Want to change the mount point on external hard drive

Question

Want to change the mount point on external hard drive

I have a 2T external where I have saved all of my data from my last iMac.

I am unable to save anything new to the external. When searching the problem I have discovered it is because of permissions.

I right clicked 'get info' but I am unable to change the permissions to allow me to 'read and write'.

Another search led me to the conclusion that I needed to change the mount point on my external. I searched how to do this but sadly it is all way above my head.

If anyone can explain in simple terms how to do this without losing any data on my external I would really appreciate it.

Or if I am barking up the wrong tree, please, let me know.

Cheers.

iMac 24″, macOS 12.0

Posted on Dec 20, 2021 3:18 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Jack-19

Level 8

46,278 points

Dec 28, 2021 3:42 AM in response to Alisonbonbalison

Welcome to the Apple Support Communities.

I'd recommend that you take a look at this Apple Support article: Change permissions for files, folders, or disks on Mac - Apple Support.

If that doesn't work, please go to Finder > Go > Computer, control-click the external drive's volume(s), then select "Get Info". Expand the "Sharing & Permissions" area so it is visible. Then, Take a screenshot on your Mac - Apple Support of the "Get Info" window and upload the image here.

Cheers,

Jack

Reply

Answer 2

Jack-19

Level 8

46,278 points

Dec 29, 2021 2:49 PM in response to Alisonbonbalison

Thank you. Does this external SSD have macOS on it, by chance?

If not, please Repair a storage device in Disk Utility on Mac - Apple Support, and if the issue persists, Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support and test there.

Jack

Reply

Answer 3

Dec 28, 2021 3:36 AM in response to ku4hx

Hi, firstly sorry for the late reply.

I am an admin user but was not able to change permissions on the drive to 'read/write' from 'read only'. When I right click and choose 'get info' I get the message that I don't have permissions to do that. See attached.

Reply

Answer 4

Dec 30, 2021 1:12 AM in response to Jack-19

It doesn't now. It did previously but I wiped it using Disk Utility so that I could save everything from my old iMac. I now use the external with all of my data on it and access it from there. Accessing the data is fine, but unable to save anything to it.

Will repair wipe the disk? All of my data from my old iMac is on that external, so I really don't want to lose it.

Reply

Answer 5

Dec 28, 2021 4:13 AM in response to Jack-19

Hi, Here is the screenshot.

Reply

Answer 6

ku4hx

Level 7

23,700 points

Dec 20, 2021 3:52 AM in response to Alisonbonbalison

If you are an admin user, you should be able to change permissions.

How did the process of changing permissions fail? Did you get any error messages? Any messages at all?

Reply

Want to change the mount point on external hard drive

Similar questions