mickeywright
Level 1 (8 points)
Notebooks

Q: Why suddenly can I not save my Numbers/Excel files because "Read-only file system"?

on files I've used for years I'm now getting message that it can't be saved..."Read-only file system".

Numbers, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Jul 2, 2013 8:58 AM

by Barry Fass-Holmes,Solvedanswer
Barry Fass-Holmes Barry Fass-Holmes
Level 6 (11,909 points)
A:

If the permission is "Read Only," then you can change it as explained here.

 

Alternatively, can you save the problem files (from Numbers) to a USB pen drive, then copy the saved files from the pen drtive to your Mac and check the permissions?

 

If the permissions are correct after copying from the pen drive to your Mac, then reinstalling probably will not solve the problem.

 

HTH.

Posted on Jul 2, 2013 11:51 AM

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mickeywright

Q: Why suddenly can I not save my Numbers/Excel files because "Read-only file system"?

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  • by mickeywright,

    mickeywright mickeywright Jul 3, 2013 2:17 PM in response to Yellowbox
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Notebooks
    Jul 3, 2013 2:17 PM in response to Yellowbox

    Thanks Yellowbox: Makes sense. I didn't realize writing directly to the pendrive would possibly harm it. For now at least, I have no choice but to save on the main drive and then store it on the pendrive.

     

    Barry: The Get Info window only says "You can only read". I bought the pen drive at BestBuy...it's a 64 Gb by PNY and I assume it was formatted for OS X, but don't really remember for sure. Is there a way to find out?

  • by Jerrold Green1,

    Jerrold Green1 Jerrold Green1 Jul 3, 2013 3:26 PM in response to mickeywright
    Level 7 (30,001 points)
    Jul 3, 2013 3:26 PM in response to mickeywright

    Mick,

     

    Launch Disk Utility. It's in the Utility folder in Applications.

     

    Select the USB drive and then examine the statistics at the bottom of the window. The Format is listed on the second line.

     

    Jerry

  • by mickeywright,

    mickeywright mickeywright Jul 3, 2013 3:32 PM in response to Jerrold Green1
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Notebooks
    Jul 3, 2013 3:32 PM in response to Jerrold Green1

    MS-DOS (FAT32)

  • by Barry Fass-Holmes,

    Barry Fass-Holmes Barry Fass-Holmes Jul 3, 2013 3:35 PM in response to mickeywright
    Level 6 (11,909 points)
    Jul 3, 2013 3:35 PM in response to mickeywright

    Yes, you need to change the permissions from "Read only" to "Read and write" for your user account.

     

    Instructions are included here and here.

     

    Yes, the Get Info window's Format line indicates whether it is MS-DOS FAT 32 or Mac OS Extended.Get Info format line.png

     

    Hope this helps.

  • by mickeywright,

    mickeywright mickeywright Jul 3, 2013 3:36 PM in response to Jerrold Green1
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Notebooks
    Jul 3, 2013 3:36 PM in response to Jerrold Green1

    I used the utility earlier to scan the pen drive and it said it needed to be repaired but there is no way to repair it.

  • by Barry Fass-Holmes,Helpful

    Barry Fass-Holmes Barry Fass-Holmes Jul 3, 2013 3:38 PM in response to mickeywright
    Level 6 (11,909 points)
    Jul 3, 2013 3:38 PM in response to mickeywright

    Great, now we know that it is formatted for Windows.

     

    Can you copy all of the files from the pen drive to your Mac's hard drive?

     

    If so, then use Disk Utility to format the pen drive for Macintosh following the instructions here.

  • by mickeywright,

    mickeywright mickeywright Jul 3, 2013 4:51 PM in response to Barry Fass-Holmes
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Notebooks
    Jul 3, 2013 4:51 PM in response to Barry Fass-Holmes

    Will do! Thank you so much! And I guess, next time I buy or use a pen drive, make sure it is formatted for Mac...or format it for Mac before putting stuff on it. Right? Thank you, thank you! I'm sure this will do the trick!

  • by Jerrold Green1,

    Jerrold Green1 Jerrold Green1 Jul 3, 2013 6:32 PM in response to mickeywright
    Level 7 (30,001 points)
    Jul 3, 2013 6:32 PM in response to mickeywright

    Micky,

     

    Any new drive will be formatted for Windows. Just Reformat for OSX before you use it.

     

    Jerry

  • by Yellowbox,

    Yellowbox Yellowbox Jul 3, 2013 7:42 PM in response to Jerrold Green1
    Level 6 (10,535 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 3, 2013 7:42 PM in response to Jerrold Green1

    Hi Jerry,

     

    That's funny. All my USB sticks are either MS-DOS (FAT 32) or MS-DOS (FAT 16) yet I have Read/Write access. I use them to transfer documents between Mac and Windows.

     

    Regards,

    Ian.

  • by mickeywright,

    mickeywright mickeywright Jul 3, 2013 11:35 PM in response to mickeywright
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Notebooks
    Jul 3, 2013 11:35 PM in response to mickeywright

    Well...didn't go as well as I expected.

     

    I transferred all the files I could to my hard disk, and opened the disk utility and followed the directions you provided, Barry. Unfortunately, everything on the ERASE panel is ghosted out except for the instructions.

     

    FYI: On the FIRST AID panel the only option that is not ghosted out is the VERIFY DISK option. When I run that option I am told: "This disk needs to be repaired. Click Repair Disk." But Repair Disk is ghosted out.

     

    On the PARTITION panel it says: "This partition can not be modified."...and..."This disk is not writable and can not be partitioned."

     

    The RAID panel appears to be useable (not ghosted out), but I have no idea what it is or does.

     

    Yellowbox mentioned he has USB drives that sound similar to this one. Do you think I got one that corrupted big time, or do you think I got a great deal because of design inferiority. Thanks for all your help. Sorry this has gone from frustration to frustration. :>(

  • by Yellowbox,

    Yellowbox Yellowbox Jul 4, 2013 1:32 AM in response to mickeywright
    Level 6 (10,535 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 4, 2013 1:32 AM in response to mickeywright

    Hi Mickey,

     

    Yellowbox mentioned he has USB drives that sound similar to this one

     

    They have various names: flash drive, thumb stick, USB stick, USB memory stick, pen drive...

     

    Here is a pic (from the link I gave to Wikipedia) to help us all sing from the same song sheet:

     

    Screen Shot 2013-07-04 at 6.23.55 PM.png

     

    That flash drive has a switch to turn write access on or off. Does yours have such a switch? Could it have been accidentally set to off?

     

    If that does not solve your problem, it sounds like your USB pen drive is on its way out. Time to buy a new one.

     

    Regards,

    Ian.

  • by Jerrold Green1,

    Jerrold Green1 Jerrold Green1 Jul 4, 2013 7:02 AM in response to mickeywright
    Level 7 (30,001 points)
    Jul 4, 2013 7:02 AM in response to mickeywright

    Mickey,

     

    Does your external drive have a little "write protect" switch? Maybe it got switched. I've noticed that this switch on older drives may need to be exercised from time to time, even if in the proper position.

     

    Jerry

  • by Barry Fass-Holmes,

    Barry Fass-Holmes Barry Fass-Holmes Jul 5, 2013 7:41 AM in response to mickeywright
    Level 6 (11,909 points)
    Jul 5, 2013 7:41 AM in response to mickeywright

    Hi Mickey,

     

    Again, have you used the Get Info window to change the USB pen drive's permissions?

     

    The situation you described most likely is because you currently do not have write permissions.

     

    Here is the link again to Apple's knowledgebase article with instructions on how to change the permissions.

     

    Here is the link to another article which is illustrated.

     

    Until you try doing this, the pen drive will not be repairable and will not be formatable.

     

    Barry

  • by Barry Fass-Holmes,

    Barry Fass-Holmes Barry Fass-Holmes Jul 5, 2013 7:42 AM in response to Jerrold Green1
    Level 6 (11,909 points)
    Jul 5, 2013 7:42 AM in response to Jerrold Green1

    Hi Jerry,

     

    I think Mickey stated in a reply posting above that the pen drive lacks a write protect switch.

     

    Barry

  • by mickeywright,

    mickeywright mickeywright Jul 5, 2013 10:14 AM in response to Barry Fass-Holmes
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Notebooks
    Jul 5, 2013 10:14 AM in response to Barry Fass-Holmes

    Yes. I must not have also made it clear that I have tried using the Get Info window to change the USB pen drive's permissions...under First Aid (where Permissions is) everything is ghosted out except the VERIFY DISK option (I ran that and it said the disk needed to be repaired but the option to repair it is ghosted out).

     

    Interestingly, I just now went to the BestBuy website to see if I could find a picture of the drive, and while there I read some of the reviews. Here is one from a guy that evidently ran into the same thing I did...

     

    "What's great about it: Lots of Capacity at a relatively low price per GB.

    What's not so great: Unilaterally changes to Read Only

     

    I used this drive to back up critical files for a research project involving audio and video files gathered from the internet or on location.

     

    I liked the idea of having more than enough space to store files for transfer between a laptop used for field research and a more powerful desktop used for compiling the final report.

     

    At a point after six months using the drive to store the research, I forgot to remove the drive from my desktop computer at shutdown.

     

    The next time I started the computer, the drive was locked in a read only mode, meaning I couldn't edit the files on the drive or add new information from the field.

     

    Lots of information is available on how to correct the "PNY Read Only" problem, except none worked.

     

    I even researched how to unlock the "computer administrator" login for Windows 7 thinking I could supersede mere "user" permissions assigned to the format and used to create the files.

     

    Turns out PNY was it's own "administrator."

     

    I've sent the PNY, my $39.95 plus tax, my last research update, and the PNY "permissions" to computer recycle heaven, where hopefully a better manufacturer will change the matter molecules into something more universally useful."

     

     

    I didn't dream I'd need a receipt for a pen drive so I didn't keep it...but I did find the transaction on my bank statement, so it sounds like I need to take it back to BestBuy and hopefully they will work with me and at least exchange it...although I definitely will not count on it as an exclusive backup again.

     

    Also, I am attaching a picture of the "PNY 64 Gb" in question (below). Thanks again, Mickey

     

    PNY 64Gb flashdrive.jpg

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