Cannot open files saved to hard drive

Saved all my files to a maxtor external hard drive, and now cannot open on my newly restored mac. all the file names and folders are there, but most say zero for the size. and when trying to open says ""doc" is used by Max OS C and cannot be opened". did i loose all my files?

If you have a new hard drive , you will need to have formatted it using Disk Utility correctly. This may explain your problem.
From Disk Utility, in there select your Maxtor external drive, and select the tab Erase and choose to make the format as Mac OS Extended Journaled.
Then exit Disk Utility and then copy a few files over and see if they open.

Similar Messages

Can't open file on external hard drive?

Hi,
I'm using an external hard drive for mac backup and also to store photo files. I copied some photo files to the drive about two weeks ago and their icon appears, but when I want to open them, I get an error message: "The alias “...” can’t be opened because the original item can’t be found." There is also a small arrow on the icon. My other files can be opened okay.
What's also strange is that I found the icon of the external drive in the folder with the picture files, even though I did not drag it there (the main icon is till on my computer's desktop, where it should be.) That icon also has a small arrow on it. When I click on it, it opens and I can see my folders, but the photo folders with the arrow on it will still not open.
I tried ejecting the drive and reconnecting it, but it didn't help. Is there anything I can do to recover the missing photo files, or are they most likely gone? I have deleted these pictures from my computer hard drive. What should I do about the mysterious second external drive icon? Delete it or keep it? Can I somehow use it to restore the photo files?
Any help appreciated! Thanks!

The Hard Drive is a :
Toshiba Canvio® Connect 1TB Portable Hard Drive (Silver)
Model: HDTC710XS3A1
This one: http://www.staples.com/office/supplies/StaplesProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=1 0001&krypto=3zEkJ%2BPHCwJUtrlzjGByIaVT405Hn%2BOkggwamseD1O2Y0FHbJ9AUp%2FvPow7k22 XRWnJ6JpaVN8kRgl1%2FsFLgpeXF3MELtwm2GBihw8f7efXGqDPuH1gOcMRylnlmBw9gsk%2BTp1l7y9 CIe9KKQs5NR6dOV3HVJyJoGFWpJuhiI4ebeznLAndHONOpAQH7BG04MKAdFPnSHdRzYEBcRoM%2FVHQM k2PSq4vj%2F684ZdSvLVCllSq4ffM7sqpFRf0VO825mlCiumRBMCpX4RLzBCDAjoVpsvSrfRAuJkk4ZW NwBP3Qfzok8RiYCyj3rmcmGc1iFsFS6dhKjH9xnnhEkb5%2Bag%3D%3D
I copied the photos by dragging and dropping them into the folder on the external drive. I highlighted them all and dragged them together, then clicked "Arrange by Name", so I would find them. As the folders were visible, I assumed they were copied correctly, however I'm not sure I actually opened one to make sure.
Other than the photo folder I have the hard drive connected to Time Machine and it automatically backs up files. I still have about 700MB of space left on the drive.
I used my Mac (disk utility) to format the drive, not the software that came with it, as someone on this forum recommended. Format is: Mac OS Extended (Journaled). So far, it had been working great.
Just looked at Disk Utility and it's strange, it's as if the Toshiba drive appears twice, with its original name and then the way I renamed it "Mac Backup". Not sure if that's normal? When I click on Mac Backup it correctly states how much storage I have left, but it lists over 230,000 folders and over 1.3 million files, which seems way too much, even considering the regular backups.

Cannot open files in portable hard disk using USB 2.0

My friend using a 20G Portable Hard disk and told me that he could not open files on it when he connected it to his iMac G5 with the USB 2.0 cable. He gave it to me and I found the same result with my iMac G5 2.0. I have tried using Disk Utility's repair but found the rainbow ball rolls on and on. Whenever I tried to open any files with Finder, the rainbow ball appears again.
The portable hard disk is fine with PC and my friend said his G4 is alright with it too.
Is the problem due to iMac?

Also, try connecting the drive directly to a USB port on the iMac. The USB ports at the back of the keyboard are convenient but slow, since its built-in hub is USB 1.1. It supplies a total of 500 ma, the same "juice" as other hubs, but the Apple Pro Keyboard uses half of that.
The ports on the iMac itself each supply the standard 500 ma, and are high speed USB 2 ports, so they are the preferred choice.

Locked Windows/Folder, Cannot Move Files On External Hard Drive

I'm running Tiger 10.4.11 on an iMac and am the only user, and therefore, administrator. I'm encountering a weird, albeit small, problem on one of my external hard drives (Seagate 320 gigs): I have boatloads of video files stored on the drive, but suddenly cannot move files into folders within the drive (I see a white "do not enter" kind of a sign over whatever icon I try to move). I can't move these files off the drive and onto my iMac's internal hard drive, either. I can only delete them. I can add new files to the drive, but then cannot move those either (can only delete them).
The folders and drive are not locked, I have read & write access, etc., so there doesn't seem to be any reason for me to be barred from moving items. Any clues? Many thanks.

Thank you for your reply and kind welcome.
That's a great tip, but that box was already checked, so I'm afraid that wasn't a solution. The problem ended up "solving itself" after I left my machine off for the day while I went to work. I may never know why that error occurred, but I certainly don't care, as long as it doesn't happen again. Take care.

Hi, Cannot open iPhoto in lacie hard drive

i am using macbook air lion ox 10.7.4 and uploading my pictures in hard drive lacie last time i did this was today morning and iPhoto was up and going fine. this evening i cannot access iPhotos at all. i cannot copy it it says error 38?
there is another iphoto library in the same hard drive and its functioning fine.
did i lost all my pictures???

Try rebuilding the iPhoto library using the directions in this Apple article.
Best of luck.

Cannot delete file from external hard drive (error code 36) in Finder, but Terminal is ok

I have a relatively new Macbook Pro Retina 15" and have a Western Digital 1 TB Passport. I've been using the passport for about a year now without any problems on older Macbooks in my house. I used to be able to read and write to this drive no problem. I am using the Paragon NTFS for Mac software in order to read and write to the NTFS drive. When I navigate through the drive in Finder, if I try to create a new folder, I do not have a problem. If I try to delete that folder I just created, I get this error:
The Finder can’t complete the operation because some data in “untitled folder” can’t be read or written.
(Error code -36)
The folder has nothing in it whatsoever. I just created it. But if I go to Terminal and I run
rm -rf "untitled folder"
This works fine. Why is Terminal acting different than Finder? This does not happen on my other Macbooks. Thanks in advance.

Thanx for such qucik reply!!! The pages were great, it had an answer for my problem, but unfortunately it also involved me dealing with it only on the MacIntosh HD itself, not on mounted external drive I suppose... So it didn't work they say that there is an icon in the left corner indicating locked folder - I don't see any icon on it. It says you can untick the box to unlock the folder - there is no tick to be unticked. Finally, they say that if I don't have permition or rights I cannot delete it. But how do i change permittion which already says that i can read and write in it? So everything appears to be normal only I cannot delete it. there is not even any warnig telling me I don't have enough rights, it just requires the password and after me typing it in it makes the sound of scraping paper but does nothing more. I aslo had some problems with emptying Trash after being seemingly succesful with one file and had got so far to have them appear in the Trash (no clue how this one actully got there though..) I followd the advice and emptied the Trash with Terminal. The Folder is still there but it shows 0 Kb... So far so good BUT: It is still on the external drive, so I obviously only managed to copy it into the Trash!!! Phew, innit a bit too tight to poor owners, this macbook?? I want my rights back!

I downloaded an Adobe file from my email but cannot find it on my hard drive or in recycle bin - it's in downloads but am unable to open from downloads - how can I recover the file?

I downloaded an Adobe file from my email (service provider is MWeb) but now cannot find it on my hard drive and it's not in the recycle bin. It does, however, appear in Firefox downloads but I'm unable to open it from there. How can I recover the file?

Thanks Rob.
I actually had no clue what the core problem was caused by. So it's Windows itself...that helps some.
I'll resubmit there. It might actually have saved time for it to simply have been moved to there instead of off-topic, though I suppose you have to follow protocol.

How do you change the default save as directory when saving a PDF file to your hard drive?

This is the on-line help instructions on this site:
Downloading a PDF file to your hard drive
You can download a PDF file to the hard drive from a web page's link. Downloading PDF files doesn't require the ActiveX plug-in file to be installed. (If you want to open and view the PDF file after downloading it, you must have Acrobat, Adobe Reader, or Acrobat Reader installed.)
To download a PDF file from a link:
1. Right-click the link to a PDF file, and then choose Save Target As from the pop-up menu.
2. In the Save As dialog box, select a location on your hard drive, and then click Save.
My issue: I want to save several pdf files (from the Adobe Reader in my browser) one at a time and each time it defaults the save as directory to the desktop and I have to go looking for the directory I last saved a pdf file in. I got lots of directories and I wish I could change the default setting for the save as directory. Just a minor thing but irritating as other programs usually will allow you to switch the default save as directory to one of your choosing.

There is not a way to set the default location from all the forums i searched in the last couple days.
Russ

Hi, I'm an eBay seller and save old eBay auction files to my hard drive for future refence. Firefox no longer opens these files correctly (see below).

Hi, I'm an eBay seller and save old eBay auction files to my hard drive for future refence. These files which all use the same name but are saved in a different folder for each eBay auction no longer open correctly -- much of the eBay auction text information shows up for a split second and then disappears -- the area at the top of the saved eBay auction file then collapses -- the original eBay auction photo of the product shows up as well during that split second but disappears when the other auction text disappears. These eBay auction files open correctly when opened using Internet Explorer. In Firefox, Firefox adds some strange information at the end of the file name when it is opened which is not a part of the actual file name itself (i.e. here is the original file name which is the same for whatever ended eBay auction I open: eBayISAPI.dll.htm -- here is the altered file name after Firefox opens it: eBayISAPI.dll_files/eBayISAPI_data/eBayISAPI_002.htm#ht_658wt_1349 -- yes, it is that long -- the last part is slightly different for each separate auction file that I open). None of this happened until recently. The files open this way whether using Firefox 4.0, Firefox 3.6.16, Firefox Safe Mode 3.6.16, and Firefox Safe Mode 4.0.

Here is what I did:
1) In Firefox 4.0, I opened the Bookmarks on the Menu Bar at the top of the screen. I clicked on the Import and Backup menu. I then exported all my bookmarks to the PC's desktop using the default file name BOOKMARKS.HTML.
2) In Firefox, I opened the Add-ons menu under Tools on the Menu Bar. I clicked on the Prnt Scrn key on the top right of the PC's keyboard in order to obtain a screen shot of all the Firefox add-ons. I then opened Microsoft Word and pasted the screen shot using the Control V command (Ctrl V). I then saved the Microsoft Word file on the PC's desktop for future reference.
3) I then opened the Control Panel in the Start menu (accessed from the little Windows world globe on the bottom left of the screen -- the operating system is Windows 7).
4) In the Control Panel, I opened Uninstall A Program in the Programs section.
5) I uninstalled Firefox 4.0 clicking on the box "Remove my Firefox personal data and customizations" in order to remove whatever bug in my Firefox customizations was causing the two errors above (this is the MOST IMPORTANT PART of this whole process which is why I saved all my bookmarks as an HTML file and saved a screen shot of all the Firefox add-ons).
6) I then reinstalled my old Firefox 3.6.16 version obtained from the following link: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/all-older.html (I am not yet in favor of using Firefox 4.0 -- you suppose you can reinstall Firefox 4.0 on your system if you want).
7) After Firefox 3.6.16 was reinstalled, I had to import all my old bookmarks. Under Bookmarks on the Firefox Menu Bar at the top of the screen, I clicked on Organize Bookmarks. I then clicked on the Import and Backup menu and then the Import HTML command in order the BOOKMARKS.HTML file saved on the PC's desktop.
8) I then re-added all my favorite Firefox add-ons by clicking on Add-ons under the Firefox Tools menu and then clicking on the Get Add-ons command. I then searched for all the old add-ons I wanted to re-add to Firefox using the Microsoft Word document on the PC's desktop saved with the screen shot of all the old Firefox add-ons on my system by I uninstalled Firefox 4.0.
9) I then opened one of the old eBay auction page files saved on my hard drive under the eBay default file name "eBayISAPI.dll.htm". The file opened perfectly with NO missing sections and no missing original eBay auction listing photo! the file looked exactly like it did as if I was logged into eBay and looking at the original ended auction.
10) I then opened Hotmail in Firefox and received NO "update your browser" message! I was able to open all my old emails and write and send new emails (with all my Contacts being automatically detected when I went to type in the email address of the person I was sending the new email to)!
In summary, you need to uninstall Firefox 4.0 being sure to click on the "Remove my Firefox personal data and customizations" box during the uninstall process. Be sure to save/export all your old bookmarks before the uninstall process and make a note of all your old add-ons. Then reinstall whatever version of Firefox you are comfortable with. Apparently, my Firefox customizations had become corrupted at some point; removing the Firefox customizations during the uninstall process allowed any future Firefox version installed on my PC to start over with a clean slate (these corrupted settings would show up in whatever version of Firefox I had installed on my PC so removing them during the uninstall process was the key to solving all my Firefox bugs). I hope my suggestions help to solve your problem and good luck!

I moved itunes file to external hard drive and want to move the file on my pc to recycle bin. When I move i get an error message that it cannot delete ituneshelper.dll access is denied. Can I move that file to the recycle bin?

I am trying to free up space on my pc and moving itunes files to external hard drive. I have followed instructions and believe I have file copied to new drive, but I am having trouble moving file to recycle bin as the instructions say. I am getting the following error message: cannot delete ituneshelper.dll:access denied, make sure disk is not full or write protected and file not in use. I know the file is not in use when trying to move. Any help would be most appreciated. I am on Windows XP.

Yes. And you should not have moved that folder. Put it back. To move your iTunes library move the folder from User's Music.
tt2

I am in the middle of a job using CS 6, but at the same time opening the Creative Suite apps. I created an InDesign file in CS 6, saved it, and now I can't open it. I'm getting this message: Cannot open file because it was saved with a newer version of A

I am in the middle of a job using CS 6, but at the same time opening the Creative Suite apps. I created an InDesign file in CS 6, saved it, and now I can't open it. I'm getting this message: Cannot open file because it was saved with a newer version of Adobe InDesign CC (10.1). You must use that version or later to open the file." AARRGGHH! So how do I access the file?

Sounds like you opened and saved it in CC, so now you need to go back to CC and either complete the project there, or export to IDML to take it back into CS6.

Saving files to a hard drive connected to my Airport Extreme

I just upgraded to Leopard. I am unable to use Backup v 3.1.2 to save files to a hard drive i have connected to my Airport Extreme. Previously, using Tiger i was able to perform this task.
I use Finder and see my airport express network and my external hard drive. However, when i run my backup jobs using Backup the program can not located the external hard drives.

The discussion was helpful. My hard drive connected to my Airport Extreme is now recognized and i can backup files to a folder called 'Backups'. However, i am only capable of saving to this one folder. When i try to create subfolders and select one of them as my location in the Backup program i get an error message; "the selected location is not a valid destination". Any idea how to get around this problem?
Many thanks for the quick response to my previous mail.

How do I copy files onto a hard drive (device) from Mac 2 7 pc. I'm able to transfer files from device but cannot transfer files to device. Anyone had same problem or can help solve this problem? Help pls

how do I copy files onto a hard drive (device) from Mac 2 7 pc. I'm able to transfer files from device but cannot transfer files to device. Anyone had same problem or can help solve this problem? Help pls

Welcome to Apple Support Communities
When you try to copy data to the external drive, what happens? If you don't see any error, the external drive is formatted in NTFS, and OS X can't write in it.
To be able to write on this external drive, you have to use an app like Paragon NTFS. Another solution would be to format the external drive in FAT32 or exFAT with Disk Utility > http://pondini.org/OSX/DU1.html Make sure you copied all the files of the external disk to the internal disk before doing it

How to fix file when it says, "Cannot open file " ". Adobe Indesign does not support the file format, a plug-in that supports the file may be missing, or file may be open in another application." It worked one second, I saved and closed the file, then tri

How to fix file when it says, "Cannot open file " ". Adobe Indesign does not support the file format, a plug-in that supports the file may be missing, or file may be open in another application." It worked one second, I saved and closed the file, then tried to reopen and now it won't work. I am using Adobe InDesign CS5. It is the only version on my comp. I have tried opening on another comp & copying the file – same error comes up. PLEASE HELP

First check the version of the document with Jongware's script "Identify.jsx" (ExtendScript/JavaScript).
You can find it here:
[Ann] Identify Your InDesign File
If it is CS 5.5 or above, you need someone to open it in the version the script says and export an IDML representation from that. Another way would be to install a 30days version of CS6 or above (CC) and do it yourself.
In regards of the script showing a result for InDesign files higher than CS6:
CS7 = CC v9
CS8 = CC v10 = CC-2014 or CC2014.1
Uwe

How do I open an HTML file from my hard drive?

Hello FireFox,
I develop applications in JavaScript and need to test them in the three major
browsers including FireFox. In the older version one would click on the FireFox logo and
go to New Page (New Tab?) and then File. Recently downloaded FireFox 30.0 and there
does not seem to be New Page option. I see New Window but it does not give me an option
for opening a file from the hard drive.
Thanks
Allen in Dallas

Hi!
There are a few ways to open files in Firefox. The easiest is '''CTRL''' + '''O'''. Another easy option is to click Menu > Open File (if it's not there, you'll have to enter the Customize menu to drag it in).
<hr>
Happy coding!

Cannot open files saved to hard drive

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for