The Finder cannot complete the operation? Backup stops midway

Very often in OSX when I'm copying a disk or large number of files (backing up) I get this message:
"The Finder cannot complete the operation because (x) could not be read or written. (Error code -36)"
When I hit OK, the backup stops at that point.
I'll delete the offending file and sometimes that works, but many times the same thing will happen with a different file again.
Why is this happening and what can I do to stop it?

a great response. I've been having the same problem . Using copy for Backup because it seemed easier than learning a backup program, and hard disks are so big, now. The bigger question is what to do about broken files. In my case, I think the problem was interaction between OS 10.4.11 and Itunes 6.0.1 which I hadn't upgraded to 6.0.5, and that's all my hardware can do. I've rolled back to 10.4.10, and reinstalled Ipod software and Itunes 6.0.5 -not sure if the problem is solved. Wanted to backup 1st before a major test.
But adding podcasts to Ipod leads to hang up, force quit, hang up, turn off power. *So what to do about files that stop copy* (especially when they seem to be hidden, (aside from using Carbon Copy Cloner)
i.e. spotlight can't find them (i.e. 0F54AE5Dd01),
or old versions don't seem to help (Abstract.dplmageCache).
are they a problem? I've deleted some, but this abstract file seems to freeze shutdown when it's not there. and I can't delete what I can't find.

Similar Messages

"the finder cannot complete the operation because some data in [name of iMovie file] could not be read or written (Error Code 26)

Hi all,
I have an iMovie project in iMovie HD 6.0.3. (Mac OS 10.5.8)
It plays, but I cannot copy the file (including saving it to a flash drive). I get either a message
"the finder cannot complete the operation because some data in [name of
iMovie file] could not be read or written (Error Code 26)" or the
message "A project file is missing. The file [name of the QuickTime
movie inside the project.dv] couldn't be opened and is being skipped."
This happened suddenly, I was able to save a backup version numerous
times while working on the project.
I followed some of Karl Petersen's advise on apple discussions. I opened
the package contents, and everything seems to be there. The source file
(original QuickTime movie) is there and can be opened and played. I
replaced the current project file with the backup in the package
contents, but that did not change anything. I was able to export the
movie timeline into a new project as a single clip, but would like to be
able to copy the current project.
Thanks for any ideas..

Make sure all drives are formatted as "Mac OS Extended". (Journalling preferred, but not necessary).

Cannot move any files into trash to delete them. I get a Trash warning box saying "The Finder cannot complete the operation because some data in 'file name' could not be read or written.(Error code - 36)".Macbook has so much data it is almost not working

Cannot move any files into trash to delete them. I get a Trash warning box saying "The Finder cannot complete the operation because some data in 'file name' could not be read or written.(Error code - 36)".Macbook has so much data it is almost not working.
I have tried reseting to factory settings by removing battery and holding down the power switch for more than 5 sec but this does nothing.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated as I think with so much unwanted data on the desktop and other places the whole os will crash very soon.
Thanks, Rick

The hard drive may be dying anyway, or the directory damaged because it is so full. You should never let the hard drive get over 85% full.
A -36 error is a read/write error.
All you did with the power is reset the SMC. Does nothing to reset everything to factory settings.
Do you have your original 10.4 installer discs for the MacBook?
Is your data backed up?

"The finder cannot complete the operation error -36"

i try to connect to a pc using connect to server of the finder, i type smb://IP-of-the-pc and got this error, so.. anyone any ideas?

Hi Holly!
I had a double-take on your message because I was 99% sure that your problem was related to digitally signed communications, but then you said no other Macs are having this issue.
This would lead me to believe the problem lies with the one Mac, however I suspect that digitally signed communications are still the cause. The reason is that I suspect your server also has File Services for Macintosh (SFM) enabled and that your other Macs are probably using that. By default if a user enters just "servername" in the Connect To Servers dialog then AFP will be used automatically. You're specifically trying to use CIFS (more commonly referred to as SMB on Macs).
Try this...
First, verify that your user still has the problem when using the connect string "smb://server/share" instead of using CIFS. If that doesn't work then...
Second, have your user trying entering "afp://servername" as the connect string. This will verify whether or not others are using AFP instead of SMB. Finally...
Have a look at this page on Microsoft's website. While it doesn't specifically address Macs, it does refer to SMB connections and digitally signed communications. This page also tells you about the policy on the server that needs to be disabled to allow Macs to connect via SMB.
Hope this helps! bill
1 GHz Powerbook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.5)

Finder cannot complete the operation... (Error code -36)

Hello,
I'm trying to share a file between my new iMac and my PowerBook via file sharing (Finder, Airport 802.11 n). Both computers are on 10.5.3. The iMac is a brand new one, so it's a fresh install. The PowerBook has a new harddrive and is a fresh install as well. Both are on the most current software.
Here's what happens: Both computers are visible in each respective Finder, but files can only be shared from the iMac towards the PowerBook, not vice versa. When trying to connect from the PowerBook to the iMac, it tries to connect but to no avail, then I receive an error message "Connection Failed".
Next thing I tried was to connect via Finder/Connect to Server and typing in the afp:// address (looked it up at System Preferences/Sharing/File Sharing). It again tries to connect, then I receive the error message: "The finder cannot complete the operation because some data in "afp://192.xxx.x.xxx" could not be read or written (Error code -36)".
Now I'm puzzled and don't know what to do. Any help would be much appreciated, thanks.
Message was edited by: Thomas Thomaser1
Message was edited by: Thomas Thomaser1
Message was edited by: Thomas Thomaser1

Where can I find AFP I/O errors?
And by the way - after trying this for two days, it JUST worked! Not sure why or how or for how long, but this seems like massive bully.

Finder cannot complete the operation because some data in.....

Hello everyone.
I burned about 10 TDK DVDr's about a month ago. I didn't get any errors while burning them and put them directly into cd cases to prevent them from getting scratches or marks. I just took them out to copy the files back to my Macbook. As soon as i start to drag and drop the files, the dvd player starts reading the files, copies some of them, and about 20 seconds in to the copy it powers down and displays the following message. This is true for all 10 of the dvds i burned. It copies to my hard drive for about half a minute...and then the drive powers down.
"Finder cannot complete the operation because some data in (NAME OF CD) could not be read or written (Error Code-36)."
Does anybody have any suggestions? I'd hate to think that all of the dvds are coasters now because i have data on them.

hi easeupjosh,
did you ever get help with your DVD-Rs?
I am having the same problem and was wondering if there's someway I can salvage the data on my DVDs?
thanks

External HD issue. Finder cannot complete the operation because some data..

Last night I had a drive throw the error "finder cannot complete the operation because some data in "<file>" could not be read or written. Error code-36". I thought it was a bad disk. Then tonight I plugged in a flash drive, formatted it on the machine and now I am getting the same error on that disk as well. Any thoughts???

Yes, you can have bad blocks or other physical damage on a usb drive, the same as a firewire, or eSATA. Just because you can reformat the drive, doesn't mean the drive is okay. You reformat, yet the problem recurs. That is a sign of a bad drive. If it were an OS issue then the reformat should fix it.
You might want to check the drives with a utility from Prosoft called DriveGenius It's the "Swiss Army Knife" of utilities, including the ability to repartition "on the fly" (A little scary for my tastes). But Prosoft is a trusted software manufacturer. Downloaded the trial (it has more bells & whistles than you can believe) But the trial will run all hardware tests without the repair feature, and give you a report.
Also, you can download and use Applejack for repair.
-mj

Finder cannot complete the operation... Error -36

OK, I have read google trying to find the cause of this, but every article I read relates to someone trying to copy from/to an external file system, SMB share or other NAS device...
I am just trying to copy my large backup files from one of the sata disks in my macpro to a USB disk attached to my timecapsule. It falls over on the same couple of files each time. So, I tried copying these files to my Lacie FW800, directly plugged in that back of the mac... same... and then i tried copying onto another drive in the same Mac... same problem...
SMART status looks good, no directory structure issues. Have deleted the problem files. Now running techtool deluxe and running a full surface scan to see if I've found some bad blocks on my disk (I have recently been ripping my DVD collection, so It's likely I could have been writing to virgin territory on the disk).
Is error -36 a good time to go and buy another disk, or is it not uncommon to stumble over some bad blocks now and again? The disk is a WD Cav 600Gb drive I purchased only in January 09.
Steve

No corruption in the filesystem - not that Techtool, or DU could find. Did a full surface scan, which showed up 100 or so bad blocks... so I have reformatted with zeros, and done another surface scan, and this time no bad blocks... they may always have been there as when I installed the disk I was in a hurry and didn't do a full (zeros) format, and until recently this disk has only been about 20% full.
I don't think the file types have anything to do with it - they are just 600Mb or so sized files - some are large zip files, others dmg's... mainly photograph archives relating to my day job.

Finder Cannot Complete Operation While Trying to Trash Files

When I try to trash files, I receive the following error message, "The Finder cannot complete the operation because some data in (file name trying to trash) could not be read or written. (Error Code - 36)."
Any help appreciated - Thanks

Hi oneltwots, and a warm welcome to the forums!
Well, in pure Apple File System talk... -36 ioErr I/O error (bummers)
Not very helpful, but generally means a Drive quit being Readable or Writable since starting the operation...
http://fuzzy.wordpress.com/2006/12/10/ioerror-36/

Cannot complete the copy command because no pixels were selected

When I try to copy a selected area I get the message "Cannot complete the copy command because no pixels were selected? Why is this?

Are you making your selection on a layer that has something in it?
Also, if you're just starting out with PSE, you must first select something before you can copy it. If you want to copy a whole image, just press ctrl+A/command+A to select it all.

Backup stopped before completing. The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process

I am working with a client who is attempting to backup to a NAS device
The device is a linksys NSS6000 (Cisco device).
It’s a dual 1Gbit LAN device that supports CIFS / FTP and NFS transfers. It has only 1Gbit lan connected.
The device has 4 * 500 gb sata drives in raid 1 attached.
Cables go from cat 5 to fiber back to cat5. (The NAS is located at a neighboring office) The switches are 1gbit.
Server is a win2k8r1 fully up to date.
When backing up to the NAS device, the following error occurs:
Running backup of volume Local Disk(D:), copied (86%).
Running backup of volume Local Disk(D:), copied (90%).
Running backup of volume Local Disk(D:), copied (94%).
Running backup of volume Local Disk(D:), copied (98%).
Backup of volume Local Disk(D:) completed successfully.
Backup stopped before completing.
Summary of backup:
Backup stopped before completing.
The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process.
If we redirect the backup to a folder on a 2008 share, the backup completes successfully.
Only when backing up to the linksys NSS6000 does the error occur.
No other backup processes are writing to the NAS device so I can't understand why the process thinks the file is
being used by another process.
One thing we did notice that when the backup to the NAS device occurs, throughput is about 150 mbit average
On the 2008 server shares we successfully backup to, the through put is 500 mbit. Not sure if that is important, but
might be worth mentioning.
The following event log entry was noted at the end of the backup.
The description for Event ID '519' in Source 'Microsoft-Windows-Backup' cannot be found.
The local computer may not have the necessary registry information or message DLL files to display the message,
or you may not have permission to access them. The following information is part of the
event:'2009-05-12T10:13:31.617Z', '', '2147942432', '%%2147942432'
Any ideas?
Thanks..Michael

I am also seeing the same problem backing up nightly to a brand new NAS device (WD My Book Live)
All the error codes are the same as those in this thread.
From Windows Event Viewer:
The backup operation that started at '‎2011‎-‎03‎-‎25T06:00:19.811302700Z' has failed with following error code '2147942432' (The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process.). Please review the event details
for a solution, and then rerun the backup operation once the issue is resolved.
Fault bucket 659897467, type 5
Event Name: WindowsBackupFailure
Response: Not available
Cab Id: 0
Problem signature:
P1: Backup
P2: 6.1.7600
P3: 0x80070020
P4: 7
P5:
P6:
P7:
P8:
P9:
P10:
Attached files:
C:\Windows\Logs\WindowsBackup\WindowsBackup.1.etl
These files may be available here:
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\ReportArchive\NonCritical_Backup_6957d65de91fc4a853ecc7c78914bf7351fff0d1_14578325
Analysis symbol:
Rechecking for solution: 0
Report Id: dd480bf2-56a6-11e0-ae81-00217099bf56
Report Status: 0
From Report.wer in C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\WER\ReportArchive\NonCritical_Backup_6957d65de91fc4a853ecc7c78914bf7351fff0d1_14578325
Version=1
EventType=WindowsBackupFailure
EventTime=129455071508181139
Consent=1
UploadTime=129455071508201140
ReportIdentifier=dd480bf2-56a6-11e0-ae81-00217099bf56
Response.BucketId=659897467
Response.BucketTable=5
Response.type=4
Sig[0].Name=Operation
Sig[0].Value=Backup
Sig[1].Name=AppVer
Sig[1].Value=6.1.7600
Sig[2].Name=HRESULT
Sig[2].Value=0x80070020
Sig[3].Name=TargetType
Sig[3].Value=7
DynamicSig[1].Name=OS Version
DynamicSig[1].Value=6.1.7600.2.0.0.256.48
DynamicSig[2].Name=Locale ID
DynamicSig[2].Value=1033
State[0].Key=Transport.DoneStage1
State[0].Value=1
State[1].Key=DataRequest
State[1].Value=Bucket=659897467/nBucketTable=5/nResponse=1/n
FriendlyEventName=WindowsBackupFailure
ConsentKey=WindowsBackupFailure
AppName=Windows host process (Rundll32)
AppPath=C:\Windows\System32\rundll32.exe
ReportDescription=Windows Backup failure

I have an iPad (original). I cannot complete the update to iOS 5. It gets to the "backup" stage and then finds an error (-402653081). It asks if I want to continue, with a warning that "continuing will result in the loss of all contents on this iPad."

I have an iPad (original). I cannot complete the update to iOS 5. It gets to the "backup" stage and then finds an error (-402653081). It asks if I want to continue, with a warning that "continuing will result in the loss of all contents on this iPad." What can I do?

Thanks Bob, I don't know why but it all of a sudden worked a few days later. It's a mystery but at least problem solved.

WINRM error : The WinRM client cannot complete the operation within the time spe cified

Dear All
Please find
We have developed a management pack on RMS which is analyzing information from linux by using module with calling winrm.
In mentioned module before calling winrm through netcat , the agent status will be controlled on target host.
But this error on specific sles host will halt the executing workflow .
This workflow will working successfully after couple of intervals and again the error coming up.
Although the workflow is halting by the mentioned error a task that used the same module is working fine without any error on that host and
This workflow is running on other instances of the discovered class correctly
(on SLES hosts sles11 and sles10 64bit) .
Error :
The WinRM client cannot complete the operation within the time spe cified. Check if the machine name is valid and is reachable over the network and firewall
exception for Windows Remote Management service is enabled. Error number: -2144108250
The WinRM client cannot complete the operation within the time specified. Check if the machine name is valid and is reachable over the network and firewall exce ption for Windows Remote Management
service is enabled.
Linux host :
SLES 10 32 bit
SP2

Hi,
Any error or warning for the operation manager log under event viewer?
Based on my research,
Possible Causes for this issue:
The host is unreachable due to incorrect name resolution, network outage, or
host outage
A network or host-based firewall is blocking TCP port 1270 connectivity to the target host
Resolutions
Verify that Management Server can ping the agent host by Fully-Qualified
Domain Name
Verify that no network firewalls or host firewall is blocking TCP port 1270
In addition, check whether you have heartbeat failures in your environment for linux, if so, please go through the below link:
OpsMgr: UNIX/Linux Heartbeat Failures After Applying KB2585542
http://operatingquadrant.com/2012/01/12/opsmgr-unixlinux-heartbeat-failures-after-applying-kb2585542/
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Yan Li
Regards, Yan Li

WinRM cannot complete the operation. Verify that the specified computer name is valid, that the computer is accessible over the network

The Exchange Management Shell fails to connect in Exchange 2013 environment, this is a DAG environment and previously it indicates another error message, which is in my another thread. We fixed that error by delete the retired proxy entry in the server registry,
after that the error is gone but changed to below one, anyway the EMS still fails to connect to all servers:
VERBOSE: Connecting to NSWVIP999WTMBX.air.abc.au.
New-PSSession : [NSWVIP999WTMBX.air.abc.au] Connecting to remote server NSWVIP999WTMBX.air.abc.au failed with the
following error message : WinRM cannot complete the operation. Verify that the specified computer name is valid, that
the computer is accessible over the network, and that a firewall exception for the WinRM service is enabled and allows
access from this computer. By default, the WinRM firewall exception for public profiles limits access to remote
computers within the same local subnet. For more information, see the about_Remote_Troubleshooting Help topic.
At line:1 char:1
+ New-PSSession -ConnectionURI "$connectionUri" -ConfigurationName Microsoft.Excha ...
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : OpenError: (System.Manageme....RemoteRunspace:RemoteRunspace) [New-PSSession], PSRemotin
   gTransportException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : WinRMOperationTimeout,PSSessionOpenFailed
Failed to connect to an Exchange server in the current site.
Enter the server FQDN where you want to connect.:
Then it just show can't connect to all the exchange servers, from the wording it seems pointing to the Windows firewall settings for winRM, but when I look at the windows firewall found it's turned off. We use Sophos enterprise for the security, but all
other 3 exchange servers didn't have the same issue.

Hi Lynn,
Thanks for your analyst and reply, I run the command as you suggested and checked accordingly to Task Manager, but seems none of them indicates a firewall or anti-virus.
  TCP    0.0.0.0:80             0.0.0.0:0              LISTENING       4
TCP    0.0.0.0:808            0.0.0.0:0              LISTENING       2260
TCP    172.17.2.123:444       172.16.2.127:8050      ESTABLISHED     4
TCP    172.17.2.123:444       172.16.2.127:8069      ESTABLISHED     4
TCP    172.17.2.123:444       172.17.2.127:8053      ESTABLISHED     4
TCP    172.17.2.123:10952     172.16.2.68:80         ESTABLISHED     3296
TCP    172.17.2.123:11185     172.16.2.90:8080       SYN_SENT        468
TCP    172.17.2.123:11190     172.16.2.90:8080       SYN_SENT        15268
TCP    172.17.2.123:11330     172.16.2.90:8080       SYN_SENT        1296
TCP    [::]:80                [::]:0                 LISTENING
4
TCP    [::]:808               [::]:0                 LISTENING
2260
TCP    [::1]:6001             [::1]:8028             ESTABLISHED     4764
TCP    [::1]:6001             [::1]:8029             ESTABLISHED     4764
TCP    [::1]:6001             [::1]:8030             ESTABLISHED     4764
TCP    [::1]:6001             [::1]:8031             ESTABLISHED     4764
TCP    [::1]:6001             [::1]:8032             ESTABLISHED     4764
TCP    [::1]:6001             [::1]:8033             ESTABLISHED     4764
TCP    [::1]:6001             [::1]:8034             ESTABLISHED     4764
TCP    [::1]:6001             [::1]:8035             ESTABLISHED     4764
TCP    [::1]:6001             [::1]:8036             ESTABLISHED     4764
TCP    [::1]:6001             [::1]:8037             ESTABLISHED     4764
TCP    [::1]:6001             [::1]:8040             ESTABLISHED     4764
TCP    [::1]:6001             [::1]:8041             ESTABLISHED     4764
TCP    [::1]:6001             [::1]:8048             ESTABLISHED     4764
TCP    [::1]:6001             [::1]:8049             ESTABLISHED     4764
TCP    [::1]:6001             [::1]:8059             ESTABLISHED     4764
TCP    [::1]:6001             [::1]:8060             ESTABLISHED     4764
TCP    [::1]:8028             [::1]:6001             ESTABLISHED     9980
TCP    [::1]:8029             [::1]:6001             ESTABLISHED     9980
TCP    [::1]:8030             [::1]:6001             ESTABLISHED     9980
TCP    [::1]:8031             [::1]:6001             ESTABLISHED     9980
TCP    [::1]:8032             [::1]:6001             ESTABLISHED     9980
TCP    [::1]:8033             [::1]:6001             ESTABLISHED     9980
TCP    [::1]:8034             [::1]:6001             ESTABLISHED     9980
TCP    [::1]:8035             [::1]:6001             ESTABLISHED     9980
TCP    [::1]:8036             [::1]:6001             ESTABLISHED     9980
TCP    [::1]:8037             [::1]:6001             ESTABLISHED     9980
TCP    [::1]:8040             [::1]:6001             ESTABLISHED     9980
TCP    [::1]:8041             [::1]:6001             ESTABLISHED     9980
TCP    [::1]:8048             [::1]:6001             ESTABLISHED     9980
TCP    [::1]:8049             [::1]:6001             ESTABLISHED     9980
TCP    [::1]:8059             [::1]:6001             ESTABLISHED     9980
TCP    [::1]:8060             [::1]:6001             ESTABLISHED     9980
TCP    [fe80::9054:e8f5:f885:8105%20]:808 [fe80::9054:e8f5:f885:8105%20]:9901
ESTABLISHED     2260
TCP    [fe80::9054:e8f5:f885:8105%20]:9901 [fe80::9054:e8f5:f885:8105%20]:808
ESTABLISHED     4868
This is the full result, among them
4 -- System -- NT Kernel & System
468 -- There is no process associated with PID 468
1296 -- svchost.exe -- Host Process for Windows Service
2260 -- SMSvcHost.exe -- SMSvcHost.exe
3296 -- CcmExec.exe -- CCM Executive
4764 -- Microsoft.Exchange.RpcClientAccess.Service.exe -- Microsoft.Exchange.RpcClientAccess.Service.exe
4868 -- Microsoft.Exchange.ServiceHost.exe -- Microsoft.Exchange.ServiceHost.exe
9980 -- w3wp.exe -- IIS Worker Process
15268 -- ServerManager.exe -- Server Manager

HT1218 How do I troubleshoot this: Time Capsule cannot complete the backup. The backup disk image "/Volumes/Data/ MacBook Pro.sparsebundle" is already in use.

This is the second time I've encountered this issue with Time Capsule using Time Machine automatic backup. I haven't found the following specific error message in the list of troubleshooting issues: "Time Capsule cannot complete the backup. The backup disk image “/Volumes/Data/MacBook Pro.sparsebundle” is already in use."
I'm not certain what causes this issue. I think it may have something to do with having to force shutdown with apps still open when the beachball hangs and the MacBook has to be rebooted.
Has anyone else dealt with this issue?

Welcome to Apple Support Communities
Restart your Mac and the Time Capsule. In most of the cases, this should solve the problem.
If it doesn't work, see > http://pondini.org/TM/C12.html

The Finder cannot complete the operation? Backup stops midway

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