cannot copy files

ok i am rather new to macs and i have a serious problem, i think...

i cannot seem to copy files from one media to another example:

i cant copy files that i burnt on to a disk to the desktop.
i cant copy files off a usb drive onto the desktop.
i cant copy files from my external hard drive to the desktop.
i cant copy between my usb and external HD.

but i can open and browse them...
and i can copy files from the desktop to them...

when i do try and copy them i get the little white circle with a slash through it. like the no smoking sign.

i have seen that this is not common, but i dont know how to resolve the problem.

i have been on several forums looking for an answer but am yet to find one.

i am using a:
iBook G4
mac OSX 10.4.11

please help!
thanks in advance

It's probably because you don't have permission to write to the volumes in question. Are you on an administrator account?

admin account

yea i believe im logged in as admin,
i have check the permissions,
it was working fine, then all of a sudden it stopped?!?!
(i was able to copy, move etc)

its really annoying, and i have seen i'm not the only one.

dippy said:

yea i believe im logged in as admin,
i have check the permissions,
it was working fine, then all of a sudden it stopped?!?!
(i was able to copy, move etc)

its really annoying, and i have seen i'm not the only one.

Click to expand...

You may want to use the disk utility app (/Applications/Utilities/"Disk Utility.app"). You may make use of Repair Disk Permissions, Verify Disk and Repair Disk tools under the First Aid tab in the disk utility window after selecting the correct device.

If it does not solve the problem, please let us know how the device that you are trying to write to is formatted (e.g. NTFS, FAT)? Check it at the bottom of the disk utility window when you select your device. Also, please verify that you have the permission to write to it by selecting the device icon on the desktop and hitting command+i (the permissions, or "privileges" are listed at the bottom of the information window that pops up).

If it is NTFS, you may need MacFuse and NTFS-3G driver. I found this nice set of instructions online which you may try (only after you make sure that the device is NTFS):
How to read and write to external NTFS drives from a Mac « Dan’s Tech-n-Stuff Weblog

But, I am still wondering, are you sure that you could write to it earlier??