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What does "The drive has the wrong case sensitivity for a backup" mean?

Trying to change backup drives but can't copy backup files from the old drive to the new due to the stated error message. I reformatted the new Seagate drive as Mac OS extended (with journaling) but still am getting this error message. What can I do?

Posted on Jul 15, 2014 7:21 PM

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Posted on Jul 15, 2014 7:26 PM

You're trying to copy a case-sensitive volume to a case-insensitive one. You don't say what kind of backups these are. If they're Time Machine backups, see below.

Although the documentation says you can copy Time Machine backups in the Finder, it's very slow and sometimes doesn't work at all.

This technique will only work if the volume you're copying to is the same size, or larger than, the one you're copying from.
First, open the Time Machine preference pane and click the Options button. You may have to unlock the settings first by clicking the padlock icon in the lower left corner of the window. Authenticate as an administrator.

Delete the volume you're going to copy from the list of backup destinations. Then turn Time Machine OFF.

Launch Disk Utility, open the built-in help, and search for the term "Duplicate." Follow the instructions. All existing data on the destination volume will be erased. That shouldn't be a problem, because you don't want to mix backup and non-backup data on the same drive anyway.

In the Time Machine preference pane, turn it back ON and select the new volume as a backup destination. You can also continue to use the old volume, if you wish. The two will be alternated when both are available.

CAUTION: If the volume you're copying is corrupt, as shown by Repair Disk or Verify Disk in Disk Utility, then that corruption will be copied to the new drive. Don't copy data from a corrupt volume on a malfunctioning drive. Put the drive aside and don't use it until you're sure you'll no longer need the data. Then securely erase it and take it to a recycling center. Do the same if the Restore operation fails with "disk errors."

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Question marked as Best reply

Jul 15, 2014 7:26 PM in response to robh53

You're trying to copy a case-sensitive volume to a case-insensitive one. You don't say what kind of backups these are. If they're Time Machine backups, see below.

Although the documentation says you can copy Time Machine backups in the Finder, it's very slow and sometimes doesn't work at all.

This technique will only work if the volume you're copying to is the same size, or larger than, the one you're copying from.
First, open the Time Machine preference pane and click the Options button. You may have to unlock the settings first by clicking the padlock icon in the lower left corner of the window. Authenticate as an administrator.

Delete the volume you're going to copy from the list of backup destinations. Then turn Time Machine OFF.

Launch Disk Utility, open the built-in help, and search for the term "Duplicate." Follow the instructions. All existing data on the destination volume will be erased. That shouldn't be a problem, because you don't want to mix backup and non-backup data on the same drive anyway.

In the Time Machine preference pane, turn it back ON and select the new volume as a backup destination. You can also continue to use the old volume, if you wish. The two will be alternated when both are available.

CAUTION: If the volume you're copying is corrupt, as shown by Repair Disk or Verify Disk in Disk Utility, then that corruption will be copied to the new drive. Don't copy data from a corrupt volume on a malfunctioning drive. Put the drive aside and don't use it until you're sure you'll no longer need the data. Then securely erase it and take it to a recycling center. Do the same if the Restore operation fails with "disk errors."

What does "The drive has the wrong case sensitivity for a backup" mean?

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