Alias

[stech]

How can I get my external hard drive back? I just want to see my pics again, not open something else. I know I must have done something but I didn't do it

 

[vansmith]

Can you clarify what it is that you're doing?

 

[stech]

alias

Please forgive the intrusion, but since you are into aliases I was hoping you could help me. I can no longer plug a hard drive into my Macbook Air and access the content because any HD I plug in is now an alias. and only opens something else
I'm new to the forum.
Thanks

 

[stech]

Hi y'all
I'm a new-be here on the Forum.
does anyone out there knows how to undo an Alias?
My WD Passport external HD is now an alias and I can not access the content. All my HD's are now acting as Aliases.
I just want to use my hard drives as intended.
any help would be much appreciated!
Thanks!!!

 

[chscag]

Please do not cross post. I merged your cross post together here with your original question. Besides, you cross posted to an old thread.

And you cross posted again, this time to the Switcher forum. Again, you are reminded not to cross post but only post one thread in one forum and continue with the same thread. Your second cross post was also merged here.

 

[vansmith]

I've never seen this before in my life. When you plug the external in, it's represented as an alias on your Desktop? Even if this were the case, you should still be able to access the files.

 

[stech]

alias

Can you clarify what it is that you're doing?

I plug in my hard drive and instead of getting the content it shows in the finder as alias.
I'm not doing anything and I don't know how this was initiated. I no longer have the use of any HD. content. I only have the option of opening another file.

 

[vansmith]

Like I noted, this is a mystery to me. If you open Disk Utility (/Applications/Utilities), does the external show up there?

 

[stech]

alias

Can you clarify what it is that you're doing?

I've never seen this before in my life. When you plug the external in, it's represented as an alias on your Desktop? Even if this were the case, you should still be able to access the files.

Nope. Can not! It's no longer being recognized as a hard drive, only a "pointer" It's as if
the hard drive has become a blank folder, the content only the item it points to (which I can change to anything in the finder except the hard drive itself. I'm sure the original content is in tack I just can't access it
Thanks for your reply

 

[stech]

Please do not cross post. I merged your cross post together here with your original question. Besides, you cross posted to an old thread.

And you cross posted again, this time to the Switcher forum. Again, you are reminded not to cross post but only post one thread in one forum and continue with the same thread. Your second cross post was also merged here.

Thanks, I am new to this, appreciate your guidance

 

[stech]

alias

Like I noted, this is a mystery to me. If you open Disk Utility (/Applications/Utilities), does the external show up there?

no it doesn't. It's only on the desktop(as alias) and in finder (as alias) when I try to open it asks what file or application I want to open. If I try to get detailed information it has the size and content of the file it last opened as alias. Really weird!

 

[stech]

nowhere does the external show as itself, only as alias

 

[IWT]

Does everything you mount show as an alias or only this one HD. For example, a USB stick, a camera, another EHD - do they all behave the same way or is your experience limited to that one WD Passport EHD?

Ian

 

[stech]

all my hard drives (I've tried 4 different ones)show as aliases now. I have no camera to try.
They don't come up on the computer as devices with content to read or add to storage; just an alias that appears to have no content itself, but the folder you point it to to open is what gets described in the detailed information window.
Thanks!

 

[stech]

Also, Ian, they don't show as a device in the left of the finder. They always did when it was working properly.

 

[IWT]

I'm stumped, I freely admit it.

But there are far more experienced guys out there........maybe they can assist?

So sorry for you.

Ian

 

[cradom]

Stumbling in the dark here...
Open a Terminal, type in 'ls -la /Volumes"
(WITHOUT the ' marks)(those are lower case L's)
What do you get? Copy/paste here.

 

[vansmith]

Can you post a screenshot of this? I have a funny feeling that there's some miscommunication going on here.

 

[mrplow]

And could you also rght click on the alias and choose get info and screenshot that too please