Don't have permissions to see my external drive contents
can anyone help? all of a sudden, i can't access the files on my external drive. it gives me the message "...you don't have permission to see its contents"
i tried every option in disk utility, but the "repair disk permissions" is grayed out.
can someone help me?
Hi
What format is the external HD formatted in?
Go to Applications -> Utilities -> Disk Utility, and look in the bottom left corner.
If the drive is formatted as FAT or NTFS, then you will not be able to repair disk permissions. If the volume is formatted as FAT, then you are unable to assign permissions at all, so you have a real problem in that case.
Report back with more info.
Similar Messages
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Leopard. Did a full restore from Time Machine. Now I can't access my other internal and external drives. I get the following error: The folder “Capture Video” can’t be opened because you don’t have permission to see its contents. I have repaired permissions pn the main harddrive. When I try too click on a disk I get the previously stated error. I can't even open up information to see what permission/access there is. It simply will not let me see the content. It shows the content of my main hard drive when I have clicked the other harddrive's name.
Solved:
sudo chflags 0 /Volumes/"FCP Time Machine BU"
sudo chown 0:80 /Volumes/"FCP Time Machine BU"
sudo chmod 775 /Volumes/"FCP Time Machine BU"
sudo chmod -N /Volumes/"FCP Time Machine BU" -
Problem! I just copied my extern hdd to finder and tried to open my files when I get the message: "The Map ”Pictures” can not be opened since you don´t have authority to see it´s contents! What??? No one else has access to my computer....now I can´t open my 300 Gb on my hdd in my Macbook Pro. Help?
I've had this happen a few times before. What I found works is repairing the permissions. To do so click on go and then to utilities. click disk utilities. In disk utilities select the drive and click repair permissions. It may take a little time but try accessing after that.
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All my hard drives (internal and external) have a small lock in the lower left corner of the icon and I don't have permissions to access. I have 3 user accounts set up and I cannot access any of them. Permissions are set to 'Custom' in the get info window and I can't change them. Originally I had Snow Leopard installed on one hard drive and 10.5.8 installed on another. I started to have some problems accessing data between them and so I tried changing the permissions on ONE hard drive partition. The next thing I know, all my drives are locked (except the ones with the systems on them), the small lock appeared in the lower left corner of the drive icons and I don't have permissions to access any of them. In the get info window, permissions are set to 'Custom' and I can't change them.
There is suddenly a lock icon on my external backup drive!
Custom Permissions -
The folder ".Trashes" can't be opened because you don't have permission to see its contents.
I cleaned out my hard drive right before upgrading to 10.9.2 and now I discovered I was a bit too heavy with the spring cleaning. I want to restore my iphoto library from the trash on my external hard drive but when I try and open it ( first I un-hid it ) I get the error
The folder “.Trashes” can’t be opened because you don’t have permission to see its contents.
So how do I get permission?Open the AppleScript Editor and run the following:
tell application "Finder" to quit
if (do shell script "defaults read com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles") is "1" then
do shell script "defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles 0"
else
do shell script "defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles 1"
end if
delay 2
tell application "Finder" to run
Select the .Trashes folder in the Finder, choose Get Info from the File menu, give yourself read and write access in the Sharing & Permissions section of the window, repeat this process with the 501 folder if needed, move the library out, and run the script again.
(105513) -
Don't Have Permissions to View TM Backups?
Not long ago, I began to use Time Machine with an external hard drive. It's work very well ... until now.
I have 4 internal hard drives, all of which are backing up to TM (on the external hard drive).
Today, I neede to restore a file from one of the HDs but TM would not let me navigate beyond selecting the root drive. It gave me the message "The folder {name} can't be opened because you don't have permission to see its contents."
Mind you, I'm the only one using my computer. Upon investigation, TWO of the four HDs are giving me this same permissions message in Time Machine. The other two HD backups are normal.
I checked "info" on those two HDs and yes, indeed, I am recognized as having "read and write" capabiity.
What is going on?Thanks - I did go there but couldn't find my specific issue addressed.
In any event - I've since discovered that the two HD in question (although I use them on a daily basis with no problem) both had "Ignore ownership on this volume" checked in the Info window. The two I COULD access (via Time Machine) did not.
So I unchecked that box on the 2 problem drives and, when I went back into TM, was able at least to select each hard drive with no error messages.
Unfortunately, execept for the "Today" state, TM would NOT go back in time to show files on either of the two previously-locked drives for all of the yesterdays that it backed them up.
Unless I can figure out how to access Time Machine as "System" I think all those archived files are lost to me on the two drives. -
I've installed Snow Leopard on existing iMac. I backed up on a 1TB external HD but when opening any folder from that HD I receive the error: 'The folder i can’t be opened because you don’t have permission to see its contents'.
Any help very gratefully received!Select it and open the Info dialog. In the Sharing & Permissions section, you should have read & write access, and everyone (else) should have read access. If that's not the case, click the lock icon, authenticate, and make the necessary changes. Close the window and try again.
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"...because you don't have permission to see its contents."
I've got a 500GB Seagate external harddrive I back my stuff up on. I did a recent backup of my new macbook pro that replaced my old one. Suddenly my external harddrive icon is turquoise instead of orange – but what's more is that my previous harddrive backup files now all have locked folders. For instance, if I want to access my old music library from the backup, it says "The folder “Music” can’t be opened because you don’t have permission to see its contents." I've tried command+i to changed the permissions but that didn't do squat. Now I have a handy-dandy harddrive of INACCESSIBLE files that I had backed up (so i wouldn't LOSE anything...). Somebody. Please.
Select the text on the line below by dragging across it. Don't include the blank space at the end of the line. Only the text should be highlighted.
ls -@Odeln
Copy the selected text to the Clipboard (command-C).
Launch the Terminal application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Terminal in the icon grid.
Paste into the Terminal window (command-V), then press the space bar.
Now switch to the Finder and and select one of the items that are causing the problem. Drag the item into the Terminal window. More text will be added to what you entered.
Click in the Terminal window to activate it, then press return.
Post any lines of output that appear below what you entered — the text, please, not a screenshot.
If any personal information appears in the output, edit before posting, but don’t remove the context. -
Every since I nstalled maverick I have not been able to open folders through my home network. A dialoge box says
The folder can’t be opened because you don’t have permission to see its contents. I have always used an open network and never had issues. Now the strange part is I can open files if I use photoshop or illustrator to access them but I need to access all files not just select ones using a program.I have many shared folders on my network for everyone to access work files, none of them are working. I am running a dual system network with PC's and Macs.The files are, and always have been, located on an external drive attached to the primary PC as a shared drive. PLEASE HELPhttps://discussions.apple.com/message/20971272#20971272
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"don't have permission to see its contents"
Greetings,
I'm really having problems with this Snow Leopard, and don't want to be agitated, or frustrated, but it's getting harder and harder to do so.
After installing on my 17" Macbook Pro, I was able to log in, fine, but was unable to do much of anything, as I was prompted to give a administrator password, but had no idea of what this was.
After trying every combination of my name (which has been my user name from before time), and pass work, I got it in my head that "this messing ain't cutting it."
After a bit of looking here on the forum, I was able to find out how to use my install disc to crate a "system administrator" account, and then, after restarting from my hard drive, I was able to go into the system preferences, find my users, and give myself permissions to act as an administrator (after this, I read several posts about how it's scary to crate an administrator account -- and it was -- but just tried to be strong -- channeling bit of strength from an alligator I once saw eat a big chunk of old truck tire, and just pressed on).
Now I should note that while I was log in as the (scary) administrator, I did seem that I was able to open folders without issue, however, when I logged back in as me (the monkey of wire), nothing much had changed, I could not open any folders with exception of "public" and something else like that...
The warning I get is ""don't have premission to see its contents" -- wow, I can't even look?
Frightening.
And, what scares me even more, is that I can go back in my time machine and see things that I would like to bring forward, but when I try to, I'm told "this is part of OS X and can't be modified... " or something close to that... Don't worry about this issue right now, I think it might be tied to the "no permission" deal, but if I've lost those back ups... Well, we all know what that feeling is like, and I will be feeding parts of my grays anatomy to said "Alligator."
So, while I'm here, what about just going back to OSX plain old Leopard?
Can I do this if I do a reset to factory install?
Will that boot out all the snow?
And if so, what I fear is that I have already corrupted my time machine drive with a back up done while this Snow Leopard OS installed... Yeah, when I plugged in the drive to check what it's staturse was, the Macbook just jumped in and performed a new back up -- of this state of affaires.... Scary again.
I was thinking I might be able to go into the drive and erase this one (or perhaps two) backups, but then when I looked there is a document that's very new -- like just at the time this back up was being done -- and it's called something catalog, I think, and I have a gut wrenching feeling that to erase that would be the beginning of a horror show... So, let me not go there just yet...
Wow, that's a lot... Any help on this would just be awesome.
I honestly just rock out hard no my apple products, I'm a long time user, and always do things carefully and with thought, but this is very underwater frozen under the snow black water gator **** for me right this moment in time.
Thank you,
WMI found a solution over on Macrumors forums, though it's not for the faint of heart. The solution starts at post #36, about halfway down the page:
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=417647&highlight=ACL&page=2
As I suspected, this is a Terminal / Unix / Command-line procedure, and anyone uncomfortable with it should probably just take their Mac to the Genius Bar at their local Apple store. That said, below is the procedure that worked for me (I'll make it easier for those who don't want to read the whole thread on macrumors.com).
Also, the first procedure is ONLY FOR HARD DRIVES/VOLUMES WITH ONE-WORD NAMES. If you have two or more words in the name(s), the procedure is slightly different, and I've listed that below the first procedure.
*1. Open an application in your Utilities folder called Terminal.*
This is the Unix part of Mac OS X that does not have a GUI (graphic user interface). Think of it like working in DOS (or BASIC), if you're as old as I am. It's also a bit like a word processing program, only much more powerful.
You type a command (_EXACTLY, character for character, space for space, as it is shown in the example_) and then hit ENTER or RETURN to execute the command. After the first ENTER/RETURN, you will probably have to enter your account password (or an administrator password if you're not logged in as such).
You won't see any characters appear as you type your password, (the cursor remains in the same place) but continue typing it and then hit RETURN/ENTER.
2. In Terminal, CUT AND PASTE the following lines +one at a time+ (obviously replace "Volumename" with the name of your volume). Make SURE you include spaces where there are spaces. And those are ZEROS after "chflags" and "chown", not Oh's.
Hit RETURN/ENTER after the "Volumename", and watch your HD's icon on your desktop after each command. In my case, the little padlock disappeared first, then my custom icon was restored, and then it was just blink blink every time after. But it works!!! REMEMBER, THIS FIRST PROCEDURE IS ONLY FOR VOLUMES WITH SINGLE-WORD NAMES:
*sudo chflags 0 /Volumes/Volumename* <HIT RETURN/ENTER HERE> (don't type this part in Terminal.
*sudo chown 0:80 /Volumes/Volumename* <HIT RETURN/ENTER HERE>
*sudo chmod 775 /Volumes/Volumename* <HIT RETURN/ENTER HERE>
*sudo chmod -N /Volumes/Volumename* <HIT RETURN/ENTER HERE>
BUT if your volume's name includes one or more spaces like this: "My HD Backup", then you must write the command like this (Notice the spaces :
sudo chflags 0 /Volumes/firstname\ secondname\ thirdname\ fourthname\ fifth etc.
sudo chown 0:80 /Volumes/firstname\ secondname\ thirdname\ fourthname\ fifth etc.
sudo chmod 775 /Volumes/firstname\ secondname\ thirdname\ fourthname\ fifth etc.
sudo chmod -N /Volumes/firstname\ secondname\ thirdname\ fourthname\ fifth etc.
or like in my example:
Quote:
sudo chflags 0 /Volumes/My\ HD\ Backup
sudo chown 0:80 /Volumes/My\ HD\ Backup
sudo chmod 775 /Volumes/My\ HD\ Backup
sudo chmod -N /Volumes/My\ HD\ Backup
That should do it! Hope it works for everyone with this problem. Thanks to "IEatApples" on MacRumors for the solution!
For anyone who cares, here's what another MacRumors user (angelwatt) said these commands actually do:
1. chflags 0 removes all flags from the file(s)
2. chown 0:80 ensures root:admin (owner:group) permissions so the system can access the files
3. chmod 775 adjusts file permissions so you and your group have read/write/execute permissions
4. chmod -N removes the ACL (Access Control Lists) from the named file(s)
Cheers!
*disclaimer: I take no responsibility for any mucking up this does to your machine due to mis-types by you or me. But pull up your bootstraps, be brave, this works! -
My MacBook Pro with 750GB storage refuses to startup due to a problem with logic board (unfortunately I'm in Singapore and there is no Apple store here and zero customer support). I'm trying to access some of the files from the time machine back-up using my MacBook Air with 120GB storage, but I'm unable to open the backup. I receive an error message "you don't have permission to see its contents". Unable to access time machine backup. The folder “Documents” can’t be opened because you don’t have permission to see its contents.
I don't really want to migrate the data from the time machine to the MacBook Air as I simply don't have sufficient storage space on the MacBook Air. The iPhoto library which I'm trying to access is 200GB, which is more than the size of the MacBookAir.
Is there any way I can view the photos and documents stored on the time machine backup.
Thank you very much.When you setup the Mac, you created a Admin user account with say name X
You ran Migration Assistant and it migrated user Y from the Windows machine.
User Y has different permissions than User X.
User X can't normally access User Y's account.
So what you do is log out of User X via the Apple menu and into User Y, this way you have permission to access the files.
If you want to transfer files from User Y to User X account
Transfer files between user accounts on the same machine instructions
Finder > Go menu > Computer
A window appears with your boot drive, double click on it to open
Inside is Users folder, double click to open it
Inside is your User accounts, double click on the one you want to send files too
Double click on the Public folder drop the files into the DropBox folder,
The permissions will change and can be used in the other user account when you log into it and moved to the appropriate folders.
Applications are typically installed and kept in the Applications folder which is a global access folder all users can access to run them from, but not all users can modify unless they are a Admin user.
Windows programs won't run on a Mac, but they can be instaled into a virtual machine program that is running Windows.
Windows in BootCamp or Virtual Machine? -
The folder "com.apple.TCC" can't be opened because you don't have permission to see its contents.
I've noticed a folder with a 'no access' sign on it's bottom right corner - com.apple.TCC - and when i try to open it it says "The folder “com.apple.TCC” can’t be opened because you don’t have permission to see its contents."
Does anyone know what this is and why i can't access it? No-one else uses this macbook but me.
Also, as of this afternoon, I can't two finger scroll on any web browser?
Thanks.Back up all data.
This procedure will unlock all your user files (not system files) and reset their ownership and access-control lists to the default. If you've set special values for those attributes on any of your files, they will be reverted. In that case, either stop here, or be prepared to recreate the settings if necessary. Do so only after verifying that those settings didn't cause the problem. If none of this is meaningful to you, you don't need to worry about it.
I've tested these instructions only with the Safari web browser. If you use another browser, they may not work as described.
Step 1
If you have more than one user account, and the one in question is not an administrator account, then temporarily promote it to administrator status in the Users & Groups preference pane. To do that, unlock the preference pane using the credentials of an administrator, check the box markedAllow user to administer this computer, then reboot. You can demote the problem account back to standard status when this step has been completed.
Triple-click anywhere in the following line on this page to select it:
{ sudo chflags -R nouchg,nouappnd ~ $TMPDIR.. ; sudo chown -R $UID:staff ~ $_ ; sudo chmod -R u+rwX ~ $_ ; chmod -R -N ~ $_ ; } 2> /dev/null
Copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C.
Launch the Terminal application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Terminal in the icon grid.
Paste into the Terminal window (command-V). I've tested these instructions only with the Safari web browser. If you use another browser, you may have to press the return key after pasting.
You'll be prompted for your login password. Nothing will be displayed when you type it. You may get a one-time warning to be careful. If you don’t have a login password, you’ll need to set one before you can run the command. If you see a message that your username "is not in the sudoers file," then you're not logged in as an administrator.
The command may take a few minutes to run, or perhaps longer if you have literally millions of files in your home folder. Wait for a new line ending in a dollar sign (“$”) to appear, then quit Terminal.
Step 2 (optional)
Take this step only if you have trouble with Step 1 or if it doesn't solve the problem.
Boot into Recovery. When the OS X Utilities screen appears, select
Utilities ▹ Terminal
from the menu bar. A Terminal window will open.
In the Terminal window, type this:
res
Press the tab key. The partial command you typed will automatically be completed to this:
resetpassword
Press return. A Reset Password window will open. You’re not going to reset a password.
Select your boot volume ("Macintosh HD," unless you gave it a different name) if not already selected.
Select your username from the menu labeled Select the user account if not already selected.
Under Reset Home Directory Permissions and ACLs, click the Reset button.
Select
▹ Restart
from the menu bar. -
My MacBook Pro keeps saying The folder “Desktop” can’t be opened because you don’t have permission to see its contents. I just took it in to the apple store a few weeks ago, and since then I can't go into my desktop, I cant download anything to my computer.
Choose Home from the Finder's Go menu, click on the Desktop item, choose Get Info from the File menu, and give yourself read and write access in the Sharing & Permissions section.
(92996) -
The folder "Public" can't be opened because you don't have permission to see its contents.
Hey guys,
I don't know why. I can't open my Public folder. It just happened after i entered into iCloud. Right now it shows"The folder “Public” can’t be opened because you don’t have permission to see its contents." How could i fix it?Select it and open the Info dialog. In the Sharing & Permissions section, you should have read & write access, and everyone (else) should have read access. If that's not the case, click the lock icon, authenticate, and make the necessary changes. Close the window and try again.
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My os is 10.8.4. Airport Utility is 6.3. When I try to pull backups, time capsule says: 'The folder “Pictures” can’t be opened because you don’t have permission to see its contents.'. So I cannot use Time capsule to back up so what gives?
Did you use migration assistant when you set up the computer?
TM will treat this as a different computer and permissions issues can arise from that.
Pondini is the expert on that stuff.. hopefully he can drop in.
But I recommend you read all the FAQ to do with restore.. Q14-17.
And then look at the permissions issues he lists in troubleshooting.
E9 in particular. http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html
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