Can't move large (5GB+) files to firewire drive

JPigford

JPigford

I'm awesome...seriously..
I'm trying to move large video files ranging from 5GB up to 30GB from my internal harddrive to my external firewire drive. But whenever I try to move them, once 4GB of any file has been transferred it gives me an error that says:

The Finder cannot complete the operation because some data in "FILE NAME" could not be read or written. (Error code -36).
 
Hmmm... what format is the external drive formatted as? Also, how are the offending files named? Any questionable characters in the name like "/" or "?" or "&"?
 
Ah... is there anything on the drive that you need, or is the drive empty? Do you need to use the drive on a computer other than your Macintosh or another Macintosh?

If no to either, try reformatting the drive to "Mac OS Extended" or "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)" (either will be fine) and then try the transfer.
 
It's nothing I couldn't just move BACK to my desktop and then format the drive. How do reformat an external drive? (may be a dumb question...never done it though)
 
Same way as an internal -- just launch "Disk Utility" in the folder "Utilities" under "Applications." Then, click on the drive in the left-hand sidebar (click the device[/u], not the indented partition below the device -- easy way to tell: the device label will usually have a size as the first part of it's name, like "111.8GB WDC WD1200"), and select the "Partition" tab in the right-hand window. Select "1 Partition" from under the "Volume Scheme:" label, then select "Mac OS Extended" or "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)" from beside the "Format:" label. Give the drive a name if you like beside the "Name:" label...

If you want to be able to use the drive with computers running Mac OS 9, be sure the "Install Mac OS 9 Disk Drivers" option is checked.

Click "Partition" at the bottom, and in a few seconds to a minute, your disk will be erased and re-formatted as Mac OS Extended format (which should play MUCH nicer with large amounts of data than MS-DOS format).
 
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