Unable to copy files to external HD without "file in use" error

"File in Use" error when exporting to external HD

I am unable to manually copy files to any (Mac OS Extended) external hard drive without eventually getting an error message that a file is in use. These are all photo files and none are actually in use. I have confirmed that there are no active processes which are using these files. I have tried 3 different hard drives through usb and firewire connections all with the same result. The same thing happens when I attempt the backup my iPhoto library externally or use backup software like CrashPlan. The files which claim to be "in use" are never the same.

The funny thing is that I am able to backup to internal HD's with no problem at all. The problem only exists when I am using an external drive!

Does anyone know the cause or have a solution?

First thing i would like to ask, is how do you back up to a internal drive ?? You should only be backing up to a external HD.

Anyways have you tried to restart your Mac yet. Fixes a lot of problems. If so then Repair Permissions via Applications>Utilities>Disk Utility then do a restart and see what the results are. Post back.

Re:

I have 4 internal HD's and am able to back up to them. I can move individual files externally but when I try to manually or through software backup groups of files externally i get the "file in use" message.

I've tried restarting many times, repairing permissions, etc. None of these things solve the issue which has been present for quite some time.

.... since I have no issue internally but always externally, it leads me to believe that there is some kind of OS issue.

theroux said:

.... since I have no issue internally but always externally, it leads me to believe that there is some kind of OS issue.

Click to expand...

And this is why i said to Repair Permissions as that will usually straighten out the OS

theroux said:

.... since I have no issue internally but always externally, it leads me to believe that there is some kind of OS issue.

Click to expand...

And this is why i said to Repair Permissions as that will usually straighten out the OS

Disconnect all peripherals from your computer.

Boot from your install disc & run Repair Disk from the utility menu. To use the Install Mac OS X disc, insert the disc, and restart your computer while holding down the C key as it starts up.
Select your language.
Once on the desktop, select Utility in the menu bar.
Select Disk Utility.

Select the disk or volume in the list of disks and volumes, and then click First Aid.
Click Repair Disk.
Restart your computer when done.

I'll try it again. Does the HD need to be connected when you repair the permissions?

theroux said:

I'll try it again. Does the HD need to be connected when you repair the permissions?

Click to expand...

Yes. How else is the system supposed to know what permissions need to be repaired unless you direct it to the drive, which must be mounted.

Still the same results

I tried all of the suggestions above without success. I even installed a fresh copy of OS X 10.8.2 and the same thing happens. I tried to use What's Keeping Me to see what is interacting with my disc and it's basically three things; Finder, Spotlight and an Epson printing monitor. I tried killing all of these apps but nothing makes a difference. Now when I attempt to use Repair Volume of my external mounted disks I get an error message which says "Error: Couldn't unmount disk".

Everything works and I'm able to access individual files just not able to back up large amounts of data. I think that I'm giving up unless someone has one more idea.