External Hard Drives Changing Permissions to Read Only

Dear all,
I have the same problem. My user profile is stating I have read & write privileges, but 'custom access'. I have changed the staff and everyone access to 'write only' (drop box). If I hook my MSI external drive, it still states at sharing & permissions: you can only read in grey (not changeable). Any further tips on how to change this?
Thanks,
Maaike

ps I am not sure where to check whether I am registered as the owner etc. Any tips?

ps tried the terminal thingie, but somehow I am not able to type a password - not by writing, not by copying externally, not by copying from terminal itself. Any clue?

In disk utility I had a look. I cannot verify or set permission (greyed out). The data coming back from info. How can I change this??
Name : FUJITSU MHZ2320BH G1 Media
Type : Disk

Partition Map Scheme : Master Boot Record
Disk Identifier : disk2
Media Name : FUJITSU MHZ2320BH G1 Media
Media Type : Generic
Connection Bus : USB
USB Serial Number : 560A48A291F9
Device Tree : /PCI0/EHC1@1D,7/@3:0
Writable : Yes
Ejectable : Yes
Mac OS 9 Drivers Installed : No
Location : External
Total Capacity : 298,1 GB (320.072.933.376 Bytes)
S.M.A.R.T. Status : Not Supported
Disk Number : 2
Partition Number : 0


Name : NieuwVolume
Type : Volume

Disk Identifier : disk2s1
Mount Point : /Volumes/NieuwVolume
File System : Windows NT File System (NTFS)
Connection Bus : USB
Device Tree : /PCI0/EHC1@1D,7/@3:1
Writable : No
Universal Unique Identifier : C7B58C48-D6BC-4078-9DAE-CB125901A4D6
Capacity : 298,1 GB (320.070.288.384 Bytes)
Free Space : 127,1 GB (136.438.530.048 Bytes)
Used : 171,0 GB (183.631.757.312 Bytes)
Number of Files : 85.578
Number of Folders : 0
Owners Enabled : No
Can Turn Owners Off : No
Can Be Formatted : No
Bootable : No
Supports Journaling : No
Journaled : No
Disk Number : 2
Partition Number : 1

That's because the devices are partitioned and formatted for Windows, not OS X. That's why you cannot change anything nor see normal OS X permissions. NTFS volumes are read-only on OS X.

Then I suggest you post a new separate topic because you are poaching another user's topic, and threadjacking is poor etiquette.

If you believe there's a problem with OS X and can document it then file a bug report at Feedback.

We're not here to debate your opinion of whether OS X is the reason you are having a problem when your problem is not well defined or stated.

Since you have not truly identified a problem evidenced with OS X there's nothing to discuss, true or otherwise. Everyone is NOT having a problem like you claim, and so far your description is just an isolated incident.

And, be sure to post a well defined problem and not a rant on what you perceive as a problem with OS X or discussions, etc. You are a first time poster so it would be useful to click on the Help & Terms of Use link in the right sidebar of the page and read the Terms of Use.

Update: I am now running 10.6.6 and the problem still exists.

Kappy, I thought forums were, by definition, a forum of communication, discussion, synergetic, collaborative, etc. I am not hijacking another users post/thread/discussion, I am adding to the discussion with relavent information. I have seen multiple forums with Iomega drives, there is one in this forum with Fujitsu, I am running WD. The problems are all related: drives that worked as read/write now are only readable. By adding such relavent information we can see that a) it is not one type of drive (internal vs. external) b) it is not one brand of drive, and c) it is not an isolated incident since there are multiple users and multiple threads around the internet with the same issue, all within the past 30ish days.

I am sorry if I hurt your feelings with the NTFS, but it does not appear to be a relavent variable as these drives were working prior to the post, and then not working with no changes made by the user(s). My mention of a possible OSX problem only comes from my limited understanding of what may be causing this.

I am not sure if people who comment on this forum feel the urge to sound like an experts just because they happen to contribute to it. All the technical solutions provided here are not going to lead anywhere. I had the same problem, my Toshiba 1TB and Hitachi 2TB external hard disks became read only all of a sudden. They were both formatted for PC and I had used them to save data from my Mac onto them and access them. This change from read/write to read only happened somewhere around the middle of January. I am convinced this is a Mac OSx issue.

I am an Apple newbie and tried the following and it worked like a dream. I got read and write back on. Of course because of the large hard disk size it took time.
Step 1 - Found disk utility through Spotlight
Step 2 - Clicked on the Disk I was trying to fix.
Step 3 - on the Bottom Right hand side there is an option called Verify Disk.
Step 4 - Make sure the external HD is connected directly into the USB not through a hub.
Step 5 - After a long verifying process, both my externals became read/write!

Please do NOT use any other option on disk utility or you could lose data. Just use the "Verify Disk" in disk utility.

I am sorry I seem to have upset you by my response! However, your abuse is completely uncalled for and I am afraid I will have to report you for the abuse. You have also been abusive and bullying to another person on the discussion board.

My solution worked for me and it is a pity all your four or so posts were - how should I put it - less than helpful.

Kappy

I've had this problem show up since day before yesterday.
My info permissions show:

system=custom
admin =custom
everyone=custom

I can click on the custom and then the “read & write” but the read and write
does not hold. It pops right back to the custom. I followed your suggestions above
for using the terminal but was not authorized per the messages given.
I've looked around the net but your comments are the most specific to the problem.
I hope a fix/correction can be found as I want to do a backup, then format, new install
and read the ext drive to get the names of some of my apps so I can re-install them.

iMac 27" - OS 10.6
Seagate FreeAgent Goflex ext drive

TIA
Ron

Is this on a drive, folder, or file? If it's a drive then do this:

Select the drive's Desktop icon. Press COMMAND-I to open the Get Info window. At the bottom look for a checkbox labeled, "Ignore permissions on this volume." If it is checked then click on the lock icon and authenticate. Uncheck the box. Leave the window open.

Open the Terminal application in your Utilities folder. At the prompt enter:

sudo chown root:admin

Put a space after "admin" then drag the drive's Desktop icon into the Terminal window. Press RETURN. Enter your admin password when prompted. It will not be echoed.

killall Finder

Press RETURN.

This should fix the issue. Re-open the Get Info window for the drive to verify.

If this drive is a startup volume, then I suggest doing the following:

Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions

Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer. Now restart normally.

If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.

I get a message "operation not permitted" after dragging the ext hd icon over and typing my password. I have tried the repair disk but not with the OS installer disc. I'll see how that works out.

TIA
Ron

Did you check the status of the "Ignore permissions ... " checkbox? It must be unchecked.

Repairing probably won't help any since DU does not fix a drive's privileges. If all else fails then you can follow the instruction here: Fix No Access Permissions on HD.

Struck out again. Sorry, I should have mentioned in first post that it is a permissions problem.
The go to kept giving me a "folder not found" when using the suggested inputs.
The ignore permissions box is unchecked.

Thanks
Ron