Many users store their important files or data in the Mac external hard drive. Just imagine a situation, if you will connect your drive with the Mac PC and suddenly it starts to display Read Only Error. Even more, it also stops you from copying new files and delete any data then what will you do? Definitely, it is quite an annoying situation which nobody wants to face. Recently, many users has detected such issues in their PC. If you are one of them then you need to follow the article given below to fix the error permanently.
External hard drive is a portable device which is used by several Mac users. It comes with high storage capacity which allows the users to save various types of files, documents, photos, videos, audio files etc to keep them safe for long time. The best part of the external drive is that you can carry it anywhere and connect to any system according to the requirement. However, many user noticed Read Only error when they connect their drive in the system and attempt to access the saved files. Even more, it will stop you from copying new files in the drive or delete its files. Many users also detects that the saved data of the drive gets erased when they try to troubleshoot the error.
If you are continuously getting the error then you can verify the status by following the steps which are given below:-
Connect the external drive with your Mac PC.
You need to right click on the drive name from the Desktop.
From the menu, you need to choose “Get Info” option
Verify the file system format of the external drive.
Scroll down to the bottom where it shows “You can only read” or “you can read and write'.
If you have detected “read only” status then you need to know that you will neither be able to write any file in the external drive nor copy its saved contents. In such a case, you will face data loss situation which is completely an annoying situation.
You need to know such errors occurs on the screen due to lots of factors. Some of the common reasons has been mentioned below:-
Incorrect File System: If you are using NTFS file format in your Mac drive then Mac operating system will refer it as read-only format because NTFS is the default format of Windows opertaing system which is unreadable by Mac device.
Permission Problem: If the external hard drive does not give permission then Mac OS will not be able to recognize the files. In such a case, you will not be able to access any of the files.
Formatting of the drive problem: If you have not formatted your hard drive properly then it is possible that Mac OS will mount the drive but does not allow the users to write any new data on it.
If you are using NTFS format in the Mac external drive then you need to format it and change the default file format in order to make it compatible with the Mac operating system. Follow the steps which are given below:-
Open the Finder and select Applications option. Now, you need to click on Utilities and select Disk Utility.
Detect and select the name of the external hard drive from the right pane and click on the Erase Tab.
A dialog box will appear, you need to type the name of the formatting drive.
In the format option, you need to select APFS or Mac OS Extended option.
Click on the Format option to begin the process.
If the external hard drive has permission settings then you need to ignore the ownership in order to fix the Read only error. To complete the task, you can follow the given steps:-
From the Finder, right click on the external drive name and select “Get Info” from the context menu.
Go to “Sharing & Permissions” and select lock icon.
It will ask you to enter the admin password.
Now, check “Ignore ownership on this volume” option to fix the Read only error.
If your external hard drive is showing error due to formatting issue then you are suggested to repair the drive by following the given steps:-
Open Finder → Applications. Now, click on Utilities → Disk Utility.
Select the external drive and click on First Aid tab.
Click on Run option. After successful process, it is display OL. Then you should click on Show Details option. If the report is “The underlying task reported failure” then the error is not fixed and you need to repair the drive again.
Due to Read-only error, it might be possible that you will lose all the data of the drive. If you don't want to lose your important data then you need to make use of Mac Data Recovery Software. It is an advanced tool which has been designed by the technical experts. It has capability to perform deep scanning and recover all the data or files from the drive or Mac PC immediately. The best part of the software is that it will never compromise with the actual data and recovers in its original format. It also supports user-friendly interface which will help the non-technical users to handle the tool effectively. So, what are you looking, download the tool as early as possible.
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