I have a seagate 250gb HD hooked up to my iMac G5 with a firewire enclosure. Everything has been working for the past month, but now whenever I try to take something off the HD or put something on it...I get an error!

error-
"The Finder cannot complete the operation because some data in '(whatever file)' could not be read or written" (error code -36)

-this happens whenever i try to transfer a file to, or from the HD.

I tried repairing permissions with disk utility, and it says everthing is fine. Other times it says it needs to be repaired, but it can't because the HD could not be unmounted because an app is using it. But i don't have any app open!

I don't know if i have a bad file that corrupted this HD or what. I am in the process of erasing it with zeros. Will this fix it, or is my HD shot?

Zeroing it will certainly let you know one way or the other. If you start getting errors again soon, I'd get the drive replaced under warranty. Even if the enclosure isn't warrantied anymore, the drive inside probably is.

A utility like DiskWarrior may have been able to produce better results than Disk Utility.

I am so mad. I just finished deleting everything...to find out that all these errors are from a cheap, defective firewire cable! I just deleted all my stuff when all i needed was a good firewire cable. I am mad! But thanks anyways...

I'd advise that you buy an Apple brand FireWire cable to replace your cheap defective one.

Trevor

The Finder cannot complete the operation because some data in "NAME OF FILE(S)" ...
 

Hi,

I'm having the same problems with the following error:

The Finder cannot complete the operation because some data in "NAME OF FILE(S)" could not be read or written. (Error code -36).

The problem occurs with the twin FireWire Ports on my Powermac G4 Dual 1 GHz QuickSilver, and any external FireWire Drive I plug into it. My Powermac QuickSilver Dual 1 GHz has three drive bays. A hard drive for good ole Mac OS 9.2, another for Panther (10.3.6), and a third for Tiger (formerly 10.4.6, now 10.4.5). All of them encounter the same error, except for the Mac OS 9.2.2 HD, which simply freezes.

This error occurred directly after I downloaded and installed Mac OS 10.4.6 for the HD running Tiger.

I have attempted the following:

• Tested all external FireWire Drives on other Apple Macs running both Panther and Tiger - no problems - it's not the external FireWire Drives.

• Replaced the FireWire Cables - it's not the cables.

• Erased all three Hard Drives in both 3-Pass ASCII wipes and 7 Pass wipes to knock out the possibility of any subborn Bad Blocks.

• Installed Panther (Mac OS 10.3.9) on one and Tiger (Mac OS 10.4.5) on the other Hard Drive, currently leaving the former Mac OS 9.2 HD empty.

• Use of Disk Warrior 3, TechTool Pro 4.0.3, nor Disk Utility, shows any physical problem.

Same error: The Finder cannot complete the operation because some data in "NAME OF FILE(S)" could not be read or written. (Error code -36).

The file size can be as small as 8 kilobytes - no bananas.

However, on one External FireWire Drive (a LaCie d2 250 GB), I have it partitioned into a "Storage" section, and an entire Tiger (10.4.2) Drive.

If I plug the LaCie d2 into my G4 QuickSilver, and tell it to boot from the Mac OS 10.4.2 on the LaCie d2, not only will it do so, but the Powermac QuickSilver's other FireWire Port then behaves just as it should - thus logically eliminating a physical problem with its FireWire Ports or Logic Board.

What I fear has happened (pure speculation) is that the latest Tiger Update (Mac OS 10.4.6) has installed a permanent FirmWare error onto the Logic Board that the stops the FireWire Ports from copying information to or from any external drive.

Error -36 is a File System Error: an I/O error.

Apple has no advice, nor are there many areas on the web that discuss this one, though I have seen other problems alluding to various forms of Apple Mac commincation failures after Tiger was updated to 10.4.6, such as Samba errors, AirPort Extreme disconnection, Printer disconnection, Microsoft Office Applications quitting, Adobe CS Applications refusing to open - etc.

What I fear most, is that 10.4.6 is a huge mistake on Apple's part, that once installed, cannot be undone, as the moment I reinstalled all my Apple Operating Systems, the first I tried was on Panther (10.3.9) and it produced the same -36 error, yet again - if I boot my Powermac QuickSilver off Mac OS 10.4.2 Partition on my LaCie d2, there's no problem what-so-ever.Both LaCie d2's extra FireWire Ports work, as do my Powermac's FireWire Ports.

I am truly confused. Has Mac OS 10.4.6 destroyed my Powermac G4 QuickSilver?

Other symptoms:

• Slow startup (intermittent).
• Very slow boot from either Tiger Install Disc 1 or Panther Install Disc 1.
• Freeze if Boot CD is Mac OS 9.2.2 and external FireWire device is connected. Won't boot off Mac OS 9.2.2 CD if FireWire Drive is already connected. Ethernet Extention appears and it stops dead.
• Burning data to DL DVD can only be read on this Powermac QuickSilver and on no other Apple Mac, regardless of whether it has a DL SuperDrive or not.

Nothing unusual appears, when looking at the FireWire on System Profile:

LaCie 1394-Disk Drive:

Manufacturer: LaCie GROUP SA
Model: 0x0
GUID: 0xD04B0004148005
Maximum Speed: Up to 400 Mb/sec
Connection Speed: Up to 400 Mb/sec
Sub-units:
LaCie 1394-Disk Drive Unit:
Unit Software Version: 0x10483
Unit Spec ID: 0x609E
Firmware Revision: 0xA0B850
Product Revision Level: GL6O
Sub-units:
LaCie 1394-Disk Drive SBP-LUN:
Capacity: 16.9 GB
Removable Media: Yes
BSD Name: disk3
OS9 Drivers: No
S.M.A.R.T. status: Not Supported
Volumes:
NeXus:
Capacity: 16.9 GB
Available: 6.08 GB
Writable: Yes
File System: Journaled HFS+
BSD Name: disk3s2
Mount Point: /Volumes/NeXus

And neither FireWire Port has any problem when connecting an iSight Camera to it.

At logical wit's end.

Would greatly appreciate help from anyone who might know something very secret about what Apple's Mac OS 10.4.6 has done.

Machine List:
• Powermac G4 QuickSilver Dual 1 GHz Processor with DL SD.
• eMac 800 MHz SD.
• eMac 700 MHz CD-RW.
• LaCie d2 250 GB.
• Pocket LaCie 20 GB.

Cheers,

ClockWork

========

Where is fancy bred?
In the heart... or in the head?

Hi,

I'm having the same problem as ClockWork. I get the same error message when I try to copy files to my external firewire hard drive. I won't bother recounting the details, as ClockWork has done a much more thorough job troubleshooting than I could possibly do, but I also suspect that it's a problem with OS 10.4.6, as I've ruled out as many other factors as I could.

Any advice--or a fix from Apple--would be greatly appreciated.
Best,
Damian

Possible Solution for the "Error Code -36"
 

Don't Format Yet! Had the same symptoms after updating to 10.4.7 but I actually work on my Lacie 250GB, so I didn't have a formatting option when the -36 hit.

This simple solution will hopefully work for some of you: UNPLUG ANY OTHER FIREWIRE DEVICE (mine was an iSight) Believe it or not, that fixed it!

It's great that some people are able to solve this problem by unplugging other firewire devices (e.g., iSight), but for those of us who have only one firewire device, we're still looking for a solution :o

damian, have you tried the advice that giskard22 gave back in post #2, to use DiskWarrior? http://alsoft.com

Trevor

Trevor, thanks for the advice. I've read a bunch of posts that describe the same problem over on Apple.com's discussion forums. Many people have used DiskWarrior and not one of them reported success. So I don't think it's worth the $80 pricetag for a solution that hasn't seemed to have worked for anyone. Except for the people with multiple firewire devices or a faulty firewire cable, everyone else seems to conclude that it's a problem with the latest update to Mac OS 10.4.

Have you checked for a firmware update for your external FireWire case?

While we're on the subject, exactly what is the brand and model of your external FireWire case?

Trevor

I have also had this problem, i.e. when trying to copy from my Mac HD to a backup drive I get the message "The Finder cannot complete the operation because some data in "[filkename]" could not be read or written. (Error code -36)".

I am trying to copy by firewire to Imomega and Smartdisk HDs, and I have also tried by using USB2, all with the same result, i.e. failure. I have found a partial solution. Copying to a Mac iPod does work, so I can backup now, although now the way I need to. Curiously, I can then copy from my iPod over to the Iomega drive (I did this with USB2, I have not tried Firewire.)

Another error messages that I got was "You cannot copy some of these items to the destination because their names are too long for the destination. Do you want to skip copying these items and continue copying the other items?" However, this also proved a failure, as clicking on "continue" did not lead to copying. (The "continue" option was offered twice, twice I clicked, nothing happened at all after the second time.)

For what it is worth, and I am no tecchie but have been using Macs for over a decade, this is a problem with the latest release of the Mac OSX, ie 10.4. I did not have this problem before, although I did have something similar with Firelite drives in the early days of Mac OSX. This is a problem for Apple to fix, but right now they seem not to be even acknowledging it.

"Epictetus" - London EC. 19 July 2006.

That message would seem to suggest that the format of the destination drive is different than that of the source drive (since the names are not too long for the source drive). Is the destination drive formatted as HFS+ ?
(You can check by doing File / Get Info on the drive's icon)

Having the same problem
 

ibook, 10.4.7 OS.
I can copy files from my lacie d2, 150gb drive, but i cannot copy anything to it.

Any help would be appreciated.

Similar Issue: Frustrating...Solutions?
 

Folks,

I'm having a similar issue and can't find anything on the Web that provides a solution. This forum's thread is the closest...I've been up working on this nearly all night and it's now 3 a.m....so I hope you'll be patient.

I had 3 HDs (2 Maxtor 300G [named "HD1" & "HD2"] & 1 MyBook 500G) connected in a Firewire daisy chain and operating for the last 3 mos without any problems when they were connected to my PowerBook G4 15" (OSX 1.3.9).
I've done this Firewire chain before--connected with other Firewire drives (Lacie 250s and 500s)--and have never had a problem. :)

The drives are used for storing photos (Photoshop files), "archival" backups of the photos, and backups of the data from the G4s. They were all working well without any problems! [I don't have a RAID array setup with the HDs.]

This weekend, after shutting down & turning off the entire "system" (G4 15" and all HDs), I brought one of the drives to work with on the weekend. I decided to connect the Maxtor HD2 to the PowerBook G4 12" operating on OSX 10.4.6...and that's when I got the famous message "You cannot copy some of these items to the destination because their names are too long for the destination" etc.

Okay...so I used Disk Utility to "verify" the HD and possibly do "repairs." That's when I got the second message, "Unable to unmount disk" Oh, ****...it's going to be one of those nights! :eek: (I'm computer literate but I don't make a living "fixing" computer problems.)

Here's what I've eliminated: it's not the Firewire cable, because when I connected the My Book 500G & Maxtor 300G HD1 to the G4 15" things worked well...except for one of the drives, the HD2.
I'm reading all kinds of messages on the Discussion Boards about OSX 10.4 messing up Firewire devices etc...so I'm wondering if anyone has been able to find a solution other than reformatting HD2 and transporting the backup data back. (Yes...backups are important!)

Also even if a solution is found, does this mean that for the immediate future, I can't use Firewire drives on the G4 with the OSX 10.4???
:eek:

FINAL NOTE...Hard-drives scare me (they eventually all die) so if these drives are the problem--and I'm inclined to think they are not--then I'm grateful I bought them at Costco so returning them will not be an issue! So far I've been very lucky and have had only ONE defected drive in the last 10 years...but I'm keeping my fingers crossed on those Lacies. All drives eventually break down...so I'm glad Costco has a generous return polity. But then again I've only had to return ONE in the last 10 years!

Many thanks and your input/solutions will be very much appreciated.
Best,
Dr_S

This message usually appears when the destination drive is formatted with a different format than the source drive and the format of the destination drive doesn't support as long filenames as the source.
Are both of your drives formatted as HFS+ ?
(Check using File/Get Info in Finder)

This can happen if some program is using a file on the disk you are trying to repair. Try restarting your Mac and then doing the "Repair Disk" again.
Note that to repair the internal disk (the one you are booting from) you will need to restart from the Install CD/DVD - see this Apple doc: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214

I/O error message -36
 

Finder error -36 is not the same as error 36.

I sometimes encounter this during (Fast Ethernet) network file transfers in which the donor or the recipient of the transferred file is a FW400 external drive. All my drives are formatted HFS+ journaled.

When this error occurs, it is difficult for me to regain control of the machine. I've not been able to do it yet without interrupting the power feed.

If I reboot, the recipient drive will no longer mount, and, though connected, it cannot be "seen" or mounted by some of the scripts posted at Mac OS X Hints.

To get the drive to work again, I perform voodoo. I power down the machine to which the recipient drive is attached (and all its peripherals). I remove the drive and attach it to another Mac. Another Mac will "see" the drive invariably (for me). I run DiskWarrior and DiskUtility on the drive. They never seem to return any log entries, but I do it anyway, because not doing it does not produce the same result.

Then, I power down the transferred HD, move it back to the powered down computer to which it was formerly attached, power up, and voilà! It now mounts and performs I/O.

The file that was said to have caused Finder error -36 has no flaws I can find. If it is a file that is easy to re-create, I do this, and the new one usually can travel by network. Sometimes, if it's not easy to re-create, I have found that moving it in two steps, first to an NTFS volume on a Windows 2003 Server machine, and then from that volume to the FW HD attached to the recipient Mac will succeed.

This is all happening with 10.4.7, but I first saw this problem back around 10.4.3.

Trying to understand networks more deeply always enhances my humility. I can describe how I personally get around this problem, but I do not understand it.

I do note that I saw few posts re Finder error -36 before OS 10.4.0.

Any suggestions for simpler resolutions?

can copy from Lacie D2 firewire HD, but writing to HD makes "error code -36"
 

Drive has been working great up until now.
current OSX version 10.4.7

I've tried different firewire cables--nope.
I'm going to get a new HD and transfer everything to it, then reformat and see if it fixes.

It can't be 10.4.6 or 10.4.7 that is the problem. Otherwise don't you think there would be much more of a presence of this problem over the internet.

IF ANYONE FINDS A FIX, i'd love to hear it.

Just wanted to inform you guys that the same problem bothers me as well. When I'm trying to transform data I/O a message pops up (data could not be read or written" (error code -36). My external drive also starts to make a strange sound when the transfer operation jams. Being a little scared that the external drive will crash soon and I'll lose all the data.

I'm running by the way an ibook g4 with 10.3.9. The HD (Aludisc 200gb, firewire) worked just fine until 2 week ago. So there's also some problems with panther as well as the latest tiger. I've tried the disk utility and diskwarrior. They don't seem to find any problems with HD. I've been able to transfer some of the files to my iPod, but the same problem appears even there.

What's going on with the macs and the external drives? Hopefully someone will find an answer and inform all of us here at this site.

Cheers

Sam

Strange noises from disk drives usually indicate a hardware problem.
Make sure you have that drive backed up.

I tried to make the backup of my aludisc to another empty external hd (lacie 200gb firefire). I tried the disk utility, carbon copy cloner and superduper.
All of them failed. The copying stops after about 40 megs.
The aludisc just stops working/running and the blue light in front starts to blink. I guess the best days are over for it, but I'd love to try to save at least the music which is in it. All the rest important data I have safely on CDs.

Does anyone have any idea how i could recover the files from it. I would really appreciate any kind of help. Like how to make the HD last/work a bit longer so I could get something out of it.

Sam

I just bought a Macbook a few weeks ago and bought a 250GB external Lacie HD for it. I am using the program silverkeeper to backup my data, however, i sceduled it to backup my home directory every night except sunday, and to backup my entire internal every sunday night. When i went to check the backup for my home folder, it went successfully yet copied the folder into my "home" folder on my external, so it was inside the same folder. More space was taken up because of this, and i would like to know if anyone knows how to select a backup that will "copy" the data rather than take up space in the process! and if my computer is asleep will the drive still backup? (AND... when i turn my comuter off... my backup harddrive wakes up and continues to spin until i turn my computer back on, so i'm guessing that will wear the drive out eventually- any way to fix this?)

A much simpler issue....
 

Hi all,

Let me first say that I am a complete MAC newb, but am loving every bit of it! ****aPC!

So I have had intermittent trouble copying from and writing to my Maxtor external hard drive. It is a permissions issue. I can see that I have no write permission, but for the life of me (computer help search and web searches on the issue) I can't seem to figure out how to open up the drive to be writeable.

I know this is not the exact topic of this thread, but it is similar and there are obviously some MAC Pro's here.

I am running MAC OS 10.4.6 and would greatly appreciate any advice you can give!

Cheers :-)

There are other threads that seem to be a lot more similar to what you describe - e.g. this older thread:
http://forums.macosxhints.com/showthread.php?t=44391

Thanks
 

Thanks a bunch! I will check this out. Have a good one! :-)



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