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Finder files suddenly locked

I have a Mac mini (M1, 2020) running MacOS Monterey. Suddenly today the Finder seems locked. I am asked for my password to delete a file. Dragging a file defaults to copy rather than move. I updated to macOS 12.3.1 but the problem remains. Any ideas and suggestions? Thank you.

Mac mini, macOS 12.2

Posted on Apr 2, 2022 3:47 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Apr 2, 2022 4:35 PM

zaldar wrote:

I have a Mac mini (M1, 2020) running MacOS Monterey. Suddenly today the Finder seems locked. I am asked for my password to delete a file. Dragging a file defaults to copy rather than move. I updated to macOS 12.3.1 but the problem remains. Any ideas and suggestions? Thank you.



Boot into Internet Recovery (Option Command R) and from the dropdown menu: Utilities>  Disk Utility> run the First Aid on your Macintosh HD (and the "Macintosh HD-Data" volume as well if Catalina/Big Sur/Monterey) If errors are found and repaired, run again until no errors reported.


Disk Utility>View>Show All Devices The best sequence is —

• Volume level

• Container level

• Parent drive



Recovery (both M1 and Intel) — How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support




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2 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Apr 2, 2022 4:35 PM in response to zaldar

zaldar wrote:

I have a Mac mini (M1, 2020) running MacOS Monterey. Suddenly today the Finder seems locked. I am asked for my password to delete a file. Dragging a file defaults to copy rather than move. I updated to macOS 12.3.1 but the problem remains. Any ideas and suggestions? Thank you.



Boot into Internet Recovery (Option Command R) and from the dropdown menu: Utilities>  Disk Utility> run the First Aid on your Macintosh HD (and the "Macintosh HD-Data" volume as well if Catalina/Big Sur/Monterey) If errors are found and repaired, run again until no errors reported.


Disk Utility>View>Show All Devices The best sequence is —

• Volume level

• Container level

• Parent drive



Recovery (both M1 and Intel) — How to reinstall macOS - Apple Support




Apr 4, 2022 2:55 PM in response to leroydouglas

Thanks for your response. Although I had previously restarted without improvement, the problem was gone this morning when I signed in! I did run the Disk Utility First Aid anyway, though I did have to use a different method (keeping the power button down while starting) to get to that Option on my Apple Silicon. That indicated no problems found with HD or HD-Data. No clear explanation why the problem occurred in the first place, but I am glad it has resolved.

Finder files suddenly locked

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