Can not access folder with red circle, white minus symbol

Question

Can not access folder with red circle, white minus symbol

My hard drive started to crash, so i booted in recovery mode. I tried to reinstall operating system. I came back in the morning and booted up Mac Mini (year 2012). It took about 10 minutes and would crash. This happened repeatedly. I tried disk utility to repair and it said i was unable to repair, so i installed software on a sd card. i am able to now move my files from the original HD to an external drive.I can log into my files and move them, but the folders under my wife account all show a red dot with a minus symbol. i used my admin account to open the sharing and permission and unlock. the only name listed is everyone and i can not click the ad or minus or wheel symbol. they are greyed out. I need help to move her photos file. please help or give suggestions. thanks so much. Todd

Mac mini, OS X El Capitan (10.11.2)

Posted on Jan 14, 2016 9:43 PM

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Answer 1

jjkont

Level 1

0 points

Jan 22, 2016 7:52 AM in response to pleasehelpTodd

I fixed this problem this morning. Random folders on an external drive were listed as inaccessible. Repairing disks or permissions did nothing. I believe the problem occurred when I did not pay close attention to short names and that stuff.

Pick a folder a level above the problem folder and GetInfo. Go to the bottom and unlock it. Change everything you want to Read and Wright and apply it to all the enclosed items. Save it and the dreaded red spot should be gone.

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Answer 2

MrHoffman

Level 10

146,485 points

Jan 22, 2016 7:57 AM in response to pleasehelpTodd

I'd wonder if your disk is failing. Keep current backups, and preferably with multiple copies kept available — this on the off chance that files that you need become corrupted, but the corruptions don't get noticed until later.

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