The Dreaded Red Minus Sign on Network Drive

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Level 1

13 points

The Dreaded Red Minus Sign on Network Drive

I'm not sure there is anything more frustrating since I've had a Mac than the red minus signs on the folders.

I understand that someone is about tell me to go into terminal and start chmodding and chowning. Why I should have to do this on "the computer for the rest of us (if you like command lines I guess), is beyond me.

Anyway enough ranting.

I have a USB drive hooked up to my Airport Extreme. I have set up AEX so that any guest on the network can access the hard drive -- both read and write.

When my wife connects from her account, on the same computer as my account, she connects as a guest. However at the top of the Finder window, is the accursed red minus signs, even though by all accounts, it seems like guests should be able to read and write to it. She can't.

So, all those things so great about a Mac? Pictures, iTunes, music, iPhoto, etc. -- pretty much unavailable to her. Why? I don't know. Maybe buggy permissions?

So, anyway, thanks for any help. Even if it does mean a command line.

iMac, Mac OS X (10.5.6)

Posted on May 10, 2009 12:45 PM

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Answer 1

nerowolfe

Level 6

13,090 points

May 10, 2009 1:16 PM in response to stevenjo57

stevenjo57 wrote:
I'm not sure there is anything more frustrating since I've had a Mac than the red minus signs on the folders.

There are but I won't go into details.

I understand that someone is about tell me to go into terminal and start chmodding and chowning. Why I should have to do this on "the computer for the rest of us (if you like command lines I guess), is beyond me.

Not me.

Anyway enough ranting.

I have a USB drive hooked up to my Airport Extreme. I have set up AEX so that any guest on the network can access the hard drive -- both read and write.

When my wife connects from her account, on the same computer as my account, she connects as a guest. However at the top of the Finder window, is the accursed red minus signs, even though by all accounts, it seems like guests should be able to read and write to it. She can't.

So, all those things so great about a Mac? Pictures, iTunes, music, iPhoto, etc. -- pretty much unavailable to her. Why? I don't know. Maybe buggy permissions?

Have you repaired permissions on both accounts?
Have you used the "Get Info" to actually see who has what rights on the drive?

So, anyway, thanks for any help. Even if it does mean a command line.

Command line? as in DOS? That's the other guy's stuff. We to terminals here 🙂

Seriously, check the Get Info on the drive and look near the bottom at the permissions.
You might have to add your Wife's account to the list rather than just guests.

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Answer 2

stevenjo57 Author

Level 1

13 points

May 10, 2009 9:05 PM in response to nerowolfe

Thank you for your response, NeroWolfe.

You will have to inform me how to repair permissions for an account. I've seen how to repair permissions for local drives, but don't know how to do that.

As for a Get Info on the network drive. It seems to get even uglier here. It shows that "everyone" has "no access" and someone called (unkown) has Read and Write. I know that some users have rights, as mine can write to the drive.

Any attempts to change them is ignored. An attempt to add a new user permissions says "The name you entered is not valid. Please try again".

Remember, this drive is a USB drive hooked up to a AEX. Is that called Air Disk?

Anyway, it all looks pretty buggy to me.

I rebooted awhile ago, and everyone can now access the drive. I figure this is only temporary, as soon the red minus will probably return. I mean, the have always come back in some fashion or another.

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Answer 3

nerowolfe

Level 6

13,090 points

May 11, 2009 9:57 AM in response to stevenjo57

To repair permissions on the internal drive and files, run disk utility (in utility directory) and select the partition that has the users directories on it, usually that's the main one.
Click repair permissions and let it run. Ignore warnings, only be concerned with errors.

I am not extremely familiar with an Air Disk, but basically it should simply be a shared USB drive that is connected wirelessly.
The sharing info in Get Info sounds strange.

If rebooting temporarily helps, then while it's working, do the Get Info again and take note of the settings. If it stops working properly, then compare the settings and see if there are any changes.
Are you using WPA2 security on the WiFi and AEX? Is the WiFi network stable? No dropouts, etc?
I am thinking that some extraneous noise or other signals might be part of the problem.

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