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Author Topic: Can't copy a file b/c the name is too long??  (Read 4641 times)

Offline kbeartx

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Can't copy a file b/c the name is too long??
« on: July 05, 2010, 04:28:50 AM »
I downloaded a few Music Videos from YouTube [using Download Helper, a nifty little freeware plugin, and Firefox 3.6] and after they'd completed and I checked 'em out, I tried to copy them to a folder wherein I store Music Videos.

Currently, this folder is located on a 500GB LaCie external and connected via USB2 through a powered hub, and I received the msg shown below.

Investigating, I decreased the number of characters in the filenames.  Same result.  I put the files into a folder, tried copying the folder, no joy.

I can copy the files, without alteration, to both of my other drives [internal].  All 3 drives are formatted Mac OS extended [journaled].  There is ample free space on all of the drives to hold the files in question.

What's goin' on here?

Kb cool.gif
« Last Edit: July 05, 2010, 04:34:54 AM by kbeartx »
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Offline Xairbusdriver

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Can't copy a file b/c the name is too long??
« Reply #1 on: July 05, 2010, 08:22:13 AM »
First, remember that error message texts may not always say exactly what they mean...or is that "mean exactly what they say"... dntknw.gif

Anyway, if you can copy the file name to TS it might help. If you can copy the file name into any text editor you might also find a ":" (colon) which is a prohibited file name character in the Mac OS.

Obviously, Windows and Macs have different lists of disallowed file name characters, but your reformatting the external drive should have solved that problem...
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Offline gunug

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Can't copy a file b/c the name is too long??
« Reply #2 on: July 05, 2010, 10:05:46 AM »
I think the "workaround" for this is to try working with the single file and do a "click & save" sort of thing (doublechick, shiftclick, whatever)! Forgive my "confusion"
of terms; I've been fixing, and trying to work with, a Windows XP machine all weekend!  Anyway if you work with the single file (if you can find it) maybe you can
rename it to "gunug_said_this_could_work" and save it onto your MAC!
« Last Edit: July 05, 2010, 10:08:39 AM by gunug »
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Offline Texas Mac Man

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Can't copy a file b/c the name is too long??
« Reply #3 on: July 05, 2010, 10:37:04 AM »
Click on the file & do a Get Info. Check the permissions & see if it's locked. Also, might try a Save As & rename the file.
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Offline Paddy

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Can't copy a file b/c the name is too long??
« Reply #4 on: July 05, 2010, 10:47:47 AM »
A suggestion or two here:

http://forums.macosxhints.com/archive/index.php/t-50483.html - the repair disk suggestion towards the bottom of the thread.

Or...have you tried rebooting?

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=9045646
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Offline kbeartx

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Can't copy a file b/c the name is too long??
« Reply #5 on: July 06, 2010, 06:54:32 PM »
Update:  

After rebooting a few times, and changing the USB cable into the hub [it turned out to be connected to one of the tower's USB ports, not the hub as I had stated earlier], the drive no longer mounts or shows up in Disk Utility or About this Mac.

Have not had the time to troubleshoot further; will post again after I do.

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions.

I suppose the prob could be the external enclosure, the connecting cable, or the drive itself...

Kb cool.gif
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Offline tacit

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Can't copy a file b/c the name is too long??
« Reply #6 on: July 06, 2010, 07:13:04 PM »
QUOTE(kbeartx @ Jul 5 2010, 09:28 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I downloaded a few Music Videos from YouTube [using Download Helper, a nifty little freeware plugin, and Firefox 3.6] and after they'd completed and I checked 'em out, I tried to copy them to a folder wherein I store Music Videos.

Currently, this folder is located on a 500GB LaCie external and connected via USB2 through a powered hub, and I received the msg shown below.

Investigating, I decreased the number of characters in the filenames.  Same result.  I put the files into a folder, tried copying the folder, no joy.

I can copy the files, without alteration, to both of my other drives [internal].  All 3 drives are formatted Mac OS extended [journaled].  There is ample free space on all of the drives to hold the files in question.

What's goin' on here?

Kb cool.gif


This message most often means that the hard drive is formatted for Windows PCs and not for Mac.

On Macs, a file name can be up to 256 characters long. On Windows drives formatted NTFS, a file's name plus the names of all the folders it is in added together can be 256 characters long. On Windows drives formatted FAT32, a file's name can be something like 60 characters long; I forget the exact limit of a filename (the filename itself is 8 characters, then there's a "pointer" to the remaining characters in the directory).
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Offline Paddy

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Can't copy a file b/c the name is too long??
« Reply #7 on: July 07, 2010, 10:56:24 AM »
In this case, tacit, Kenny stated that all three drives are formatted MacOS Extended Journaled, as they should be, so that is not the source of the problem.

Kenny, I suspect that you either have severe directory errors (run DiskWarrior) or the drive has now died. sad.gif
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Offline gunug

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Can't copy a file b/c the name is too long??
« Reply #8 on: July 09, 2010, 09:10:57 PM »
Thinking.gif I don't know whether Paddy seems more like a Jedi Knight or a Ninja; in either case his answers are so masterful they seem to be correct without knowing they are!  notworthy.gif
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Offline Paddy

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Can't copy a file b/c the name is too long??
« Reply #9 on: July 09, 2010, 10:23:43 PM »
He??? Just who are we referring to here, John?

(in my case, Paddy is short for Patricia...)
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