why don't folders show on external drive?

Joined
Jan 8, 2015
Messages
12
Reaction score
0
Points
1
I reformatted a new Seagate external drive successfully to Mac from Windows.

But when moving files over, no folders show in the folder view; the folders created or moved to this drive do show in the other Finder views.

I also use a different Seagate 4TB external drive for my photo file storage, but this one was already Mac-formatted when bought, and the folder structure DOES show in folder view in Finder.

Did I format something wrong/incompletely, or why won't folders show in folder view of Finder on the 2nd drive? Or is there a simple preference or other reset to get folders to show?
 
M

MacInWin

Guest
It sounds like the stuff isn't actually copying over. How much space is the drive showing as used?
 
OP
A
Joined
Jan 8, 2015
Messages
12
Reaction score
0
Points
1
It sounds like the stuff isn't actually copying over. How much space is the drive showing as used?

No, it's copying over - the files and folders show up in all the other views of Finder, just not the folder view.

Which is a PITA, because dragging an dropping into folders is the only easy way to get the files and folders to the correct destination, at least for me. The other views are much harder to place folders properly.
 
OP
A
Joined
Jan 8, 2015
Messages
12
Reaction score
0
Points
1
This drive (or the drive I'm copying from) has other issues: sometimes it copies over quickly. Other times, it takes forever, saying "preparing to copy" in the meantime. Like it's gone to sleep or something.

And I'm getting an occasional error message that a files couldn't be copied because of data missing or unreadable, which is presumably a problem with the old external drive (which is Windows format, because that's when those files were backed up).
 

Rod


Joined
Jun 12, 2011
Messages
9,627
Reaction score
1,833
Points
113
Location
Melbourne, Australia and Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
Your Mac's Specs
2021 M1 MacBook Pro 14" macOS 14.4.1, Mid 2010MacBook 13" iPhone 13 Pro max, iPad 6, Apple Watch SE.
I think I would open Disk Utility with your USB drive plugged in, check that it is formatted Mac OS extended (journaled). If not erase again, ensure format is as I have said and under options check that the partition map is GUID.
 
Joined
Jul 30, 2009
Messages
7,295
Reaction score
301
Points
83
Location
Wisconsin
Your Mac's Specs
Mac Mini (Late 2014) 2.6GHz Intel Core i5 Memory: 8GB 1600MHz DDR3
Just taking a stab at it... Switch to Icon ("folder") View, then click the green button in the upper right corner.
 
Joined
Aug 19, 2014
Messages
792
Reaction score
4
Points
18
Unless it has corrupted or is on it's way out which most seagate hard drives do unless you firmware upgrade them.
 
M

MacInWin

Guest
I have Seagates that are over a decade old and they work just fine with no firmware changes. I have no idea where johnodd4 gets his ideas.

Seagate does have drives that go into sleep mode if not accessed in a certain time. They are slow to wake up when you do want them. On some of them you can disable that function with the Seagate software, but the downsides of installing that crapware outweigh the benefits, IMHO. I avoid buying Seagates with that feature. It's getting harder and harder to find them, so I now use mostly WD drives.

Going back to your problem, what exactly is "folder view?" On my finder I have icon, list, columns and cover flow, but nothing labeled "folder." I just want to make sure what it is we are trying to fix.
 
OP
A
Joined
Jan 8, 2015
Messages
12
Reaction score
0
Points
1
I guess I mean icon view - which shows folders. (Still new to Mac nomenclature).

I reformatted the drive to be Mac OS extended (journaled), and GUID partitioned.

I just ejected the drive and reconnected it, and now the icon view DOES show the folders. So it works now, but I have no clue why the icon view was blank before.
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top