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EJW Tas Author

Level 1

62 points

Error message "The operation can't be completed because an item with the name .DS_Store already exists"

Major headaches with copying files and folders between drives. I constantly (and I mean constantly) have to resort to copying files across in small batches (fewer than 10 works best) because anytime I try to copy lots of files and folders from my mac to an external hard drive (or from one external HD to a second external HD), I ALWAYS get the error message "The operation can't be completed because an item with the name .DS_Store already exists".

The files and folders are all Mac-generated, so hint or trace of foreign OSs in the mix.
All file types are susceptible
the HDs are all Mac OS X formatted, no foreign file formats involved
the HDs are all journal-enabled, OS X extended formats

have looked on here for previous posts, past suggestion was to disable creation of DS_Store files - not really a solution and realistically, defeats the purpose of their creation

any ideas anyone?

would appreciate any thoughts or sugestions, this has got me beat

the context is that I have a lot of image files that I am copying (trying to...) new external 3TB drives for backup and the job appears endless if I have to do this in batches of 10 or so..!

many thanks for any suggestions

MacBook Air, OS X Mountain Lion, (mid-2012) 8GB RAM

Posted on Nov 13, 2012 10:53 PM

25 replies

Feb 11, 2016 5:44 AM in response to EJW Tas

Late 2011 iMac running 10.11.3 El Capitan. I agree that the Finder copy bug is alive and well. I purchased an external drive to copy my media files from my NAS to take to work. It's a 1.5 TB Folder with 40,000 files and I get the can't copy because such and such file already exists, including the .DS_Store one from time to time. I'll try the Terminal cp-r or rf tonight when i get home. So frustruating, particularly when using slow, non-thunderbolt drives with files of this magnitude.

Apr 22, 2016 1:33 PM in response to EJW Tas

I had the same problem

I was able to copy using the terminal command .

disabling DiskUnmountWatcher through activity monitor worked briefly as well but not permanently.

Another solution that I found is copying through network !! I copied files through another macbook over network it works fine but works with the network speed which in my case was extremely slow

Vexatia

Level 1

0 points

Dec 2, 2014 4:55 PM in response to EJW Tas

This post by themarcolv helped me. Disable "DiskUnmountWatcher" in Activity Monitor, ftw. Not sure what "DiskUnmountWatcher" does, so try at your own peril.

fotogs

Level 1

7 points

Jan 3, 2013 7:40 AM in response to EJW Tas

Have you gotten any info on solving this? I have the exact same problem. Trying for days to copy one 3TB drive to another.

Thanks

Jan 20, 2014 5:39 AM in response to cyberchucker

Thank you so much for this,

I'm trying to back up a Video Project and

It was giving me that error each time,

Creating a different folder allowed me to

copy files to that drive.

SW4747

Level 1

12 points

Apr 5, 2015 6:29 AM in response to EJW Tas

I've been having the same issue when trying to copy files from a external drive onto a new iMac running Yosemite.

Has anyone reported this to Apple.

Dovey007

Level 1

0 points

Jan 25, 2016 4:24 PM in response to EJW Tas

I need help to because when i go into All My Files a message pops up saying. "The operation can't be completed". Every single time why? it just pops up.

Thats all it says any ideas????

Mar 13, 2016 4:18 AM in response to EJW Tas

Thanks a million. My problem was solved. I used "Carbon Copy Cloner". It was so fast and user friendly. I wish you all the best.

Mar 13, 2016 4:21 AM in response to EJW Tas

Thanks a million. My problem was solved. I used "Carbon Copy Cloner". It was so fast and user friendly. I wish you all the best.

Sep 28, 2016 11:36 AM in response to rotopenguin

This solved my problem. thanks so much!

Error message "The operation can't be completed because an item with the name .DS_Store already exists"