocation Table)

• Read/Write FAT32 from both native Windows and native Mac OS X.
• Maximum file size: 4GB.
• Maximum volume size: 2TB

NTFS (Windows NT File System)

• Read/Write NTFS from native Windows.
• Read only NTFS from native Mac OS X
• To Read/Write/Format NTFS from Mac OS X: Install NTFS-3G for Mac OS X (free)
• Some have reported problems using Tuxera (approx 33USD).
• Native NTFS support can be enabled in Snow Leopard, but is not advisable, due to instability.
• AirPort Extreme (802.11n) and Time Capsule do not support NTFS
• Maximum file size: 16 TB
• Maximum volume size: 256TB

HFS+ (Hierarchical File System, a.k.a. Mac OS Extended)

• Read/Write HFS+ from native Mac OS X
• Required for Time Machine or Carbon Copy Cloner backups of Mac internal hard drive.
• To Read/Write HFS+ from Windows, Install MacDrive
• To Read HFS+ (but not Write) from Windows, Install HFSExplorer
• Maximum file size: 8EiB
• Maximum volume size: 8EiB

exFAT (FAT64)

• Supported in Mac OS X only in 10.6.5 or later.
• exFAT partitions created with OS X 10.6.5 are inaccessible from Windows 7
• Not all Windows versions support exFAT. See disadvantages.
• exFAT (Extended File Allocation Table)
• AirPort Extreme (802.11n) and Time Capsule do not support exFAT
• Maximum file size: 16 EiB
• Maximum volume size: 64 ZiB

 

[bigmat1201]

unfortunately, i can't install macdrive on my fathers company owned laptop, in fact i can't install anything on it. So the drive has to be either NTFS or FAT32. I can't natively write to NTFS on my mac, so the only format i believe i can use would be FAT32. And FAT 32 doesn't work with CCC or Superdoper.

Basically your saying i need to find cloning software that will work with FAT32?

Thanks

 

[GGJstudios]

I can't natively write to NTFS on my mac

Read the section I just posted on NTFS. You can read/write to NTFS from Mac OS X.

 

[bigmat1201]

even if i could read/write NTFS, CCC or superdoper don't work with NTFS which is what you said i need so i can copy my entire external hard drive to my mac, right?

 

[GGJstudios]

even if i could read/write NTFS, CCC or superdoper don't work with NTFS which is what you said i need so i can copy my entire external hard drive to my mac, right?

You should easily be able to drag/drop files to the NTFS drive. I've had no problems doing so. I made the CCC recommendation before you added the criteria that you needed to share data with a Windows PC and that you couldn't install anything on it.