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TICKET ARCHIVE -> Lacie Ext Hard Drive
Greg49 - Aug 10, 2005 - 8:17 pm
I bought a Lacie External Hard Drive a month or two ago so I could offload some large iMovie files and free up my internal hard drive on my G5. I got busy on some other things and just in the last day or so have been trying to do the offloading. But every time I try to move an IMovie file to the Lacie hard drive, I get an error notice saying something along the lines of "You cannot copy the item 'Icon' because the name is too long or contains characters that cannot be copied."
I've tried shortening the names of the main folder and sub folders. I've gone through all the media files to make sure there are no long names there or odd symbols. Then I try to offload again, but get the same response.
To make matters worse, the folder icon and label appear in the Lacie file listings, but they are empty.
Any thoughts?
I've tried shortening the names of the main folder and sub folders. I've gone through all the media files to make sure there are no long names there or odd symbols. Then I try to offload again, but get the same response.
To make matters worse, the folder icon and label appear in the Lacie file listings, but they are empty.
Any thoughts?
Drumhum - Aug 11, 2005 - 7:56 am
Greg,
I take it you have not managed to write any files to this disk at all.
I suspect that your drive is formatted in a PC format that is not mac friendly. Some PC formats only allow mac users to read them but not write to them.
You need to reformat the drive. Do this by opening DiskUtilities (in the Utilities folder, in the applications folder). From this application select your lacie drive in the left hand column and click the erase tab. From the drop down menu make sure "Mac OS Extended (journaled)" is selected and give the drive a name (eg "lacie disk"). In the "security options" the first option of "don't erase data" will be quickest option and will be perfectly adequate. Now click "erase".
This way you are formatting your drive in the best way to use with your apple computer, but you wont be able to use it with a Windows PC. If this is a requirement for you then format the drive as "MS-DOS File System" (from that drop down menu). Unless you intend to share the disk with Windows PC stick with "Mac OS Extended (journaled)".
Note, just to be clear, this process will erase any data that is on your drive.
Give this a go and let me know how you get on.
regards
Tom
--------
You will be asked for feedback once this query is closed. All us techs love to get feedback:-) Thanks for using macosx.com
I take it you have not managed to write any files to this disk at all.
I suspect that your drive is formatted in a PC format that is not mac friendly. Some PC formats only allow mac users to read them but not write to them.
You need to reformat the drive. Do this by opening DiskUtilities (in the Utilities folder, in the applications folder). From this application select your lacie drive in the left hand column and click the erase tab. From the drop down menu make sure "Mac OS Extended (journaled)" is selected and give the drive a name (eg "lacie disk"). In the "security options" the first option of "don't erase data" will be quickest option and will be perfectly adequate. Now click "erase".
This way you are formatting your drive in the best way to use with your apple computer, but you wont be able to use it with a Windows PC. If this is a requirement for you then format the drive as "MS-DOS File System" (from that drop down menu). Unless you intend to share the disk with Windows PC stick with "Mac OS Extended (journaled)".
Note, just to be clear, this process will erase any data that is on your drive.
Give this a go and let me know how you get on.
regards
Tom
--------
You will be asked for feedback once this query is closed. All us techs love to get feedback:-) Thanks for using macosx.com
Greg49 - Aug 11, 2005 - 1:35 pm
Tom,
Thank you so much for the quick and thorough reply.
Fact is, I HAVE loaded a number of files onto the LaCie already. Did it when I first got the thing, but then let it sit idle for a month or so.
Even now, I can transfer a lot of things with ease, but I get the error message really often. Most, if not all, of the time, it's when I try to transfer a movie file. I tried (successfuly) transferring the iMovie folders separately. The iMovie format file; the QuickTime version, and the media folder. The problem often comes from the media folder, so I have tried (successfully) saving the clips one by one, and that works. I think the snag may be in the audio files.
Weird, huh?
Now I'm faced with the choice of undoing all of the successful transfers in order to reformat. Or to just keep on plodding along as I have been.
Hey, here's another question I could sure use some help with:
I have a JVC MiniDV camcorder model GR-DVL520U that my Mac won't take uploads from. I had another JVC model which posed no problems at all. Worked like a charm. And I have a Panasonic and a Canon, both of which upload beautifully. All of these use Firewire.
I've tried to find a Mac driver for this particular model with no luck.
I've searched JVC sites and Mac sites.
Any suggestions?
Greg
Thank you so much for the quick and thorough reply.
Fact is, I HAVE loaded a number of files onto the LaCie already. Did it when I first got the thing, but then let it sit idle for a month or so.
Even now, I can transfer a lot of things with ease, but I get the error message really often. Most, if not all, of the time, it's when I try to transfer a movie file. I tried (successfuly) transferring the iMovie folders separately. The iMovie format file; the QuickTime version, and the media folder. The problem often comes from the media folder, so I have tried (successfully) saving the clips one by one, and that works. I think the snag may be in the audio files.
Weird, huh?
Now I'm faced with the choice of undoing all of the successful transfers in order to reformat. Or to just keep on plodding along as I have been.
Hey, here's another question I could sure use some help with:
I have a JVC MiniDV camcorder model GR-DVL520U that my Mac won't take uploads from. I had another JVC model which posed no problems at all. Worked like a charm. And I have a Panasonic and a Canon, both of which upload beautifully. All of these use Firewire.
I've tried to find a Mac driver for this particular model with no luck.
I've searched JVC sites and Mac sites.
Any suggestions?
Greg
Drumhum - Aug 11, 2005 - 7:00 pm
greg,
As you have managed to save files to your drive, then my initial diagnosis is incorrect! Can you remember whether the drive was sold as "mac compatible". If so then the format should not be an issue. If not then it could well be formatted in ms-dos (aka FAT32) which should work ok on the mac but you may encounter some issues in certain situations and a re-format to macOS extended is the way to go. Sometimes the factory format is less than perfect and its advisable to format the drive from new - though lots of folk don't bother and have no problems!
Having said that the issues you are experiencing suggest there is different problem here.
It is quite common for firewire drives to suffer from directory damage. This is where a special file hidden on the drive gets corrupted. This file tells the computer where all your files are stored. It can get damaged during computer crashes or when one disconnects the drive without unmounting it first (you unmount by dragging it to the trash - once this is done you can safely unplug the drive, even with the computer switched on). Of course it can also happen for no apparent reason - like most computer problems!
The best way to fix a drive with such an issue is to use a third party disk utility application. I always have DiskWarrior in case of emergency. Other folk like Techtool pro. Diskwarrior has saved me many times and is worth every penny! (www.alsoft.com)
Though not as clever as Diskwarrior, Apple's DiskUtility can repair some problems so certainly give that a try...
launch Diskutility (its in applications->Utilities folder)
select your lacie drive in the left hand column
Click repair disk.
If you prefer you can click "verify disk" before "repair" to see what the diagnosis is.
Hopefully DiskUtility will sort this out but you may find that its not quite up to the task.
To complicate matters it could also be a problem with your system drive (I would have thought you would have seen other issues though). You can perform the same disk-check on this but you will have to start your computer up from the CD/DVD that came with your computer. Insert the disk and restart the computer while holding the "c" key. Once the boot process is over you should be able to go to the Utilities menu and select diskUtility from there and perform the surgery.
Other things that can cause this behaviour, that I can think of, is a dodgy firewire cable or a firewire hub. If you are using a firewire hub connect the drive directly to the computer and see if the problem goes away. Also try a different cable.
To be honest, If this was my drive I would be a little concerned and I would want to get it sorted. Things could go worse and even result in loosing all data!
If you can confirm that the drive is at fault then a reformat may be the best fix. If you can try the drive with another mac and firewire cable and you see the same behaviour then it must be the lacie drive!
Other procedures worth trying which might help (but its a stressed "might"!)...
reset PRAM (say "P" Ram)
restart computer holding down keys "p","r",alt, apple (or some say "option" and "command" for the latter two keys!).
keep them held down until you have heard the start-up chime about two or three times then release the keys.
You may have to reset the date and time on your computer after this.
It also wont do any harm to "repair permissions". Do this with DiskUtility. launch the application and select your system drive, then click "Repair permissions" button.
Plenty to think about then!
As for your camcorder problem...
You wont find drivers as such on the web as these aren't needed. I see from Amazon.com that it has USB as well as firewire. Note that it will only upload video through firewire. the USB will be for accessing the memory card for still pictures. Again, like the lacie, check the firewire cable and use a good cable. often the ones supplied are poor quality and cause problems. avoid using any firewire hub too - connect direct to your computer's firewire socket.
I note other folk had the same issue as you on the forum at www.dv.com
No solution was mentioned:-(
It really should "just work". If you are not running the latest version of imovie, then it may be worth updating/upgrading but there is not guarantee this will fix things.
Well plenty of food for thought for now!!
feel free to get back to me if you need further help.
Regards
Tom
--------
You will be asked for feedback once this query is closed. All us techs love to get feedback:-) Thanks for using macosx.com
As you have managed to save files to your drive, then my initial diagnosis is incorrect! Can you remember whether the drive was sold as "mac compatible". If so then the format should not be an issue. If not then it could well be formatted in ms-dos (aka FAT32) which should work ok on the mac but you may encounter some issues in certain situations and a re-format to macOS extended is the way to go. Sometimes the factory format is less than perfect and its advisable to format the drive from new - though lots of folk don't bother and have no problems!
Having said that the issues you are experiencing suggest there is different problem here.
It is quite common for firewire drives to suffer from directory damage. This is where a special file hidden on the drive gets corrupted. This file tells the computer where all your files are stored. It can get damaged during computer crashes or when one disconnects the drive without unmounting it first (you unmount by dragging it to the trash - once this is done you can safely unplug the drive, even with the computer switched on). Of course it can also happen for no apparent reason - like most computer problems!
The best way to fix a drive with such an issue is to use a third party disk utility application. I always have DiskWarrior in case of emergency. Other folk like Techtool pro. Diskwarrior has saved me many times and is worth every penny! (www.alsoft.com)
Though not as clever as Diskwarrior, Apple's DiskUtility can repair some problems so certainly give that a try...
launch Diskutility (its in applications->Utilities folder)
select your lacie drive in the left hand column
Click repair disk.
If you prefer you can click "verify disk" before "repair" to see what the diagnosis is.
Hopefully DiskUtility will sort this out but you may find that its not quite up to the task.
To complicate matters it could also be a problem with your system drive (I would have thought you would have seen other issues though). You can perform the same disk-check on this but you will have to start your computer up from the CD/DVD that came with your computer. Insert the disk and restart the computer while holding the "c" key. Once the boot process is over you should be able to go to the Utilities menu and select diskUtility from there and perform the surgery.
Other things that can cause this behaviour, that I can think of, is a dodgy firewire cable or a firewire hub. If you are using a firewire hub connect the drive directly to the computer and see if the problem goes away. Also try a different cable.
To be honest, If this was my drive I would be a little concerned and I would want to get it sorted. Things could go worse and even result in loosing all data!
If you can confirm that the drive is at fault then a reformat may be the best fix. If you can try the drive with another mac and firewire cable and you see the same behaviour then it must be the lacie drive!
Other procedures worth trying which might help (but its a stressed "might"!)...
reset PRAM (say "P" Ram)
restart computer holding down keys "p","r",alt, apple (or some say "option" and "command" for the latter two keys!).
keep them held down until you have heard the start-up chime about two or three times then release the keys.
You may have to reset the date and time on your computer after this.
It also wont do any harm to "repair permissions". Do this with DiskUtility. launch the application and select your system drive, then click "Repair permissions" button.
Plenty to think about then!
As for your camcorder problem...
You wont find drivers as such on the web as these aren't needed. I see from Amazon.com that it has USB as well as firewire. Note that it will only upload video through firewire. the USB will be for accessing the memory card for still pictures. Again, like the lacie, check the firewire cable and use a good cable. often the ones supplied are poor quality and cause problems. avoid using any firewire hub too - connect direct to your computer's firewire socket.
I note other folk had the same issue as you on the forum at www.dv.com
No solution was mentioned:-(
It really should "just work". If you are not running the latest version of imovie, then it may be worth updating/upgrading but there is not guarantee this will fix things.
Well plenty of food for thought for now!!
feel free to get back to me if you need further help.
Regards
Tom
--------
You will be asked for feedback once this query is closed. All us techs love to get feedback:-) Thanks for using macosx.com
Greg49 - Aug 11, 2005 - 10:27 pm
Tom,
You are a great guy to be doing what you're doing. I admire you for that. And I admire you first for your vast knowledge and secondly for your willingness to share it.
It's strange how my computer won't support this camcorder. I'm using the very same cable that I use successfully with my Canon GL2 and my little Panasonic (which is a 3CCD even though it's small -- a great little camcorder!)
What I wound up doing was to run a cable from the A/V port in the camcorder to my ADS converter. I bought the unit so I could convert VHS to digital and run it into my computer where I could manipulate it. Like I said, that's why I bought it. But I discovered a couple of days ago that I could run a red, white and yellow cable set from the DVD player through the ADS translator and into the Mac G5. In other words, the ADS unit served as simply a pass-through of one digital format to another (or maybe it's the same thing; I don't know).
So this evening, I used a cable that had an A/V male plug on one end and the three-unit Red-White& Yellow on the other. Stuck the A/V end into the camcorder and the triple-tail end into the translator (or whatever I should be calling it) and bingo! It worked.
I compared the quality by uploading a piece of Mini DV footage in this manner, and then uploading the very same footage via my little Panasonic. The results appear to be identical.
Am I deluding myself? Is there any way that the footage could be compromised or downgraded in some manner?
Thanks for your help. I'm still going to have to spend some time with the Lacie.
Greg
You are a great guy to be doing what you're doing. I admire you for that. And I admire you first for your vast knowledge and secondly for your willingness to share it.
It's strange how my computer won't support this camcorder. I'm using the very same cable that I use successfully with my Canon GL2 and my little Panasonic (which is a 3CCD even though it's small -- a great little camcorder!)
What I wound up doing was to run a cable from the A/V port in the camcorder to my ADS converter. I bought the unit so I could convert VHS to digital and run it into my computer where I could manipulate it. Like I said, that's why I bought it. But I discovered a couple of days ago that I could run a red, white and yellow cable set from the DVD player through the ADS translator and into the Mac G5. In other words, the ADS unit served as simply a pass-through of one digital format to another (or maybe it's the same thing; I don't know).
So this evening, I used a cable that had an A/V male plug on one end and the three-unit Red-White& Yellow on the other. Stuck the A/V end into the camcorder and the triple-tail end into the translator (or whatever I should be calling it) and bingo! It worked.
I compared the quality by uploading a piece of Mini DV footage in this manner, and then uploading the very same footage via my little Panasonic. The results appear to be identical.
Am I deluding myself? Is there any way that the footage could be compromised or downgraded in some manner?
Thanks for your help. I'm still going to have to spend some time with the Lacie.
Greg
Drumhum - Aug 12, 2005 - 7:27 am
Greg,
One downside of capturing footage this way is that you will have no "machine control" for your camera. In other words you will not be able to control the play, fast-forward, rewind mechanism of your camera from your computer. Its a bit bit more inconvenient but no biggie.
In terms of picture quality, firewire is technically far superior but the true test for anything like this is eyes - if it looks ok then its no problem. Your camera has to convert the digital video to analogue and your ADS converter has to convert this analogue signal back to digital. These two conversion processes will reduce picture quality a bit.
Yet another downside is that many folk like to output their finished edits back to camera tape for archiving, which you will not be able to do with your analogue connection.
Your camera really should work with firewire and I would consider taking it back to the store you bought it from. If its out of warrantee though, the pictures look good to you and you are happy just saving your work to DVD etc then you should feel confident that your set-up will provide you with the results you're after.
Its certainly not a replacement for firewire but it is a working solution!
Regards
Tom
--------
You will be asked for feedback once this query is closed. All us techs love to get feedback:-) Thanks for using macosx.com
One downside of capturing footage this way is that you will have no "machine control" for your camera. In other words you will not be able to control the play, fast-forward, rewind mechanism of your camera from your computer. Its a bit bit more inconvenient but no biggie.
In terms of picture quality, firewire is technically far superior but the true test for anything like this is eyes - if it looks ok then its no problem. Your camera has to convert the digital video to analogue and your ADS converter has to convert this analogue signal back to digital. These two conversion processes will reduce picture quality a bit.
Yet another downside is that many folk like to output their finished edits back to camera tape for archiving, which you will not be able to do with your analogue connection.
Your camera really should work with firewire and I would consider taking it back to the store you bought it from. If its out of warrantee though, the pictures look good to you and you are happy just saving your work to DVD etc then you should feel confident that your set-up will provide you with the results you're after.
Its certainly not a replacement for firewire but it is a working solution!
Regards
Tom
--------
You will be asked for feedback once this query is closed. All us techs love to get feedback:-) Thanks for using macosx.com
Greg49 - Aug 12, 2005 - 9:03 am
Tom,
I wondered how it worked. I need to compare the footage on a large screen. Based on what you have told me, I can't imagine that I have not lose some picture quality.
Thanks again.
Greg
I wondered how it worked. I need to compare the footage on a large screen. Based on what you have told me, I can't imagine that I have not lose some picture quality.
Thanks again.
Greg
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