Apple does do weird things with metadata, and it could be an app like Adobe Bridge that tags files as it caches them for display. Subscribe to Larry's FREE weekly newsletter and save 10%on your first purchase. I'm fairly new to the Mac world, so please go easy on me. Apple does not “control” your files; nor do they link the files to a specific app, etc. This is important because it means that setting permissions on a file or folder does not guarantee the security of that file or folder. Most apps will add metadata to the file, so the file is updated and the newer date is shown. Maybe you need to keep an untouched RAW image in a separate folder that’s only use is to be copied somewhere else for editing/retouching? All in the name of “Security” apple keeps blocking manual file storage by linking the file to application, users and more. This also sounds like your finder window us showing the modified date while spotlight is showing the created date. Using a Seagate hard drive. Mac OS X automatically sets permissions to limit a user’s access to system files and other user directories. Check Hide next to the drive to stop it opening a window. It would of great help is someone can provide a permanent solution to this issue. To get help, you need to supply info like: what machine you are using and the OS; what the drive is that you’re trying to copy to; the filesystem that the drive is formatted with; and what the actual problem is that you’re having! Methods to fix external hard drive read only on M1-equipped Mac; What to do when the disk is NTFS formatted. Windows does, too – in a different way. Click a user or group in the Name column, then choose a privilege setting from the pop-up menu. You can give users and groups permission to only read or only write to the external drive, or you can allow full access to read and write. Permission options for hard drives can vary by user type. Check your finder window view preferences and see what’s showing. If you click the icon at the top of this window, you will see a blue highlight, indicating that the icon has been selected. Sometimes folders view stuff differently to what’s specc’d by the parent. Most of the time, this will be set correctly. Then, check “Ignore Ownership on this volume” and close the window. The external hard drive we use to transfer the files between the two computers will only allow read-only access when the drive is used on the Mac. Before closing the Info window, click the Action pop-up menu , then choose “Revert changes”. When the setting to ignore permissions on secondary hard drives keeps toggling off, blocking access, here's what to try. Hey Russ, I think I have an idea on the trouble you’re having. The only other occasion where you will need to mess around with folder or file permissions is when you get a Permission Denied errorwhen trying to access data. You should be able to click on it, then click on any directory, then add, delete or modify files as needed. In the Sharing & Permissions section, do any of the following: Add a user or group: Click the Add button below the list, select a user or group, then click Select. On your Mac, select a disk, folder or file, then choose File > Get Info. Find the NTFS volume in the list and open it to manage files. Select the drive letter for the external HDD and right-click on it to choose Properties. Become a member of our Video Training Library today! You can use this drive just as you do any other drive on your system. Sorry it took so long for me to respond. Writing to an external hard drive using Max OS X can sometimes be more complicated than one would assume. Also, if a Seagate external hard drive is read-only or files are locked on Mac due to NTFS format, you can use iBoysoft NTFS for Mac to mount it in read-write mode on Mac. @Carola, I bet a dollar that the drive is formatted as NTFS (a windows format that many seagate ship by default). Reader Terry Bone is bone-tired of entering her password when attempting to move a file to her hard drive. Drag the network drive icon into the Users & Groups window to link. Head to "Applications" > "Utilities". Please advise. Click the Action pop-up menu, then choose “Apply to enclosed items”. I’m running Mojave (10.14.6), and I don’t see the “Ignore ownership on this volume” box either. This SHOULD be done for all direct-connected drives that only store data. The application is represented by the smiling Happy Mac logo icon. You only need to do this once for each of your data drives. Access over 1,900 on-demand video editing courses. What do you mean by: “Apple still takes over files that you put on the disk.”? Only the owner of the drop box can open it. 1. It helps to verify and repair a range of issues related to startup HD and external drive problems. If the new owner’s name isn’t listed in the Name column in the Sharing & Permissions section, click the Add button to add the new owner. Remove a user or group: Select the user or group, then click the Remove button below the list. No Access: Blocks all access to the item. Once you see this, press Command+V on your keyboard to paste your icon. To turn off iCloud Drive entirely, deselect iCloud Drive. The sharing and permission section of the get info window for my harddrive looks similar to the photo you posted, except it says “You can only read” instead of “You have custom access” and the Ignore Ownership box is missing. On the side, select the disk you want to repair. Apply permissions to all items in a folder or a disk On your Mac, select a folder or disk, then choose File > Get Info. Use the command line in Terminal 3. However, especially for new drives, permissions get turned on by accident for a data drive, which then prevents it from working properly. Russ…you seem to be one of those people who just hate Apple for nonsensical reasons, or for doing things you don’t understand. Select a drive. How to fix drive-permissions problem in OS X. This does not work. Thanks for your comment. Then, check “Ignore Ownership on this volume” and close the window. Read & Write: Allows a user to open the item and change it. This article was suggested by Robert Bagley, who was having problems storing files on a newly-acquired hard drive. How to Fix Mac OS X File Permissions for the Entire Home Folder. That way it’ll never be saved over intentionally by yourself. See The Different Membership Tiers. Then click the "Erase" option in the main window. Click the lock and enter an administrator’s password to allow changes to this setting. Right-click the drive you’d like to give a custom icon, then click “Get Info.” This will bring up the information screen for your hard drive. “The file has ALL permissions and the disk has “ignore ownership” I have done multiple permission updates and repair disk. The only workaround I found was to perform the above actions of individual file ownership and permission assignment. For exa… Reason 2 , when you accidentally delete a file you want, then you can bring that file back as well. BTW, The external hard drive which i use is WD drive and its with me for than 5 year now and never encounter this issue in the past. There is a utility available from the command line called “vsdbutil” which can be used to manage this setting. Click the lock and enter an administrator’s password to allow changes to this setting. To run Fist Aid on an external hard drive… I don’t have an answer. Drag the icon to the Trash in the Dock (which changes to an Eject icon when you start dragging). How do I override? Apple still takes over files that you put on the disk. Here’s how to turn off permissions on a hard drive or RAID. How did you do it? (My favorite is “Available,” which is always seems to disappear almost immediately.). Or, perhaps just setup a test folder and go through your workflow to see what is actually changing the information, to give you a start on fixing the issue. Write only (Drop Box): Makes a folder into a drop box. Permissions on a file, folder or entire hard drive determine who has access and what actions they can perform. If not, contact Tech Support for your drive manufacturer. Required fields are marked *. Open System Preferences (the silver and black icon with the gear in the middle, somewhere around the center of the dock) and select Users & Groups. “It changes the date of the RAW media to reflect the date of the application that last used the media or the user that duplicated the media.”. This displays a wide variety of statistics about that hard disk. Before closing the Info window, click the Action pop-up menu , then choose “Revert changes”. Reconnect the NTFS drive to the Mac. What’s happening? Fixing his problem was simple – but not obvious. On your Mac, select an item, then choose File > Get Info. Enterprise Drives Exos X Hard Drives Exos E Hard Drives Nytro SATA SSD Nytro SAS SSD. For example, you can change permission settings for a folder so that other users who log in to your Mac, or connect to it for file sharing, can view but not change files in a folder. Before closing the Info window, click the Action pop-up menu , then choose “Revert changes”. Except for Admin level access, since it's password protected. If the information in Sharing & Permissions isn’t visible, click the arrow . (Remember, leave the boot disk alone. Store in iCloud turns on the Desktop & Documents Folders and Optimize Mac Storage settings. In fact, they shouldn’t use permissions. When you follow the above instructions – as I have. Your email address will not be published. LarryJordan.com is owned by Thalo LLC and is a part of the Thalo® family of websites. On the next screen, you will a section called Permissions for Authenticated Users. I've been having trouble with an external hard drive I've been sharing between a PC and Mac. You change permission settings at the bottom of the Info window for a file, folder or disk in the Finder. You can launch Finder from the Dock at the bottom of your screen. You only need to do this once for each of your data drives. Also – this setting is useful if the drive is attached to a Mac used as a file server, so it’s not always an inconvenience to honor permissions on an external drive. To change application permissions on a mac, click the Apple icon → Click "System Preferences" → Click "Security & Privacy" → Click "Privacy" → Click on a service → Click the check box to add or remove an app's permission to the selected service. To gain full access to a drive and data within, or take further control, for example, copy, edit and delete files, partition, and format the disk, you must be authorized to use the storage with both read and write permissions. 1. I’m running Mojave and this option appears at the very bottom of the Get Info window. Select the Security tab from the Properties window. You can also take away access to items entirely, which is helpful if you want to lock a folder on the Mac for security purposes. Summary: Two methods to change Seagate external hard drives from read-only back to read-write, so that you can edit, delete, and rename files on this Seagate external hard drive. Users can copy items to the drop box, but can’t open it. How can I solve this problem? I tried the command in Terminal, and was put-off by the format of the command. You can undo any changes to an item’s owner in the Sharing & Permissions section since opening the Info window. Reason 1, your Mac can use a Seagate external hard drive formatted as HFS+ for a Time Machine backup. This is an ongoing issue with me. Thanks for this article. Press Command+E. How do I keep Apple out of my files? On your Mac, select the item, then choose File > Get Info. Copyright © 2020 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. If you're using macOS Mojave or earlier, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click iCloud, then click Options next to iCloud Drive.