issues copying final cut library

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issues copying final cut library

I'm having issues copying a FCX library from one external drive to another. I take the usual steps but when I open the new copy library I get a message that says "some storage locations for the library are unavailable" and I'm unable to access the video in the library on this drive. I've never had this issue before and I've used both of these hard drives before for the same task without any issues. this should be a simple drag and drop to copy procedure but it's not working. I've also tried copying on to a different drive but still the same problem. Can someone please help me?

MacBook Pro 15″, OS X 10.11

Posted on Sep 15, 2023 5:58 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

W. Raider

Level 3

797 points

Sep 15, 2023 8:30 AM in response to Tom Wolsky

Format storage devices for Final Cut Pro, Motion, and Compressor - Apple Support

"Storage devices sold pre-formatted with a format such as FAT32 might not perform as expected with Final Cut Pro, Motion, or Compressor."

Which means that the drive can get instantly corrupted. It's standard practice for me now to check the format of a client's drive, tell them it's ExFAT, tell them I'm going to copy it all off, format the drive to APFS, and copy it all back. One client refuses to allow me to do this so I have a separate set of drives just for them I copy to, edit on, then copy back to their ExFAT drive and warn them every time.

I tend to use APFS for most drives now because I read this: File system formats available in Disk Utility on Mac - Apple Support

"While APFS is optimized for the Flash/SSD storage used in recent Mac computers, it can also be used with older systems with traditional hard disk drives (HDD) and external, direct-attached storage."

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Answer 2

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

152,825 points

Sep 15, 2023 6:03 AM in response to HelpThisFool

What is the assigned storage location of the original library? If it’s on drive A and you copy the library to drive B. When you unmount A the assigned location is no longer available. Check the storage location for each library in library properties.

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Answer 3

Sep 15, 2023 6:49 AM in response to HelpThisFool

Since the assigned location is inside the library this should not be a problem.

Does Final Cut Pro have “Full Disk Access” in System Settings->Privacy & Security? It must. If it doesn’t that would explain why you are having trouble accessing the library on either drive.

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Answer 4

Sep 15, 2023 7:32 AM in response to HelpThisFool

How are the drives formatted? They should be APFS for SSD drives and MacOS Extended for traditional hard drives.

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Answer 5

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

152,825 points

Sep 15, 2023 8:20 AM in response to HelpThisFool

You should not use ExFAT for FCP, especially FCP libraries. Drives need to be formatted as Luis described. You really need to clear off the drives and reformat them before something gets corrupted.

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Answer 6

Sep 17, 2023 9:27 AM in response to HelpThisFool

The partition map of the drive is set to Master Boot Record.In order to use APFS you need use GUID Partition Map instead.

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Answer 7

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

152,825 points

Sep 17, 2023 6:38 AM in response to HelpThisFool

How is the drive formatted now? Format to MacOS Extended and then try to format it again.

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Answer 8

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

152,825 points

Sep 15, 2023 7:06 AM in response to HelpThisFool

What do you see in the library on drive B?

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Answer 9

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

152,825 points

Sep 17, 2023 7:18 AM in response to HelpThisFool

Try selecting the drive rather than the Denver volume.

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Answer 10

HelpThisFool Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 15, 2023 6:34 AM in response to Tom Wolsky

Thank you for your response Tom much appreciated. I've attached a screen shot that shows the assigned locations on drive A (the original library). Can you please tell me what I should change them too?

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Answer 11

HelpThisFool Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 15, 2023 12:23 PM in response to W. Raider

Thank you Tom, Luis and W. Raider. I will do as you suggest. I'm in Asia so it's getting late here but I will reformat the drives in the morning. Thank you again for taking the time to give your input on this issue.

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Answer 12

HelpThisFool Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 17, 2023 6:32 AM in response to HelpThisFool

Can anyone please explain to me why I'm unable to format my Samsung T7 ssd to APFS? When I go into disk utility the only options I'm shown are MAC-OS, MS-DOS and ExFat. My operating system is Catalina 10.15.7 so I should be ok to use APFS. I've attached two screen shots (disk utility and about this mac) that show what I'm seeing.to show what I'm seeing.

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Answer 13

HelpThisFool Author

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4 points

Sep 17, 2023 7:16 AM in response to Tom Wolsky

I formatted it to MACOS extended and then went to see if I could format another time but this time using APFS but it still doesn't give me that option. Is it ok for me to use this Samsung T7 ssd in MACOS extended format?

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Answer 14

HelpThisFool Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 17, 2023 9:19 AM in response to Tom Wolsky

If you mean select "Samsung" instead of "Denver," I've tried that also but it still only gives me the same options (again I formatted it to MACOS earlier hoping I could then reformat to APFS but it's not giving me an APFS option).

I've attached a screenshot of what disk utility shows me now. Any suggestions on what I can do?

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Answer 15

HelpThisFool Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 15, 2023 6:59 AM in response to Luis Sequeira1

Thank you for your response. I've attached a screenshot. Looks like it does have full disk access so the problem must be something else.

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issues copying final cut library

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