Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Can't move files - The operation can’t be completed because the item is in use.

Hi everyone,


I'm trying to move some files off an external hard drive to my macbook pro. These are mostly video files.


However, there's a handful of files which are causing the following error:


"The operation can’t be completed because the item “XXX” is in use."


I've no idea what's wrong but would appriaicte some help. All the previous threads I can find with the same error are related to moving items to the trash and I actually followed some of the advice (shutting down etc) but it still didn't help.


Thanks anyone and everyone for the assistance.


James

Mac OS X (10.4.11)

Posted on May 11, 2014 12:09 PM

Reply
Question marked as Best reply

Posted on May 14, 2014 10:15 AM

this is a problem that's become a huge issue for a great many people since Apple's launch of Mavericks. I have huge problems trying to transfer files to a networked NAS drive. It would seemlessly for the past 3 years, but since Mavericks, I always get this stupid error. The above advice is completely useless. I've spent hours researching this with many workarounds touted, but none of which provide a solution.


Trying to transfer files now means that I have to do each file seperately, sometimes 10+ times to get it to actually complete copying. If you copy multiple files and one is "in use", the system then deletes all the others.


Apple.... good, until it's complete rubbish.

52 replies
Question marked as Best reply

May 14, 2014 10:15 AM in response to WZZZ

this is a problem that's become a huge issue for a great many people since Apple's launch of Mavericks. I have huge problems trying to transfer files to a networked NAS drive. It would seemlessly for the past 3 years, but since Mavericks, I always get this stupid error. The above advice is completely useless. I've spent hours researching this with many workarounds touted, but none of which provide a solution.


Trying to transfer files now means that I have to do each file seperately, sometimes 10+ times to get it to actually complete copying. If you copy multiple files and one is "in use", the system then deletes all the others.


Apple.... good, until it's complete rubbish.

May 8, 2015 10:25 AM in response to TruthSkunk

After a week of using "cp" on the command line, I'm confident in saying this is a viable work-around. No issues whatsoever using "cp" with single or multiple files.


This is obviously a Finder issue and has nothing to do with the ability to actually copy files.

It could be related to the hidden files that AFS is dead set on putting everywhere it can. That might explain why you can copy using Finder sometimes and you can't other times (timing of the reading/writing of those hidden files???) - but I can't be sure about that.


I disabled creating the .DS_Store files (using "

defaults write com.apple.desktopservices DSDontWriteNetworkStores true"
) but that did not prevent the issue. I also turned on Blue Parrot (which tries to do the same thing) but that made no difference either (nor did killing that process).


For me, the issue only occurs when using Finder to copy large files from my local hard drive to a network drive - those that take long enough to copy that the progress bar appears. I never get the error when copying small files or even large groups of small files. I don't get the error when copying large files locally. I don't get the error when copying large files from a network drive to my local hard drive.


For now - I'll use "cp" to copy large files to a network drive.


C'mon Apple - fix this! It's been around for a couple major OS upgrades already!

Aug 23, 2015 12:35 PM in response to Mr_Rodacre

Same problems copying mp4 files here. C'mon Apple, fix the **** problem! My ridiculous solution (which by the way works 100% of the time) is to use my Windows 7 PC, which has ethernet (home network) access to both the hard drive on my MacBook Pro and my NAS network drive, to copy the video mp4 files from one device to the other. Seriously, this is a problem that APPLE should fix immediately.

Sep 3, 2014 2:23 PM in response to elleyh

And it's a huge problem being completely ignored by Apple...guess they're all too busy writing crappy code for icloud so they can participate in "the fappening."


Two insanely frustrating nine hour days to transfer 500 small .psd files...great job Apple. To whom shall I send my bill for carpal tunnel syndrome?

Nov 7, 2014 8:30 AM in response to johnny van rocker

Have you checked permissions for those files? When you select them and press Command-I (that's the letter "i"), then expand the Sharing and Permissions section, does it say you (the user) can read-write those files? If not, click on the lock under that section, enter your admin password, and grant yourself read-write rights, then close the info window and try to move / copy-paste them again.

Nov 7, 2014 10:00 AM in response to johnny van rocker

When you try to move them in Terminal, does it work?


Open Terminal, then type "mv" (no quotes) or "cp" (ditto) after the prompt, then drag-drop the file you want to move (mv) or copy (cp) onto the Terminal window, then drag-drop the icon of the folder or drive* you want to copy or move the file to, then press Enter.


Just try with one file, at first. If you get a message saying the operation couldn't be completed, add "sudo" (no quotes) in front of "cp" or "mv", and enter your admin password when asked to (the letters and digits won't show), then press Enter again.


* For the whole drive, go to Volumes in the Finder. For a folder or directory in the NAS drive, navigate to it in the Finder, then drag-drop the folder onto Terminal.

Can't move files - The operation can’t be completed because the item is in use.

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple ID.