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Search results link to wrong files on external HD, keeps happening even after re-indexing

I had an old external I used with my 2010 MacBook and 2016 iMac without issue. I noticed with my new 2021 MacBook Pro M1, when I would search for files, clicking on the results would show the wrong icons and opening the file would open a completely different file.


The files I search are on the drive. I can manually navigate to them, open and close without a problem. However when I search for a file, finder appears to find it, but the icons are often wrong. And when you inspect, copy or open the file, it's actually a file in a totally different location, not the one it appears to be.


I tried reindexing, but the problem kept reappearing. It was an older drive so I got a new thin light WD portable drive thinking that would solve it. After a lot of time transferring the files... same problem.


I've run disk utility with no major problems on the new drive.


I've did System Preferences > Spotlight > Privacy tab and adding (+) the drive to the list, which will turn off indexing. Then eject the drive and reconnect it, and remove it from the list. Leave it connected for a while so Spotlight can complete the indexing.


This works briefly at the time, but eventually, something reverts and I get the same problem. This is driving me nuts as I have 10+ years of file archives on that drive I need to be able to search.


Please help.



MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 11.2

Posted on Oct 21, 2021 2:20 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Oct 23, 2021 10:33 AM

skinnyguy76 wrote:

I had an old external

I used with my 2010 MacBook and 2016 iMac without issue. I noticed with my new 2021 MacBook Pro M1, when I would search for files, clicking on the results would show the wrong icons and opening the file would open a completely different file.

The files I search are on the drive. I can manually navigate to them, open and close without a problem. However when I search for a file, finder appears to find it, but the icons are often wrong. And when you inspect, copy or open the file, it's actually a file in a totally different location, not the one it appears to be.

I tried reindexing, but the problem kept reappearing. It was an older drive so I got a new thin light WD portable drive thinking that would solve it. After a lot of time transferring the files... same problem.

I've run disk utility with no major problems on the new drive.

I've did System Preferences > Spotlight > Privacy tab and adding (+) the drive to the list, which will turn off indexing. Then eject the drive and reconnect it, and remove it from the list. Leave it connected for a while so Spotlight can complete the indexing.

This works briefly at the time, but eventually, something reverts and I get the same problem. This is driving me nuts as I have 10+ years of file archives on that drive I need to be able to search.

Please help.



? WD drive — typically includes proprietary software/drivers this can be an issue— always recommend to erase/reformat these drives to eliminate any proprietary software for this reason—let the macOS handle the drive. You can try looking for update from WD...



This could very well be a conflict between HFS+ file format and the newer APFS.


Try a new backup on a clean drive formatted to match you macOS


Erase and reformat a storage device in Disk Utility on Mac

https://support.apple.com/guide/disk-utility/erase-and-reformat-a-storage-device-dskutl14079/20.0/mac/11.0

Similar questions

4 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Oct 23, 2021 10:33 AM in response to skinnyguy76

skinnyguy76 wrote:

I had an old external

I used with my 2010 MacBook and 2016 iMac without issue. I noticed with my new 2021 MacBook Pro M1, when I would search for files, clicking on the results would show the wrong icons and opening the file would open a completely different file.

The files I search are on the drive. I can manually navigate to them, open and close without a problem. However when I search for a file, finder appears to find it, but the icons are often wrong. And when you inspect, copy or open the file, it's actually a file in a totally different location, not the one it appears to be.

I tried reindexing, but the problem kept reappearing. It was an older drive so I got a new thin light WD portable drive thinking that would solve it. After a lot of time transferring the files... same problem.

I've run disk utility with no major problems on the new drive.

I've did System Preferences > Spotlight > Privacy tab and adding (+) the drive to the list, which will turn off indexing. Then eject the drive and reconnect it, and remove it from the list. Leave it connected for a while so Spotlight can complete the indexing.

This works briefly at the time, but eventually, something reverts and I get the same problem. This is driving me nuts as I have 10+ years of file archives on that drive I need to be able to search.

Please help.



? WD drive — typically includes proprietary software/drivers this can be an issue— always recommend to erase/reformat these drives to eliminate any proprietary software for this reason—let the macOS handle the drive. You can try looking for update from WD...



This could very well be a conflict between HFS+ file format and the newer APFS.


Try a new backup on a clean drive formatted to match you macOS


Erase and reformat a storage device in Disk Utility on Mac

https://support.apple.com/guide/disk-utility/erase-and-reformat-a-storage-device-dskutl14079/20.0/mac/11.0

Search results link to wrong files on external HD, keeps happening even after re-indexing

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