Fix messed up permissions on external HDD?

I've got an external HDD that I've been using with tons of macs. It now has plenty of old and new folders from different locations that come from various users/macs.
Deleteing or moving files, depending on the folder, sometimes requires a password. I guess the files permissions are messy or inconsistent.
What's the best practice to get everything back to a simple and clean state? I'm looking for the default thing: all files read & write by anyone who connect the drive to their mac.
1 TB WD Elements USB 3.0 / 2.5"
Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
Thanks for any advice!

Get Info on the drive and check the box to ignore ownership on the drive. That will ignore the permissions structure on the drive.
If you want to keep permissions, but reset them all, set them in the Permissions section of the Get Info window. Then, click the gear button and select "apply to enclosed."

Similar Messages

Help, I messed up permissions for external HDD

Hi people.
Here's the deal. My external 160 GB LaCie-drive (same type of drive that Emmet posted about recently) is divided into two partitions; one that I want to keep public and one that I back-up my private things to.
Now I had a whim about permissions and realized that if I would change permissions on "group" to exclude "everyone" yet still keeping myself set to "read and write", maybe I could keep other users from being able to read the files on that partition when logged in.
Well, it didn't quite work the way I wanted. Couldn't read any file on that partition (each folder claimed to be empty) and I couldn't change back the permissions. So I removed it from my desktop and now when I plug it back in, only the first partition shows up.
In Disk Utilities both drives show up, but the second one (the one I manipulated) has the standard unidentified file icon, and claims to be empty (when I click "Info"). There is nothing wrong with the drive itself, obviously, since the repaircheck says the drive is without errors.
So my question is What do I do? Is there like a UNIX-command for fixing the permissions or something?
Would appreciate help.
Sebastian
iMac G5, 1,8 mHz, 20", 160 GB HDD Mac OS X (10.4.3) 1 GB RAM, external LaCie 160 GB, additional LaCie 40 GB
iMac G5, 1,8 mHz 20", 160 GB HDD, 1 GB RAM Mac OS X (10.4.3) AirPort Express, external LaCie 160 GB, additional LaCie 40 GB

enigma
Not that bad I think. Start the terminal and type the following:
sudo chown -R youruser_name:your_username /Volumes/Florenz
substitute the "yourusername" part of the above with your actual user name. Press return, key in your password and press return again. Then type:
sudo chmod -R u=rwx /Volumes/Florenz
Press return and then:
sudo chmod -R go=--- /Volumes/Florenz
Press return. This should return the ownership of the drive to you with read, write and execute privileges but nothing to group and others.
You messed things up by changing the group to "everyone".

Upgraded to Mavericks. Now External HDD Enclosure Won't Mount. Is there a fix?

Upgraded to Mavericks. Now I can't get my external HDD enclosure to mount. A little about this enclosure, as it's not the usual settup . I have four 3TB HDDs in a RAID5 settup. The most unique part is that they are formatted as a Windows NT Filesystem (Tuxera NTFS). Basically, when I set this up, I had to get a lot of info from a Windows-formatted HDD, but also be able to read/write afterwards. It's worked fine for ~ 1 year, but now that I've upgraded to Mavericks, nothing will mount. I ran Disk Utility, where I see the HDDs (I've partitioned them into four drives of varying sizes), but they are greyed out. I tried to mount them, but it says it won't and that I should run First Aid. So I did...tried to "Repair Disk," but it just gets stuck on "Updating boot support partitions for the volume as required." For over an hour it's been on that message.
So, does anybody out there have a fix? I've read several similar posts about people having a hard time mounting and, overall, dealing with external HDDs after upgrading to Mavericks. But nothing seemed to fit my exact circumstances. Lastly, I should mention that I've used both Firewire and USB connections. Both resulted in the same.
Thanks.

I can't help with specifics for your issue, but some general thoughts:
The upgrade and the disk problem may be a coincidence. It would help you if you could verify that the drive still works fine on a windows machine. If you run a windows virtual machine or have a windows pc, or a friend does, verify full functioning that way. If it still won't mount on the mac, try to copy/backup it's data onto the windows machine (maybe another external drive connected to it. You could then scrub the disk in windows, leave it unpartitioned, unformatted. Connect it back to the mac and format it as HFS+ (Mac extended journalled) and transfer the data back to it by sharing the windows machine external drive and connecting the two machines with a network cable.

Can't Read/Write to External HDD-Permissions Problem

I have external Seagate HDD, formatted as FAT32, connected to Airport Extreme Base Station. I am unable to Read/Write to this Drive because Finder says I "Don't have permissions" to do so.
Following are details that may be important:
1. I was able to read/write to this drive under Leopard but lost the right under Snow Leopard, after upgrade to SL.
2. In Airport Utility, I set up (2) accounts for the External HDD, "Dad" with "Read/Write" access and "Mom" with "Read" access only. I have Guest Account privileges set to "Read Only". It has been this way for (2) years.
3. Under "Get Info" in Finder, the only account listed is "everyone" with "read" permission only (this is same as Guest Acount in Airport Utility). I am unable to add new accounts because I get error message "The account name is not valid" even though I am using the account name that I am logged in under.
4. I can change the Permissions on the "everyone" account (in Finder) by changing the permissions on the "Guest Account" in Airport Utility. When I do this, "everyone" in Finder now has "read/write" access but my two accounts, "Dad" and "Mom still don't show up in Finder.
5. I also upgraded internal HDD to 1Tb and used Restore from Time Machine. I hhad problems with the restore and did new install of Snow Leopard.
Any ideas on how to make Finder show the two accounts I have set up in Airport Utility?

My apologies for bumping this but I still don't have a solution...any help would be greatly appreciated!

I've mistakenly deleted Time Machine backups from my external HDD. How do I fix this?!

I manually deleted several Time Machine backups from my external HDD. Whenever I attempt to empty trash, it states (error code -22) has occurred. How do I fix my predicament?
I understand (now) that I should never do this and ONLY delete from the Time Machine app itself but I did not assume this would be so complex by taking a blind stab at it. How do I either a) place the Time Machine backups where the originated (Put Back is not an option when right-clicked) or b) successfully delete these so I can clear my bin.
I am running Mac OS 10.10 on a 13" MacBook Air (mid-2013) w/ 4GB of RAM and 128GB SSD. My external drive is a 5400 RPM WD USB 2.0 External Hard Drive.

Try Trash won't empty deleted time machine backups

I can't transfer downloaded content from my macbook air to my external hdd, when i try to drag it into the hrd drive it wont go in how do i fix this ?

i can't transfer downloaded content from my macbook air to my external hdd, when i try to drag it into the hrd drive it wont go in how do i fix this ?

What format is the external HDD in? If it's NTFS (= proprietary Windows), then OS X can read it but not write.
Eventually copy all content from the drive to a safe place, the re-format. FAT32 is the format which both Windows and OS X can read and write.

External HDD - Permissions

Hello everyone,
I share an external hdd and the files on it with a lot of people. What ails us: the whole permission mumbo-jumbo.
Is there a way to automatically strip all permissions (or like chmod 777) and the ownership from a the file, when it's copied to the ehdd?
Thanks!

As BaconPie said, change the fstab of every computer that connects to the drive.
create a line for your usb drive or add to the existing line _one_ of the following in the options column:
dmask=0222,fmask=0333
umask=0222
uid=1000,gid=1000 (check with the 'id' command that this matches your user and group id)
You might also want to add the option 'user' to allow you to mount and unmount that drive without being root.
Lastly, you are able to write to the drive right? Else see https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/NTFS_Write_Support

External HDD locked, can't repair permissions or create folder at root

After having to do an archive and install as mac mini stuck in start-up, start-up not finished, start start-up again loop I am experiencing bizarre problem. Spend 3 days on this and now just 2 hours with Apple Support. Since the archive and install the 3 partitions of my external HDD all have a padlock on them. Tried many things including checking permissions from install disk or from usual start-up disk and even logged in as root user. At the root level it is not possible to create a new folder or trash items or to move anything to this level. At lower directory levels you can. Clicking on Get info for each partition shows the same thing. It says just above the name box that I can read only, yet by my name says I can read and write. However, selecting anything other than read and write does not stick, it ignores the request. At the sub directory level it says my privileges are custom. Logged in as a root user, I tried to move something to the root level of the HDD. It asked me to authenticate but even after doing that said I had insufficient privileges!
Please someone help. Apple support has had to escalate now. Their comment was "I've never heard of such a sever issue with permissions."
In the mean time I have limited control over my external HDD.
thanks
D

Hopefully you can help me out here as well V.K.
I had to reformat my Mac and now can only read my external drive. I have tried everything. Here is the response I get to running:
sudo chflags nouchg /My Book II
chflags: /Volumes/My Book II: Read-only file system.
I can read files, but when I try to delete them I get a error -67 code.I also cannot write to my external.
Thanks

Permissions External HDD

Hey guys,
I have an external HDD with all my music on it. Now I leave it plugged into my iMac, butlet my house mate use my imac but with his account. How can I have it so he just doesnt enter the external drive with his account and copy music, that I have bought into his account and burn disc etc...
Thanks

Right click the external drive icon, and select Get Info. Under Ownership & Permissions, make sure the "Ignore ownership" box is not checked. Also make sure your house mate's account is not an admin account.
This allows only very limited security. It won't stop him from bring over his laptop, plugging your external drive into it, and accessing everything that way. Encryption is your only way to protect against that.

Permissions and problems with external HDD

Starting today I have been unable to copy anything to my 1T Seagate FA GoFlex external HDD. I can access the drive, I can copy files FROM the drive back to my Mac Mini, but I cannot copy anything to the drive. Whenever I try to copy anything I get the error "The operation can’t be completed because an unexpected error occurred (error code -50)." I have spent the last four hours doing an exhaustive search, and have tried every solution I've come.
Somehow, over the last few days, something has happened to change this external HDD--the permissions and possibly the format. I have been in Disk Utility and am unable to repair. I have tried accessing Disk Utility from startup and am unable to repair. I have also copied the content off of the HDD and have tried to reformat the drive, but I'm getting an error when I try this as well.
When I tried to verify the disk I got this error:
When I tried to repair the disk I got this error:
After copying all of the important files to other drives, I attempted to reformat and got this error:
Then I tried the secure option and got this error:
I did notice that when I click on the Erase tab, the format shows as "Mac OS Extended" but when I click on the RAID tab the format shows "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)". Shouldn't these match?
I have been using this external HDD for several years now and have never had a problem. This does coincide with the copying of some .mp3 files. Could this be the culprit? (I was unable to remove one zip folder of these mp3 files.)
The permissions for this external HDD seem out of whack as well:
It states "You can only read" but the admin account "MiniMel (Me)" sholws Read & Write.
I am completely stumped and irritated. Is there any help for this HDD or is it just failing? It was no where near capacity. Could the mp3 files have caused the problem? I think this is unlikely, the the timing is coincidental. Should I worry about this happening to the other external HDD and my HD where I copied the files so I could reformat?
Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your reply.
I tried that last night. When I tried to verify the disk from startup, I received this message:
when I tried to repair the disk I received this message:
After the second message, I moved what I needed off the external HDD and tried to reformat. Which led to the errors in my OP. So frustrating.
Message was edited by: web-betty (replaced screenshots)

Error code 50 when copying from TC to external HDD

Hi all, I bought a 3tb TC and backed up about 1.3tb worth of data onto it from an external HDD, I then formatted the external HDD to FAT 32 as I found out that TC does not like to work with FAT 32, no matter, the hard drive ois fixed now. However, when I go to copy all the data back onto the external HDD. i get "an unnexcpected error occured error code -50" or something like that, but the error code is definetly 50. I got this error when trying to copy the movies through, they are MKV files, I checked all the names and I dont think there are any problems with them.
the setup so far is as follows. Externall HDD --USB--> Time capsule. All operations are being executed through an imac.
HELP ASAP will be greatly appreciated.
Cheers

Error codes are really hard to figure out.. but i think it will be due to permissions.
See http://pondini.org/TM/C10.html
It is an error from TM but I think it comes from underlying OS..
Can you copy files to this disk from a source other than the TC.. try copying a file from the TC to the Mac and then from Mac to the external disk.. but make sure it is plugged directly into the mac.. if you have issues look carefully at permission. And format/partition type.. do use GUID partition not MBR Or the older Apple systems.
Re: Error Code-50 when trying to copy or delete files on external hard drive

WD My Passport External HDD in a Mac

Hey everyone. I want to know if it's possible for me to replace my 160GB HDD in my MacBook (Aluminium, Late 2008) with my WD My Passport 1TB External HDD? And if the answer is yes, how do I download and install Mountain Lion to it after the replacement? (I did a download and upgrade from Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion through the App Store) Thanks.

Here's the basic process:
How to replace or upgrade a drive in a laptop
Step One: Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger, Leopard or Snow Leopard.) After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
Step Two: Remove the old drive and install the new drive. Place the old drive in an external USB enclosure. You can buy one at OWC who is also a good vendor for drives.
Step Three: Boot from the external drive. Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager appears. Select the icon for the external drive then click on the downward pointing arrow button.
Step Four: New Hard Drive Preparation
1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.
2. After DU loads select your new hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
Step Five: Clone the old drive to the new drive
1. Open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder.
2. Select the destination volume from the left side list.
3. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
4. Check the box labeled Erase destination.
5. Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag it to the Destination entry field.
6. Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to the Source entry field.
7. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
Destination means the new internal drive. Source means the old external drive.
Step Six: Open the Startup Disk preferences and select the new internal volume. Click on the Restart button. You should boot from the new drive. Eject the external drive and disconnect it from the computer.

Error -50 problems on external HDD

I am having intermittent problems backing up to a USB external HDD (via ChronoSync). After a couple of days of successful backups they start failing with error -50. When this happens I am unable to write anything to the HDD. Restarting the computer fixes the problem for a day or so, but then it happens again. I do not think that there are any physical problems with the drive or cable because the drive is partitioned (3 partitions) and another partition is used by SuperDuper to make bootable backups and has not failed.
I see messages like this in Console which may be related:
2/11/09 1:34:05 PM Disk Utility[58300] Verifying volume “WORK-430GB”
2/11/09 1:34:05 PM fseventsd[40] gzflush(/Volumes/WORK-430GB/.fseventsd/0000000001299f05) returned -1
2/11/09 1:34:05 PM fseventsd[40] disk logger: gzclose() failed (-1/22) removing all old log files in /Volumes/WORK-430GB/.fseventsd
2/11/09 1:34:06 PM fseventsd[40] failed to unlink old log file /Volumes/WORK-430GB/.fseventsd/0000000001299841 (Invalid argument)
2/11/09 1:34:06 PM fseventsd[40] failed to unlink old log file /Volumes/WORK-430GB/.fseventsd/0000000001299f05 (Invalid argument)
2/11/09 1:34:06 PM fseventsd[40] failed to create the uuid file /Volumes/WORK-430GB/.fseventsd/fseventsd-uuid
2/11/09 1:34:32 PM fseventsd[40] Events arrived for /Volumes/WORK-430GB after an unmount request! Re-initializing.
2/11/09 1:35:06 PM mds[34] (/Volumes/WORK-430GB/.Spotlight-V100/Store-V1/Stores/A85D1BB6-7321-4197-B51A-04 27BCA3790F)(Error) IndexCI in ContentIndexOpenBulk:Unclean shutdown of /Volumes/WORK-430GB/.Spotlight-V100/Store-V1/Stores/A85D1BB6-7321-4197-B51A-042 7BCA3790F/live.2.; needs recovery
2/11/09 1:35:52 PM fseventsd[40] disk logger: failed to open output file /Volumes/WORK-430GB/.fseventsd/0000000002993106 (Invalid argument). mount point /Volumes/WORK-430GB/.fseventsd
2/11/09 1:35:52 PM Disk Utility[58300] The volume WORK-430GB appears to be OK.
2/11/09 1:35:52 PM mds[34] (/Volumes/WORK-430GB/.Spotlight-V100/Store-V1/Stores/A85D1BB6-7321-4197-B51A-04 27BCA3790F)(Error) IndexCI in copyFileOrFd:error (22) opening 0.indexGroups
2/11/09 1:35:52 PM mds[34] (/Volumes/WORK-430GB/.Spotlight-V100/Store-V1/Stores/A85D1BB6-7321-4197-B51A-04 27BCA3790F)(Error) IndexCI in recoverIndex:Unrecoverable error: could not recover groups file (0.)
2/11/09 1:35:52 PM mds[34] (/Volumes/WORK-430GB/.Spotlight-V100/Store-V1/Stores/A85D1BB6-7321-4197-B51A-04 27BCA3790F)(Error) IndexCI in CIMetaInfoCreate:Tried to create index when index already existed /Volumes/WORK-430GB/.Spotlight-V100/Store-V1/Stores/A85D1BB6-7321-4197-B51A-042 7BCA3790F
2/11/09 1:42:15 PM Disk Utility[58300] Verifying volume “WORK-430GB”
2/11/09 1:43:51 PM Disk Utility[58300] The volume WORK-430GB appears to be OK.
2/11/09 1:43:51 PM mds[34] (/Volumes/WORK-430GB/.Spotlight-V100/Store-V1/Stores/A85D1BB6-7321-4197-B51A-04 27BCA3790F)(Error) IndexCI in ContentIndexOpenBulk:Unclean shutdown of /Volumes/WORK-430GB/.Spotlight-V100/Store-V1/Stores/A85D1BB6-7321-4197-B51A-042 7BCA3790F/live.2.; needs recovery
2/11/09 1:43:51 PM mds[34] (/Volumes/WORK-430GB/.Spotlight-V100/Store-V1/Stores/A85D1BB6-7321-4197-B51A-04 27BCA3790F)(Error) IndexCI in copyFileOrFd:error (22) opening 0.indexGroups
2/11/09 1:43:51 PM mds[34] (/Volumes/WORK-430GB/.Spotlight-V100/Store-V1/Stores/A85D1BB6-7321-4197-B51A-04 27BCA3790F)(Error) IndexCI in recoverIndex:Unrecoverable error: could not recover groups file (0.)
2/11/09 1:43:51 PM mds[34] (/Volumes/WORK-430GB/.Spotlight-V100/Store-V1/Stores/A85D1BB6-7321-4197-B51A-04 27BCA3790F)(Error) IndexCI in CIMetaInfoCreate:Tried to create index when index already existed /Volumes/WORK-430GB/.Spotlight-V100/Store-V1/Stores/A85D1BB6-7321-4197-B51A-042 7BCA3790F
2/11/09 1:48:15 PM ctask[59236] Copy Operation Error: -50
Description: paramErr. error in user parameter list.
Path: /Volumes/WORK-430GB
Stage: 3
2/11/09 1:48:15 PM [0x0-0x19019].com.cocoatech.PathFinder[244] Path: /Volumes/WORK-430GB
and also these messages:
2/11/09 1:40:04 PM fseventsd[40] failed to unlink old log file /Volumes/Boot-300GB/.fseventsd/00000000028bce91 (Invalid argument)
2/11/09 1:40:04 PM fseventsd[40] failed to unlink old log file /Volumes/Boot-300GB/.fseventsd/00000000028dd237 (Invalid argument)
2/11/09 1:40:04 PM fseventsd[40] failed to create the uuid file /Volumes/Boot-300GB/.fseventsd/fseventsd-uuid
2/11/09 1:41:36 PM fseventsd[40] client 0x83de00 watching dev 234881029 but it has no path! ()
2/11/09 1:41:36 PM fseventsd[40] client 0x828800 watching dev 234881030 but it has no path! ()
Any suggestions about how to narrow this down will be appreciated. ChronoSync tech support is getting tired of trying to help me and I suspect that it is a Leopard problem.

Try repairing disk permissions.
Launch Disk Utility. (Applications/Utilities) Select MacintoshHD in the panel on the left, select FirstAid, then click: Repair Disk Permissions. Quit DU when it's finished and reboot.
And check here: What to do if your computer won't recognize a FireWire or USB device
*" ChronoSync tech support is getting tired of trying to help me and I suspect that it is a Leopard problem. "* Since ChronoSync wrote this software. If it's not Leopard compatible then Apple isn't responsible. Might be able to get more support here: http://www.econtechnologies.com/pages/support/support_faq.html
Carolyn

Installed OS X Snow Leopard on external HDD, now won't allow me to delete files from Mac internal drive

Hi,
I am stuck! My 1 TB iMac 27" decided to stop booting up and would only stay at the grey screen with the apple, gear turning and progress bar. When it got to a certain point on the progress bar it would shut down. Thanks to so many helpful people and their experiences I was able to try many different things including (Command + S, typing /sbin/mount -uw / enter , chmod 775 / enter, logout enter, then rebooting holding down Command + V) and (Reinstalling OS X and using Disk Utility to repair - came up with Disk can't be fixed).
Nothing worked until I read a couple of very wise answers who said "Your hard drive is not dead, but too full...keep at least 10% free at all times". I was down to about 1% (ooops!) Thankfully hubby had bought me an external HDD for Christmas, onto which I installed OS X and being connected to my iMac, it recognized my internal Macintosh HD and all my files are there. Phewww! But I don't want to use my external HDD as my startup disk, I wan't to keep my Macintosh HD for startup but it is too full to repair and select as startup.
My problem is that I cannot delete files from Macintosh HD, and I've tried to unlock files/folders but they don't seem to be locked. But when I drag them to the trash can it says "The item ... can't be moved to the Trash because it can't be deleted." Again, many helpful answers online, but nothing is working. I have 2 Finder windows open, one with external HDD (new startup disk), and old HDD (Macintosh HD) but all items in Macintosh HD can't be altered or deleted (right click doesn't highlight to change the name). So if I can't delete my files, I can't reinstall OS X and repair disk and select it as my startup disk. I'd be so thrilled if someone can help me. I have tried unlocking folders, and I downloaded 'Trashit'. Neither worked, so I figure because it has the little pencil crossed out on the menu bar that it is protected somehow...I just don't know how/what to do. Thanks

Ok, so I'll try set it out a bit clearer than my first post,
This is what I've done, and the results:
1. My son unplugged working iMac Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.2, 1TB with only 11GB available space
2. Turned it on and got the white screen, apple, turning gear and load-up bar
3. Turned Mac off and waited 1/2 a minute.
4. Turned Mac back on...(same as 3.), tried again many times
5. Began searching internet for answers (see original post)
6. Found answers and did the following:
               1.     Put OS X installation disk into drive
               2.     Attached External Hard Drive
               3.     Installed OS X onto External Hard Drive (With a different name & password to original HDD)
               4.     Found Macintosh HD still worked so tried to delete files only to get message saying                                           files couldn't be deleted (see original post)
I've tried changing the permissions in 'Get Info' and this is what happens:
1.Right click Macintosh HD - says "You can only read"
                                                  Name: System - Read & Write
                                                             Admin -   Read & Write
                                                             Everyone - Read only
2.Click on padlock to unlock - doesn't turn black to be able to change anything
3.Check the box "Ignore ownership on this volume" (someone else advised to do this)
4.Name changes to 'mydrive (Me)'
5.Lock padlock and Name still says mydrive (Me) but still 'You can only read'
I don't know what is wrong or what to do, but perhaps you are right LowLuster, that because I named them different names it is protected in some way.
My thought now is to copy all my files to the external HDD and then erase and install again on my internal HD, but I really need my calendar, emails etc from my old HD and not sure they can be found on the old HD to copy over.
Still stuck!

Can't write to External HDD connected to AEBS

+This is a repost from the SL Discussion...hopefully someone here can help...+
I am logged in under my account, which is the Administrator Account. I am unable to write to Seagate 1 TB external HDD connected to AEBS base station.
Under "Get Info"->Sharing and Permissions it reads "You have custom Access" and then shows just one account, "everyone" and this is a "Read Only" account. The format of the External Drive is shown as "Appleshare" (actual drive is formatted as NTFS so my Dell PC can read/write, which is functioning perfectly).
I tried to change the "everyone" account to Read and Write but Mac 10.6.3 won't let me because "I don't have the necessary permissions".
So then I tried to add another account (clicking the "+" sign) but it again rejects me because the account "isn't a valid name" although I am using my account name.
I was able to read/write to this drive under Leopard but lost that function when I upgraded to 10.6.3. I can read the files on the drive and copy them to my iMac but I can't copy back to the drive. Is this a Finder problem?
How can I get the permissions changed on this external drive so I can read/write from my Admin account?

Okay, it is formatted as FAT32.
I checked under Airport Utility and there are (2) accounts that have permitted access, Dad (Read/Write) and Mom (Read Only). The drive is not corrupted as I can read/write from the Dell PC without any issue and I can "Read" from my iMac.
When I right click on the drive, "Get Info" and then check "Sharing/Permissions", there is only one account shown "everyone" (all small letters) with "Read" access. This account does not show up under "Airport Utility" so it is an account that Finder assigned.
My other two accounts, that are correctly shown under Airport Utility, are not shown in Finder. It seems like this is a Finder Problem and Finder (under Snow Leopard) won't let me access the drive.
So how can I change the Permissions in Finder? Even if Finder lets me add another account that can read/write, I'll be happy. But it won't let me add any accounts, it simply says "Invalid Account Name".
I'll try the direct hookup to the iMac as a last resort but this drive has all of my photos backed up on it so I don't want to mess around too much with it. I have photos on other drives as well but it is a big pain to reload from the other drives...it is around 300 Gb of photos.

Fix messed up permissions on external HDD?

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