rearranging files on external hard drive will not hold???

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ShOzzz Author

Level 1

8 points

rearranging files on external hard drive will not hold???

i have a bunch of external drives I use with my MacBook.

i just bought a new one (same as my other brands)

i set them up in icon mode and arrange them where I want the icons.

when unplugged and replugged in they all stay in place.

however, the newest one I bought rearranges to alphabetical after I unplug and plug it back in.

i have checked sorting and it is set. to none just like the others so I am not sure what is going on with this new one?

does anyone have any suggestions on what else to check?

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 10.15

Posted on May 6, 2021 9:05 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

MrHoffman

Community+ 2024

Level 10

125,823 points

May 6, 2021 12:49 PM in response to ShOzzz

Is the new device formatted HFS+, or whatever the other storage devices here are formatted?

And for the settings: https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/sort-and-arrange-items-in-the-finder-on-mac-mchlp1745/mac

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Answer 2

ShOzzz Author

Level 1

8 points

May 6, 2021 9:08 AM in response to ShOzzz

also, when i open sub folders and arrange them by icons in certain positions all those stay in place after unplugging and opening again.

no clue why the main window will not stay where I put the dang things. lol

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Answer 3

ShOzzz Author

Level 1

8 points

May 6, 2021 12:42 PM in response to MrHoffman

yes, sort by is set to none on the exact same two external drives.

only difference in the drives is one is 4tb and the other 5tb

i unplug them both (usbc) and when plugged back in one stays how I arranged it and the other resets to alphabetical .

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Answer 4

May 8, 2021 8:00 PM in response to ShOzzz

Offload everything, use Disk Utility to erase, and then format as HFS+ / macOS Extended.

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Answer 5

May 6, 2021 9:26 AM in response to ShOzzz

Are the arrange by and sort by set the same across all devices?

https://eshop.macsales.com/blog/43133-mac-101-customizing-finder-views-part-1/

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Answer 6

ShOzzz Author

Level 1

8 points

May 6, 2021 10:24 PM in response to MrHoffman

that i am not sure. is there a way to check that you know of?

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Answer 7

May 7, 2021 4:41 AM in response to ShOzzz

Alternate-click on the device, and select Get Info from the pop-up. Or select in Finder, and Command-I.

https://osxdaily.com/2021/04/27/using-get-info-keyboard-shortcut-mac/

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Answer 8

ShOzzz Author

Level 1

8 points

May 7, 2021 11:53 AM in response to MrHoffman

the new device is Exfat the older one that works says mac os extended

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Answer 9

ShOzzz Author

Level 1

8 points

May 8, 2021 10:24 PM in response to MrHoffman

Thank you, i will try that and see if it gives me that memory of where I arrange everything and it stays in place .

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Answer 10

ShOzzz Author

Level 1

8 points

May 9, 2021 5:32 PM in response to MrHoffman

so far that seems to have worked. now to copy 5 TB back onto it. lol

thank you for your time helping!

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rearranging files on external hard drive will not hold???

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