Backup drive read only. Can I copy onto new backup drive?

It looks like my 500GB Maxtor drive Time Machine uses to back up has given up the ghost. It has become a "read only" and disk utility can't repair it. The error message said there's an invalid node structure. Then it tells me to back up as many files as possiible, reformat the disk and restore the backed up files.
I will buy a new backup drive but I can't enter Time Machine. Is there a way to get the old Time Machine files onto a new backup drive or are they gone forever?
I don't fancy reformating the the failed external hard drive and using that again because it's obviously clapped out.
Any and all advice much appreciated.

Jane Garcia wrote:
I am able to access the folders but it has nothing past 2008, which I think must have been when I bought it. It's as though everything since then has gone.
Is there any chance Data Rescue could pull up more recent files? I haven't tried running Disk Repair from the startup disk.
please bear in mind that time machine automatically deletes old data if there is not enought free space to back up new data. i think buying a recovery software cannot fix this.
can you check how much free space is left on the disk?

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HT1727 i copied itune music from old hard drive to memory disk the copied onto new hard drive into itunes and music wont play unless removalbe disk is inserted

i copied itune music from old hard drive to memory disk the copied onto new hard drive into itunes and music wont play unless removalbe disk is inserted

Then your iTunes must be looking at the removable disc, not your hard drive. Did you actually copy the songs onto your computer, or simply tell iTunes to look at the removable drive?
Highlight a song and click on File/Get Info/Summary>Where and check the location that iTunes has listed for the song. What does it say?

Make flash drive read only with no copying

Here is the Situation. I have a 2h video of a high school play that i am editing and selling but with final cut you can only export 480 p video on dvd so i am going to sell hd digital copies on flash drives my question is can i make it so that the flash drive are read only and copy protected so it can't be distributed can i format the flahs drive insuch a way a way that prevents copying?

jfoppes wrote:
… can i format the flahs drive insuch a way a way that prevents copying?
technicallly, to playback you have to 'copy' content (from stick/disk/whatever to device) ....
So, the harder you make it to 'copy protect' your content, the more inconvenient it gets for your paying customers!
for example, on commercial DVDs I'm 'forced' to watch minutes of promos and 'legal advice', talking to me like I'm a 1st degree suspect No fun! And: When I like to watch/listen on diff. devices. again trouble to 'rip' it (anyone remembering the first slogan for iTunes? "Rip.Mix.Burn." Holy innocence ........... LOL
Forget the few copy-cats. Convince by quality (e.g. spelling ) .
Deliver an excellent product, perhaps bundled with some 'extras' (a nice designed box, with pics/t-shirt/memorabilia/…) And, hey - who copies a school-play????

Time Machine says "read-only", "can't repair", & won't backup to external HD.

I really, REALLY do not want to start over a lose all my past backups. I also do not have another external hard drive this big and can't really afford a new one any time soon.
Is there a way to fix this without too much trouble?
It was running fine just a few days ago. I unplug the HD from time to time and don't always start it when I start my computer.
I'm using a Western Digital My Book Studio (I believe) hard drive.
Help?

Nope, nope, nope. I tried all that the first time everything happened. I consider myself fairly computer savvy in that I usually do the general troubleshoots first.
I shut down the computer. Restarted the computer. Nothing after 30 min. So I shut it down and restarted again. Reset PRAM. Disk Utility + Mount. Disk Utility Repair Disk. Various other tricks. Nothing.
It finally showed in the Finder for some reason and in fear I bought a new hard drive and copied my backup files. Just did that today.
I'd love to use the same hard drive, but it won't allow me do anything for some reason saying I don't have permission.
I'm just going to use the new hard drive and reformat the hard drive again from scratch.
Thanks for the reply though.

Problem copying onto new hard drive...help!!

I bought a new Seagate Momentus 320gb for my MBP, and also got one of these Newtech Drive Adapters to connect it to the MBP for formatting and to transfer from the existing drive, however I made a mistake and used the Leopard Install disc instead of Snow Leopard. I replaced the MBP drive with the new one, installed Snow Leopard successfully, and used Nigration Assistant to transfer the old drive contents onto the new one, but I can't find my music, iTunes or Garageband, mail, network and Firefox settings, licence codes etc.. I'm really stuck, I've made a complete mess of things, any help appreciated, thanks.

Not sure if this will be much help, but I have heard of problems using Migration Assistant with Intel Macs. Here is a link that might help:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=435350&tstart=0
Is all your stuff still intact on the old drive in the enclosure? Does that drive have Snow Leopard on it? If so, you might just be able to clone the old drive to the new one using Super Duper or Carbon Copy Cloner:
http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html
http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html
You can download either one and try it out for free. If you want to unlock some of Super Duper's more useful features like Smart Update, you can register a copy for $28. CCC is donation ware.
A clone would be an exact copy of your old drive, so your Mac would be exactly as it was before, only with a new and presumedly bigger drive.
Good luck!

TS1550 Back up to time machine failed. Error, "Files can't be copied onto the backup disk because it appears to be read-only". Back up has been working. drive is not read only. How do I fix this?

Back up to time machine failed. Error, "Files can’t be copied onto the backup disk because it appears to be read-only". Back up has been working. drive is not read only. How do I fix this?

Hello,
http://pondini.org/TM/C6.html

HT201250 My time machine back has been working perfectly well until yesterday when it failed. The error message I get is Files can't be copied onto the backup disk because it appears to be read-only. How do I fix it?

My time machine back has been working perfectly well until yesterday when it failed. The error message I get is Files can’t be copied onto the backup disk because it appears to be read-only. How do I fix it?

Hello,
http://pondini.org/TM/C6.html

HT201250 Files can't be copied onto the backup disk because it appears to be read-only.

I'm trying to backup using time machine and I'm getting this message all the time, can anyone help
"Files can’t be copied onto the backup disk because it appears to be read-only."
Thanks
adam

See Pondini's TM FAQs, for starters.

Time Machine won't back up to my ext hard drive - 'read only' error

My (two week old) external hard drive that is used for Time Machine has just given me this warning: Files can't be copied onto the backup disc because it appears to be 'read only'. It tells me to repair or reformat the disk using Disk Utility. I have my doubts as this is the third EHD that has gone this way over the past month. I use an iMac, OS 10.6.8. Is this a Time Machine issue that I can fix via changing some settings - I can't realisticallly accept that two top end La Cies and one brand new G-Tech G-Drive have corrupted in one month due to their own faults. Can anyone shed any light on this? I'd be really grateful.

Please look over Time Machine FAQs & Time Machine Troubleshooting. If you don't have any luck finding your issue then please repost in the Snow Leopard forum, because TM is part of OS X and there is a TM section in the Snow Leopard forums that is where you are more likely to find someone that has the expertise you may need.

Time Machine backup failed - "Read Only" - does that mean external HD is full?

Just received an error message re: Time Machine -
Time Machine Could not complete the Backup.
Files can't be copied onto the backup disk because it appears to be "read only"
Does this mean I have to try and repair the external HD OR can it mean the external HD is full (which I was expecting) and I need to start a new one?
When I open Preferences, it says "Available: 2.04 of 319.94 GB
Oldest Backup - (blank)
Latest Backup - Failed
I have turned it off and don't want to do something stupid.
So, should I follow directions to try to reformat the disk using Disk Utility? Does it mean everything on there is potentially lost?
Thanks for any directions . .

The backup drive has malfunctioned and corrupted itself. If that has ever happened before, or if it ever happens again, replace the drive. You may want to consider replacing it anyway for the safety of your data.
You should start another backup now, on another drive, if you don't already have one. One backup is never enough to be safe.
If you choose to keep using the problem drive, turn Time Machine OFF temporarily in its preference pane, then launch Disk Utility, select the backup volume, and run Repair Disk. This operation may take several hours. If that action doesn't solve the problem, you'll have to erase the volume and start over. Don't do that unless you have at least one other complete backup. Remember to turn TM back ON.

External drive - READ ONLY

What's with the hard drives customers buy from the apple stores?
I have had this hard drive for a few weeks now and after reformatting the drive 5 times and coped a few items to the drive a few days latter it says read only you cant copy to this drive WHAT THE F#%$
Please help with this on going FULT with apple and its products..
(using a iMac with a Porsche design)

Use the Disk Utility in the /Applications/Utilities/ folder to reformat it to MS-DOS if you need to use it with a PC, or Mac OS Extended otherwise; if for some reason you don't want to or can't erase the drive, install Paragon NTFS or MacFUSE onto Mac OS X.
(27993)

Can't copy TM usb backup to Time Capsule - "wrong case sensitivity"

I tried Pondini's tip from here:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1964018#18
"18. How can I copy my TM backups to a different location?"
"To copy LOCAL BACKUPS to be used on a NETWORK:
SNOW LEOPARD: First, configure Time Machine to back up to the network location, and start a backup. As soon as the sparse bundle is created, cancel the backup. Then, if possible, connect the new drive directly to your Mac. Use the Finder to mount the new sparse bundle, and delete the Backups.backupdb folder inside it. Then drag the Backups.backupdb folder from the old volume to the new sparse bundle."
My problem comes when I get to this point. I get an error message...
"the volume has the wrong case sensitivity for a backup".
..and it won't let me drag the Backups.backupdb folder.
The source is a Western Digital usb MyBook originally set up under Leopard but now being used under Snow Leopard. The target is a new Time Capsule.
Thanks for any help you can offer.

Bob Mayo wrote:
Given this sudden issue, can the Time Machine backup on the MyBook drive be saved -- and is it still a reliable to use as the base for future backups on the Time Capsule?
I wouldn't waste any more time on it; I'd recommend putting it "on the shelf," in case you find you need something from it, and let Time Machine start fresh on the TC.
You can always access the old backups, via the +*Browse Other Time Machine Disks+* option, per #17 in the FAQ Tip.
By the way, I've been working on the copy procedure. Here's a draft of the new version of the part you'd use, if you decide to:
|
|
_*3. To copy LOCAL BACKUPS to be used on a NETWORK_*
*SNOW LEOPARD only; you cannot convert Local Backups to Network on Leopard.*
|
If you're copying to a Time Capsule, configure your Time Capsule for your network. (See the documentation that came with your Time Capsule for information about setting it up on your network.)
If you're copying to a USB drive to be connected to a Time Capsule, Airport Extreme, or other Mac, connect it directly to your Mac and format it with either the GUID or APM *Partition Map Scheme,* and either +Mac OS Extended (Journaled)+ or +Mac OS Extended Case-sensitive, journaled)+ Format. See item #5 in the Frequently Asked Questions *User Tip* if you need detailed instructions.
a. Configure Time Machine to back up to the network location, and start a backup.
b. As soon as the +sparse bundle+ is created, cancel the backup (that may take a few moments).
c. If possible, connect the new drive directly to your Mac (or a Time Capsule via Ethernet).
d. Use the Finder to mount the new sparse bundle.
e. Double-click it to mount the +Time Machine Backups+ partition inside it.
f. Click the +Time Machine Backups+ partition to open it, and delete the Backups.backupdb folder inside it.
g. If the old backups are case-ignorant (per the yellow box above), you must change the new sparse bundle to be case-ignorant, too:
|
1. Select the +Time Machine Backups+ partition in Disk Utility's sidebar and click Erase.
2. Select the +Mac OS Extended (Journaled)+ Format, and click the Erase button. That may take a few moments (to unmount, erase, and mount the partition again).
3. Via the Finder, do a +Get Info+ on the +Time Machine Backups+ partition.
4. Click the padlock at the lower right and enter your Admin password at the prompt.
5. Remove the check from the +Ignore ownership on this volume+ box and close the window.
|
h. Via the Finder, drag the Backups.backupdb folder from the old volume to the new +Time Machine Backups+ partition. Enter your Admin password when prompted. After a few moments, you may also get a prompt saying that you'll need to enter it again later: click Continue.

Can't copy folders on external drives

I just can't figure this out. I have several external drives I use to edit video. Most are 1TB drives, and I recently got a couple 3TB drives I was hoping to use to consolodate my scratch drives and reorganize my footage, etc.
Ideally, I'd like to just be able to drag the entire contents of the smaller drive over to the bigger one, but I can't, because I keep getting error messages. Sometimes it's "Cannot complete, [file name] is in use" or I get an "error -50" code.
Before I began the copy, I formatted the destination drive in Mac OS Extended (journaled), and zeroed out the data to protect against bad sectors. I've scanned the drives since to determine if there are any verification issues (no), and I've tried turning off icon preview and the preview pane, none of it solves the problem. What the eff is going on here??
Thanks,
~Trav
(I'm using all firewire800 drives. Currently several LaCie and Western Digital drives, but only trying to copy one at a time)

For the file in use message, open Terminal and try
lsof -l +L -R -V | grep <path to volume you want to search>
or
sudo lsof -l +L -R -V | grep <"path to volume you want to search">
No quotes needed if there are no spaces in the volume name.
You'll have to do some scrolling through the output, but you might find the process or file that's open and quit it.

USB Flash Drive: Read-only filesystem

Hi
I'm trying to format a usb flash drive using various tools but they all say that it's a read-only file system. The drive is not mounted and I'm running as root. If I try to mount the drive like so with the command
sudo mount -o rw,users /dev/sdc1 /media/myflashdrive
I don't get any errors and when I go to /media/myflashdrive I can see and edit all the files (only as root however). However, any changes are not persistent. For example, if I delete any files or run
sudo rm -rf /media/myflashdrive/*
it seems to work and ls doesn't show anything, but then if a reopen the drive, the files are back.
I've tried this on other computers and even in Windows but nothing can put a scratch on it. I heard something about there being a certain bit in the first sector which can be flipped to make a drive read-only but I think it only applied to Windows.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated, but if I can't format the drive I'll probably use some thermite to toast the data on it.

Hmm. I wasn't very clear: my drive was usable originally but it stopped working while I was using Windows (I just plugged it in one day and it was read-only) and now that I use Linux I thought I'd try to fix it (I have been told that linux can do anything but I'm not so sure). I suppose it could just be a physical error on the drive but it's not got any marks or anything.
Just a thought here, if it was a physical problem, would it be possible to 'reset' it with an electromagnet or by shorting it out or would this just frazzle the chip? Maybe not the right forums for that kind of question.
Last edited by JJ.Eastwood (2011-05-26 19:50:56)

Data warehouse backups and read only tablespaces

Hi all,
I am working on a data warehouse database with following specs:
Version: Oracle 10.2.0.3 Enterprise
OS: Solaris
App: Data warehouse
We use RMAN to take 'level 0' & 'level 1' backups. We have block change tracking enabled and RMAN backups up data files and archive logs straight to tape.
I am exploring ways of reducing the 'level 0' backups and was specifically focussing on using read-only tablespaces for this purpose.
I have often seen it mentioned that a best practice in D/Ws is to store the old static partitions of fact tables in read only tablespaces so as to reduce the backup size.
In case you have already implemented such a scheme, I would like to know how you have implemented it.
I am thinking of the following mechanism:
-- Start using backups at tablespace level rather than 'level 0' at database level.
-- Record the latest SCNs of all datafiles prior to back up.
-- If the latest SCN has not changed since last backup and the tablespace is in read only mode then
-- Check if a backup copy of the tablespace has been done within the recovery window and is accessible.
-- If the copy exists then don't backup that tablespace, else backup the tablespace.
-- If the tablespace is read/write then back it up.
I haven't delved into the low level details, but this seems to be lot of work. So just wanted to know from you if there's any ready made feature which makes all this easier.
Many thanks in advance.

Thank you so much for your help.
Backup optimization was indeed the thing I was looking for. To be honest I had done a bit of RTFM, but I didn't check the advanced user guide.
Although my specific question has been answered, it would be interesting to know what other things other people are implementing to reduce backups etc.
I am also thinking of following options:
-- Turn on index monitoring to get rid of unused indexes.
-- Stop the backups of 'index' tablespaces.
-- Archive off old data.
Any other ideas for reducing DW backup size?
Many thanks.

Backup drive read only. Can I copy onto new backup drive?

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