Unable to search for files on external hard drive

Question

Unable to search for files on external hard drive

Hello,

I have thousands of photos saved on an external hard drive and on a back-up external hard drive. I have been using these external hard drives plugged into my MacBook Pro for years, without any issues. Until recently, I could search for photos with the Search function, by using the keywords I had previously typed in the Comments column. Now when I do a search with these keywords, I get:

1. random files (no relation to the keywords) come up in a list

2. the icon for the files is a ‘’paper icon’’

3. the Comments column has no information

4. if I try to open the file, I get this message: The alias ‘’filename’’ can’t be opened because the original item can’t be found. If I choose the option Fix Alias, it brings a list of applications. These files are RAW and JPEG files, they do not require an application to be opened.

I am not a computer geek so please be kind and thorough in your answers. I use macOS Big sur 11.1 and Affinity Photo for post-processing.

Thank you very much in advance for your help.

MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 11.1

Posted on Jan 9, 2021 1:27 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

wildlifephotg Author

Level 1

12 points

Jan 15, 2021 4:39 PM in response to giv19

Thanks for your reply giv19.

I have fixed the issue by adding and then removing the external hard drive from Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Spotlight. In the Privacy Tab, add the external hard drive, then remove it from the list.

But the important part is to leave the hard drive connected to your Mac for 10 minutes (in my case) so it gives time for Spotlight to index it. Re: https://support.apple.com/en-ca/guide/mac-help/mchlp2811/11.0/mac/11.0

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Answer 2

Jan 12, 2021 10:25 AM in response to wildlifephotg

For Spotlight to search the external drives, they must be indexed. With drive(s) connected, go to System Preferences > Spotlight > Privacy tab and make sure the drive(s) are not on the list – if they are, they'll be excluded from indexing and thus from proper searching, so select and click (–).

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Answer 3

giv19

Level 1

4 points

Jan 15, 2021 6:19 AM in response to wildlifephotg

Did you install any additional software to run your external drive, such as Paragon NTFS? I noticed the software I had installed for this purpose stopped running after updating to 11.1 but have re-installed that and can now search with no issues.

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Answer 4

Jeff_W.

Community Specialist

Jan 12, 2021 8:27 AM in response to wildlifephotg

Greeting wildlifephotg!

We see you are having some trouble with searching for files on an external drive connected to your Mac. We want to help get that issue resolved! The first place to check for this type of issue is to see if a permissions issue is occurring that isn't allowing your drive to be searched. This article shows how to check for any permissions changes: Change permissions for files, folders, or disks on Mac. After that you may want to try repairing that drive as well: How to repair a Mac disk with Disk Utility.

Have a great rest of your day!

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Answer 5

Jan 12, 2021 10:18 AM in response to Jeff_W.

Hi Jeff,

Thanks for getting back to me. The permission is set up properly and I did the repair step with my external drive. The problem has to do with the Search function with keywords and the way the results come up:

1. random files (no relation to the keywords) come up in a list

2. the icon for the files is a ‘’paper icon’’

3. the Comments column has no information

4. if I try to open the file, I get this message: The alias ‘’filename’’ can’t be opened because the original item can’t be found. If I choose the option Fix Alias, it brings a list of applications. These files are RAW and JPEG files, they do not require an application to be opened.

Cheers,

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Answer 6

Jan 12, 2021 10:27 AM in response to neuroanatomist

Thanks neuroanatomist. The drive is not on the list in the Privacy Tab.

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Unable to search for files on external hard drive

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