Can't Access Macintosh HD - Data

Question

Can't Access Macintosh HD - Data

Greetings all,

I'm having an issue. I'm doing online education at the moment, and I'm creating video content. I was erasing some unnecessary files from the my hard drive. After I completed, I noticed that my remaining files were showing files sizes of 0mb.

Upon further inspection, I noted that all the files still appear to be in my Macintosh HD - Data drive.

However, when I set my "Finder Preferences" to display hard disks on my desktop, only the Macintosh HD drive shows up.

I confess that my tech savvy vis-a-vis this issue has reached a roadblock.

Any suggestions?

iMac 27", macOS 10.15

Posted on Mar 20, 2020 10:10 PM

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Answer 1

Mar 20, 2020 10:27 PM in response to rmclaughlin1028

Hello, rmclaughlin1028.

What you're seeing is by design with the new Catalina OS. Catalina uses APFS for disk and file management. The OS treats the two main disk volumes, Macintosh HD and Macintosh HD - Data, as a single volume. Finder will only ever show you the one volume on the desktop.

There's a lot going on with APFS that is kinda tough to understand or describe, file and storage space management being among them. Catalina should be handling most all of this in the background, but every once in a while the curtain gets pulled back and we get a peek.

Are you having trouble using the files you believe you should have access to?

edit- a little light reading on the subject:

File system formats available in Disk Utility on Mac - Apple Disk Utility User Guide

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Answer 2

Mar 20, 2020 10:49 PM in response to D.I. Johnson

Hello D.I. Johnson,

Thank you for your reply.

I confess I don't quite understand the APFS. But it looks to me that the files are still on the Data drive. But I can't use them.

As one example. I have a video that I'm using in a Motion 5 project. The video is showing up in finder, but it shows a file size of 0 (see the first image from the OP).

In Motion 5, the video does not show up (although, the other graphics I've created do show up).

When I try to open the video from finder, I get an error message.

Again, give the used space in my Data drive (and the fact that I was careful not to erase the video files I was using), it seems like they are still there. I just can't access them.

I truly appreciate your help.

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Answer 3

Mar 20, 2020 11:11 PM in response to rmclaughlin1028

You're welcome.

It appears to me that these video files may be corrupted.

Where do these problem video files come from?

You might try a safe mode reboot of your iMac. Maybe there's some bit of digital junk in a miscellaneous system cache that is giving the OS fits regarding these files. Let the Mac OS do drive directory repair, cache clearing and other misc housekeeping. Often just booting into safe mode and logging in, then immediately rebooting normally will resolve an issue. You should do this with all your external peripherals disconnected but the keyboard and mouse. Press the Shift key until you see the Apple logo and progress bar when you restart you Mac.

Booting into Safe Mode…

Use safe mode to isolate issues - Apple Support

Note– starting up in Safe mode could take 10 minutes or more. Be patient.

Does the problem persist while in Safe mode?

Restart your Macintosh and re-evaluate the issue.

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