Apple Desktops Discussion of Apple's desktop machines including Mac Pro, iMac, Power Mac, and mini

external hard disk "can not be modified".


Post Reply New Thread Subscribe

 
Thread Tools
Quantum Flux
Guest
 
Posts: n/a

I have attached my 60gb usb external hard-disk to my new poermac (my first mac) and while i can read and copy files from it i can't copy anything to it.

when i drag a file over it says "the disk can not be modified".

i noticed a little pencil with a line through it in the bottom left corner of the wondow which i assume means write ability is off. tried clickiing it but nothing. so how do i enable the disk to be written to?

thanks. :dummy: (mac newb)
QUOTE Thanks
dtravis7

 
dtravis7's Avatar
 
Member Since: Jan 04, 2005
Location: Modesto, Ca.
Posts: 25,816
dtravis7 has a reputation beyond reputedtravis7 has a reputation beyond reputedtravis7 has a reputation beyond reputedtravis7 has a reputation beyond reputedtravis7 has a reputation beyond reputedtravis7 has a reputation beyond reputedtravis7 has a reputation beyond reputedtravis7 has a reputation beyond reputedtravis7 has a reputation beyond reputedtravis7 has a reputation beyond reputedtravis7 has a reputation beyond repute
Mac Specs: iMac C2D Late 2007 20" with 10.8.3, Macbook Santa Rosa 4GB Ram OSX 10.8.3

dtravis7 is offline
Is this USB external used on a PC with Windows? If so is it formatted NTFS? If so, Mac OSX and pretty much everything else but windows NT, 2k and XP can not write to NTFS. OSX and Linux will read an NTFS partition but at this time not write to it. If your drive is formatted NTFS, I would say, go to a windows machine and convert it to a FAT 32 Partition. Most everything will both read and write to FAT32.

If it's not a windows formatted drive then write back and we will try and figure it out.
QUOTE Thanks
roxy6684@aol.co

 
Member Since: Dec 23, 2008
Posts: 2
roxy6684@aol.co is on a distinguished road

roxy6684@aol.co is offline
How do you switch the format?
QUOTE Thanks
ADKhikerVW

 
ADKhikerVW's Avatar
 
Member Since: Aug 18, 2007
Location: Wilmington, NY
Posts: 715
ADKhikerVW is a jewel in the roughADKhikerVW is a jewel in the rough
Mac Specs: 15" Unibody MBP (2009), White MB (2009), iMac G4

ADKhikerVW is offline
Go to Disk Utility (/Applications/Utilities) and click on your drive on the left hand side. Click the erase tab and select what format you would like from the drop down menu. OS X can format a drive to FAT32 so you won't need to do it from a Windows computer. FAT32 will allow you to use the drive with either a Mac or a Windows PC, but there are some restrictions, such as files larger than (I think) 2 GB in size cannot be copied to a FAT32 drive. If you are only going to be using this drive with your Mac, then format it as Mac OS Extended (Journaled). This will give you full usage with your Mac but will not be readable by Windows.

EDIT: Should have mentioned that if you do this, you will lose all data on the drive, so you will want to back it up first. You can copy the files from the NTFS formatted drive to your Mac, format it, then copy them back over.
QUOTE Thanks
Maximus Mischie

 
Member Since: Mar 24, 2010
Posts: 1
Maximus Mischie is on a distinguished road

Maximus Mischie is offline
so i just got my external harddrive and i am having the same problem. when i go into the erase tab it says the harddrive is set to "MS-DOS (FAT)"
and there is no FAT 32 option. i want this to be able to transfer from mac to windows, thats why i bought it. the only other options i can change it to are 4 variations of Mac OS Extended. help
QUOTE Thanks
Collin Bl

 
Collin Bl's Avatar
 
Member Since: Apr 07, 2009
Location: Napier NZ
Posts: 3,273
Collin Bl is a jewel in the roughCollin Bl is a jewel in the roughCollin Bl is a jewel in the rough
Mac Specs: 27 iMac i5, 2.4 C2D MBP & iMac 20, 1TB dual TC, AppleTV, iPh4

Collin Bl is offline
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maximus Mischie View Post
so i just got my external harddrive and i am having the same problem. when i go into the erase tab it says the harddrive is set to "MS-DOS (FAT)"
and there is no FAT 32 option. i want this to be able to transfer from mac to windows, thats why i bought it. the only other options i can change it to are 4 variations of Mac OS Extended. help
Use Disk Utility and format/erase it with this selection then you will be able to read and write to it with PCs;


Click for full size
QUOTE Thanks
dtravis7

 
dtravis7's Avatar
 
Member Since: Jan 04, 2005
Location: Modesto, Ca.
Posts: 25,816
dtravis7 has a reputation beyond reputedtravis7 has a reputation beyond reputedtravis7 has a reputation beyond reputedtravis7 has a reputation beyond reputedtravis7 has a reputation beyond reputedtravis7 has a reputation beyond reputedtravis7 has a reputation beyond reputedtravis7 has a reputation beyond reputedtravis7 has a reputation beyond reputedtravis7 has a reputation beyond reputedtravis7 has a reputation beyond repute
Mac Specs: iMac C2D Late 2007 20" with 10.8.3, Macbook Santa Rosa 4GB Ram OSX 10.8.3

dtravis7 is offline
Like Colin showed in his pic, MS-DOS (FAT) is FAT-32.
QUOTE Thanks
ariwebber

 
Member Since: Apr 14, 2010
Posts: 1
ariwebber is on a distinguished road

ariwebber is offline
I am also having the same problem. I have always used this external hard drive on a mac, so I'm not sure how this problem occurred.

How do I back up my files on my EHD to my Mac HD? Just drag them all to the Mac HD, go to disk utility and reset the format (which one do I use?), and then drag them back?

Thanks for the help!
QUOTE Thanks
becbirdie

 
Member Since: Apr 14, 2010
Posts: 2
becbirdie is on a distinguished road

becbirdie is offline
I'm having the same problem but can't find the place with the chance to erase. When I choose applications, utilities and then the hard drive, it just opens up the hard drive and doesn't give me the erase option. Anyone?
QUOTE Thanks
becbirdie

 
Member Since: Apr 14, 2010
Posts: 2
becbirdie is on a distinguished road

becbirdie is offline
Well I found how to do it and did it and it totally crashed my computer! WTF?
QUOTE Thanks
Collin Bl

 
Collin Bl's Avatar
 
Member Since: Apr 07, 2009
Location: Napier NZ
Posts: 3,273
Collin Bl is a jewel in the roughCollin Bl is a jewel in the roughCollin Bl is a jewel in the rough
Mac Specs: 27 iMac i5, 2.4 C2D MBP & iMac 20, 1TB dual TC, AppleTV, iPh4

Collin Bl is offline
Quote:
Originally Posted by becbirdie View Post
I'm having the same problem but can't find the place with the chance to erase. When I choose applications, utilities and then the hard drive, it just opens up the hard drive and doesn't give me the erase option. Anyone?
Welcome to the Forum. For help you need to be a bit more informative about what exactly you did - what actions caused the crash and what you mean by crash. What are you trying to erase?
QUOTE Thanks
87vert

 
Member Since: Apr 09, 2010
Posts: 21
87vert is on a distinguished road
Mac Specs: Powermac G5 - Dual 2.0 - 6GB Ram

87vert is offline
Apple - Downloads - System/Disk Utilities - NTFS-3G

Install that and you should then be able to write to NTFS.

21.5" iMac 3.06 | 8GB Ram | 500 GB Hdd
11" MacBook Air
QUOTE Thanks
DarkestRitual

 
Member Since: Apr 09, 2009
Location: Ithaca NY
Posts: 2,073
DarkestRitual is just really niceDarkestRitual is just really niceDarkestRitual is just really niceDarkestRitual is just really nice
Mac Specs: 13 inch alMacBook 2GHz C2D 4G DDR3, 1.25GHz G4 eMac

DarkestRitual is offline
Quote:
Originally Posted by becbirdie View Post
Well I found how to do it and did it and it totally crashed my computer! WTF?
Haha, you selected your boot drive and not the external drive. You effectively zeroed out the data on your boot drive and need to reinstall the operating system and all of your applications.
QUOTE Thanks
DarkestRitual

 
Member Since: Apr 09, 2009
Location: Ithaca NY
Posts: 2,073
DarkestRitual is just really niceDarkestRitual is just really niceDarkestRitual is just really niceDarkestRitual is just really nice
Mac Specs: 13 inch alMacBook 2GHz C2D 4G DDR3, 1.25GHz G4 eMac

DarkestRitual is offline
PS - Sorry for laughing, and I may be wrong... but it sounds like that's what you probably did. And if you did, it's very not funny for you. But still pretty amusing to me. People should really put a warning up when they talk about formatting drives. I always make sure to say "select the external hard drive - do NOT select your boot drive."
QUOTE Thanks

Post Reply New Thread Subscribe


« Apple cycle time | Mac Mini performance - Whats the oldest model that will handle 1080p playback? »
Thread Tools

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Disk I/O error - General Hard Disk Slow Downs and Issues.. sunk976 Apple Notebooks 11 07-01-2009 01:51 AM
Can u advise? External hard disk not mounting Strider Other Hardware and Peripherals 9 10-24-2005 01:20 PM
hard disk used up sirune OS X - Apps and Games 1 10-05-2005 12:35 PM
advice for external hard disk drive for white ibook dual USB? thejase Apple Notebooks 9 07-13-2005 12:36 AM
Lost in Bangkok, formatting external Hard disk shawnskills Switcher Hangout 8 02-17-2005 11:28 PM

All times are GMT -4. The time now is 12:01 AM.

Powered by vBulletin
Copyright ©2000 - 2013, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
X

Welcome to Mac-Forums.com

Create your username to jump into the discussion!

New members like you have made this community the ultimate source for your Mac since 2003!


(4 digit year)

Already a member?