bomber136

Q: An unexpected error occurred (error code -50) when saving to ext HD.

I have an external USB Raid configured 2x3T config for a total of 3T of storage.  It was working fine and now when I try to save to the hard drive I get:  The operation can’t be completed. An unexpected error occurred (error code -50).  Any suggestions?  I have reset the PRAM, ran disk utility, restarted the computer, restarted the hard drive etc with no luck.   Any suggestions would be appreciated because I cannot find any help on the internet.

iMac (27-inch Mid 2011), Mac OS X (10.7.5)

Posted on Oct 8, 2012 7:35 PM

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Q: An unexpected error occurred (error code -50) when saving to ext HD.

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  • by Ed LaComb,

    Ed LaComb Ed LaComb Nov 5, 2014 12:39 PM in response to inyoureyesphotog
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 5, 2014 12:39 PM in response to inyoureyesphotog

    OK, so I know I'm late to the party, but I too had this issue with a bunch of 2TB G Drives.  Just when I was ready to give up, my IT guy says, hey…just reformat the drive and try again.  So I opened up Disk Utility and went to change the partition….only I noticed a bizarre greyed out and unnamed partition on the partition map in addition to the 1 partition that was supposed to be there.  I thought to myself, "No way…G Drive has some software on here that's messing with spin downs, etc."  Well I went to change partition and it wouldn't let me.  Wouldn't unmount the disk.  So I force ejected it.  It complained once with an error message and then I just chose Force Eject again.  Once that happened I was able to repartition to a single partition, and the "mystery partition" is now gone and the drive works great.  I did this with all the other G Drives we have (and they too had this mystery partition).  Now they are all operating perfectly.  I even was able to run an app called Keep Drive Spinning to tell the Mac to ping the drive every 60 sec to prevent spin down.  Not sure if this is necessary now, but since I wasn't able to run that app when the mystery partition was on the drive and now I can…I figure that's a bonus.  Good luck folks…hope this works for you too!

     

    Ed

  • by marcusbrody1,

    marcusbrody1 marcusbrody1 Dec 28, 2014 10:34 AM in response to bomber136
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 28, 2014 10:34 AM in response to bomber136

    I'm also having this issue just recently with an HDD that I have installed in place of an optical drive on my Macbook Pro. I'm on Yosemite 10.10.1. I can't copy files or folders to this drive, but I can open anything that's already there.

     

    When I attempt to eject the drive, I have to force eject after getting an error saying that the drive is being used. When I run Disk Utility, I can verify the disk but not repair it, getting an error that says it can't be unmounted for repair. If I force eject the drive I can run the repair, but it doesn't seem to fix the problem.

     

    I've set the Energy Saver preferences as some have suggested (put hard disks to sleep when possible), but that doesn't seem to fix the issue. I haven't yet tried the copying method using the terminal, as I'd rather not do that workaround if possible.

     

    If anyone has any suggestions, I'd really appreciate it!

  • by simoninthelakes,

    simoninthelakes simoninthelakes Jan 20, 2015 11:52 PM in response to marcusbrody1
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 20, 2015 11:52 PM in response to marcusbrody1

    Me too now.  Seagate 3TB external drive.  Intermittently will not write, or will not allow deletion.

     

    It beggars belief that such a common error should not have been solved by collaboration between Apple and the drive manufacturers.  "Hey guys, let's make our products compatible.  That way we'll have happy customers."  Come on Apple, get on with it.

     

    Rant over.  Has anyone actually solved this please?

     

    Simon

  • by aSwindler,

    aSwindler aSwindler Apr 26, 2015 12:14 PM in response to inyoureyesphotog
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 26, 2015 12:14 PM in response to inyoureyesphotog

    Thanks, this worked for me as well:

     

    I changed my energy saver mode to computer sleep 15 minutes (from never) and checked the box to have the hard sleep when possible.

     

    I had to reboot for it to take effect. I didn't change my firewire cable.

  • by kondzi,

    kondzi kondzi Jul 16, 2015 2:53 AM in response to simoninthelakes
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Jul 16, 2015 2:53 AM in response to simoninthelakes

    I just installed a 2TB drive instead of my optical drive in MBP 15 mid 2010, the disk is Samsung/Seagate SpinPoint M9T.

    The drive was working well... for a time, and after some time it's read-only sending Error -50 all the time.

    I cannot format it, change partition table, unmount it... nothing. Only "Unexpected Error -50".

    The trick with energy saving or reformatting did not help.

    I'm so... xxxxx

     

    I'm thinking of changing disk speed to 3Gbps or 1,5Gbps - did anyone tried that??

  • by mjbamigo,

    mjbamigo mjbamigo Aug 27, 2015 9:10 AM in response to bomber136
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 27, 2015 9:10 AM in response to bomber136

    I get the same error code when trying to copy FCPX libraries out to an HP LTO-6 drive using LTFS, "The operation can’t be completed because an unexpected error occurred (error code -50)."  OS-X 10.10.5  Super frustrating!

  • by gverdeg,

    gverdeg gverdeg Oct 21, 2015 11:14 AM in response to mjbamigo
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 21, 2015 11:14 AM in response to mjbamigo

    Same problem on a 32 GB SD card, none of the solutions worked form me .

  • by nathan_h,

    nathan_h nathan_h Dec 5, 2015 4:24 PM in response to bomber136
    Level 1 (25 points)
    Dec 5, 2015 4:24 PM in response to bomber136

    What is amazing is that this error has been showing up in OS X for more than three years and is still not solved.

     

    I don't disbelieve the various solutions shared here, but the fact that some solutions don't work for some people and some people try them all and none work indicates that at the very least, this is a VERY POOR error code.  Improving the error code would be very useful to help people really get to the source of the problem.

  • by stevefromaldershot,

    stevefromaldershot stevefromaldershot May 10, 2016 11:33 PM in response to nathan_h
    Level 1 (8 points)
    May 10, 2016 11:33 PM in response to nathan_h

    Seagate 2TB problems on a Mac iso 10.8.5

     

    I have another Seagate 4TB thats fine. I swapped the leads over and its made no difference.

    Ive swapped the ports over still no difference.

     

    Trying to put files onto it gets this error

    The operation can’t be completed because an unexpected error occurred (error code -50

     

    Trying to eject gets this error

    The disk “Downing” wasn’t ejected because one or more programs may be using it.


    Trying to delete gets this error

    The operation can’t be completed because an unexpected error occurred (error code -50)

    In disc utility, trying to erase gets this error

    Volume Erase failed with the error:

    Couldn’t unmount disk.

     

    *** heeelllllllp

  • by BDAqua,

    BDAqua BDAqua May 20, 2016 2:51 AM in response to stevefromaldershot
    Level 10 (123,670 points)
    May 20, 2016 2:51 AM in response to stevefromaldershot

    Open Activity Monitor, Show:>All Processes, see of fsck is running.

  • by stevefromaldershot,

    stevefromaldershot stevefromaldershot May 20, 2016 2:58 PM in response to BDAqua
    Level 1 (8 points)
    May 20, 2016 2:58 PM in response to BDAqua

    I looked in A monitor and its not there

  • by somethingceleste,

    somethingceleste somethingceleste Jul 13, 2016 7:28 AM in response to bomber136
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Jul 13, 2016 7:28 AM in response to bomber136

    disclaimer: i won't use any techy words.

    i had a similar problem... used my external hard drive at home & at school before, never had a problem.

    i try & copy a catalog from lightroom & it freeaked out. wouldn't even let me delete the copied lightroom catalogs or even open lightroom from the computer.

     

    simple fix: i tried turning it off & then back on. wow. that actually works!

    ejected the hard drive. plugged it back in. deleted the catalog that was previously copied to it (which made it freak out). re-added the catalogs & then poof! it worked.

  • by vannfromenglewood,

    vannfromenglewood vannfromenglewood Jul 30, 2016 2:56 PM in response to bomber136
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Desktops
    Jul 30, 2016 2:56 PM in response to bomber136

    I also have this same problem, However my energy saver has always had the "Put hard disks to sleep when possible" checked, and the computer sleep is enabled.   I am using a Drobo with four drives totaling 16 terabytes attached on a usb3.  It makes me nervous that other folks have had this problem but only in 2012, no here I am in 2016.

     

    Help

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