can't copy from disc to desktop

[K515]

Hello guys - I'm back. I'm trying to copy a folder and all of its contents from a DVD+RW where I have it backed up on, onto my mac's desktop. I'm using Leopard, I love my Leopard, so please don't try to talk me into upgrading my OS - well here's the problem: When I click on the folder on the disc, I R-click (forgive me for saying/doing this, but I'm a mac/PC user and intend to stay this way), choose "copy" > I move my mouse pointer from the little window that's showing the contents of my DVD+RW, over to my OS X desktop, and R-click, choose "paste". It starts copying, but after a few seconds I get this message -

How can I get my mac to copy all the contents plus the parent folder that I want to want to copy from the DVD into my mac's desktop?

PS I'm still learning how to use a mac, having/still am a windows user for years now, so please be patient with me.

Thanks.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

It sounds like your drive isn't formatted using a case-sensitive file system. Open Disk Utility, select your drive, and tell us in what format the drive's partition is in. Ideally, it should be Mac OS Extended (Journaled).

 

[K515]

Here is a screenshot of my disk utility -

What am I supposed to do about this?

 

[Lifeisabeach]

Hmmm. You are using the file system normally used. There is a "case-sensitive" alternative (the existing one apparently is not… my bad). But it shouldn't be an issue… unless you do in fact have two folders with the same name on that disk, just with different cases. Do you? If so, just make a new folder on the Mac and copy the contents of the one with the error into that.

 

[K515]

unless you do in fact have two folders with the same name on that disk, just with different cases. Do you?

No, I don't think so. So how do I get it to copy everything from the disc? There are subfolders in that main folder that I was trying to copy, do I have to do the exhausting work of digging into the main folder, locating all the subfolders, making an extensive list of them, and then creating new folders like them on my mac's desktop?

Or is there an easier, more simple way?

 

[hughvane]

First reaction is "are any of the files or sub-folders locked?" If so, identify and unlock them.

Next thought - use Option-Drag, see if that works.

 

[K515]

First reaction is "are any of the files or sub-folders locked?" If so, identify and unlock them. .

How do I do this? Step - by - step instructions, please?

thought - use Option-Drag, see if that works.

Well, if I use Option-Drag, won't I move it off the disc so it'll no longer be on the disc? Remember, this is a DVD+RW, not a DVD+R.

 

[hughvane]

First answer - open the folder on the dvd, and Get Info on the files therein. As long as there aren't literally hundreds of them, you can probably Select All (Cmd-A), R-click on the first in the list, and Get Info. This will open a lot of mini windows.
Warning! Doing this with too many files at once may cause the Mac to crash, because the RAM and processor can't cope. I'd suggest no more than 20 files at a time.

If you see the Locked button checked, uncheck it and close the Info window. If none of the files is locked, that issue is eliminated.

Second - Option-Drag duplicates to the new location. OS X usually does that anyway, but I know from experience that when the drag-and-drop hasn't worked, the Option-drag has. I can't comment knowledgeably about Option-drag removing the original from its location. Is there another, unwanted file you can try the action with?

Something else from your initial post - as far as I'm aware, Copy-Paste from a selected file only copies the name, not the file contents.

 

[K515]

I didn't try opening the files from the folder on the disc I was trying to copy (there are hundreds of them, some in the main folder, others in subfolders), and I don't want to take the chance of having my mac crash but -

I tried both the Drag and Drop, then the Option + Drag + Drop but I still got that same message I got in my first post - wait, I'm going to try Command-C then Command-V in the Apple Edit Menu - will keep you guys posted.

People - I tried opening it in Finder, Menu, Command C and Command V, but the same thing happens - I know there is a way to get everything copied from disc to mac without getting this error message, but how?

Got same error mssg as in original post

 

[Lifeisabeach]

I'm doing some searching on this, and I found an ongoing discussion on Apple's boards where this is a known, albeit random, problem when copying files to a FAT or NTFS drive using the Finder. What's bizarre here is that you are trying to copy to your internal drive, formatted appropriately in OS X's native file system. I'm going to suggest you contact Apple support. This seems to be an unusually unusual problem you are having, and Apple needs to get on top of this. They may have a fix, may not. The thread I was reading has some alternate solutions using other software. Feel free to peruse through those. But do consider calling Apple. They really need to fix this, and can't do so without input from their users.

Oh hold the phone! I think I found the problem! It may be related to the way the disc you are reading from was formatted. The thread says that this can happen in particular with discs made using DirectCD in Windows. This is a very old tip dating back to Mac OS 10.3, so I don't know if these same terminal commands will work. They probably will, but I'd feel safer with someone more knowledgeable stating their opinion on it.

Your best solution may be to remake those discs in Windows, but if indeed you used DirectCD, then use something else, and do not use the Joliet Level 3 formatting option.

 

[K515]

Your best solution may be to remake those discs in Windows, but if indeed you used DirectCD, then use something else, and do not use the Joliet Level 3 formatting option.

I used Roxio to burn these discs in Windows XP when I was backing stuff up. Is this the same as DirectCD?

 

[Lifeisabeach]

I used Roxio to burn these discs in Windows XP when I was backing stuff up. Is this the same as DirectCD?

Nope, they are different products. Roxio should work fine normally... just recheck the options for the disc formatting and avoid the Joliet Level 3 option.

Better yet, if you have access to a USB thumb drive, just copy everything onto that.

 

[hughvane]

Oh hold the phone! I think I found the problem! It may be related to the way the disc you are reading from was formatted.

Well done Sherlock Holmes! You've reminded me of a similar situation when a friend was burning CDs for me with his Win 98 setup. My Mac couldn't read them. I burned a CD of photos for my friend using Toast 6, and his Win machine wouldn't read that!

I notice that when I used Titanium 7 nowadays, it gives me the option of burning for Mac & PC, Mac-only or PC-only.

I also recall reading, about two years ago, on another Mac forum, the issue of how the Mac and Win OS burn disks differently, hence the move by Roxio in its later releases of Toast to provide wider, or 'universal' options. [I don't recall however any mention of DirectCD. Perhaps it was Nero.]

I agree about using an interim media to transfer the files. As you suggest, the OP might consider re-burning the dvd, with an external dvd drive, using Toast, making sure that the file format of the duplicated dvd(s) is Mac-compatible.