attempting to copy to the disk failed. an unknown error occurred (-54) external drive

Question

attempting to copy to the disk failed. an unknown error occurred (-54) external drive

Starting this morning, I get this error when I sync my iPhone:

Attempting to copy to the disk 'Media' failed. an unknown error occurred (-54)

My iTunes media is stored on an external drive (called 'Media'). I have tried:

repairing disk permissions
repairing the disk 'Media' using Disk Utility
restarting the computer
doing a hard reset on my iPhone

There seem to be a lot of threads discussing this particular error, but I haven't seen any solutions that work for me. Has anyone else had this problem and solved it?

Thanks!

iPhone 6, iOS 9.0.2

Posted on Oct 17, 2015 8:03 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Limnos

Level 10

411,073 points

Oct 18, 2015 3:07 PM in response to Daniel Lovall

== Error -54 ==

From an OS9 reference, error -54 is a software lock on a file or a permissions error. (Although there is no formal list of OSX error code some of the old codes still apply to OSX .)

First, try simply restarting your computer.

Try quitting iTunes, then deleting the .xml (not .itl !) version of the library file in the iTunes folder (iTunes will generate a new one).

iTunes Library cannot be saved (Error -54) - https://discussions.apple.com/thread/1912814 - various things to try.

Unknown error (-54) while syncing ipod - https://discussions.apple.com/thread/1082953 - problem was locked files

Why does iTunes keep showing a -54 error when I sync my iPad? - https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3727114

Error -54 possibly related to Touch Copy - https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3727114 - cleared by deleting preferences on iPad.

iTunes: Missing folder or incorrect permissions may prevent authorization - http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1277

Troubleshooting permissions issues in Mac OS X - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2963

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Answer 2

Oct 17, 2015 9:40 PM in response to Limnos

Thanks for your reply. I have tried all of those things including deleting the xml file. None worked.

The iTunes media are stored on an external drive, which does not support permissions. I have used this setup without issue until this morning. do you have any other ideas to try?

thanks!

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Answer 3

Oct 18, 2015 3:15 PM in response to Daniel Lovall

Found the solution here: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7248947?answerId=29000141022#29000141022

'msg-' response: I repaired disc permissions, did a SAFE reboot, shutdown and restarted my computer normally. I shut down then restarted the iPhone 6c, plugged it back into the computer and it seems to have cleared up the problem.

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