Comments on: Solution to Finder “Error code -36″ in 10.6 when copying folders

By: Tung

Tung — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 04:28:15 +0000

You guys need to see the link below
How to copy files using Terminal:

http://macmost.com/using-terminal-to-copy-files.html

By: jhCanuck

jhCanuck — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 01:29:24 +0000

After about a year of satisfactory transfers (mainly of .avi files) from my Mac Mini to LaCie HD (firewire), two weeks ago i developed the error 36 problem and spent a lot of time online troubleshooting — and applying the advice.
I was on the verge of buying DiscWarrior ($99) which many people recommended (to correct any HD problems) when i came across the advice of someone who said examine all of your cables as a basis step.
I had been running my HD through a firewire hub; while there was nothing apparently loose, i decided to plug the HD directly into the Mini.
From the moment that I did that — and rebooted — my transfers worked once more.

It appears that error 36 can be triggered by a number of things going wrong. I am just reporting, for the record, that adjusting my firewire cables was enough to resolve my problem– whereas i had become convinced that it was a HD problem, or an Apple problem, etc — when it wasn’t.

By: Abdul Mohamed

Abdul Mohamed — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 14:29:59 +0000

thanks alot buddy you saved my ass>>>>>.::

By: David

David — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 14:34:58 +0000

My issue is I am trying to copy Video_TS files. Only two are giving me fits with the 36 Error Code. Since these are on a DVD burned on a Windows PC you can see the dilema. Moving them does not capture the entire file before the error occurs. I am running 10.6.8.

By: Alan Stone

Alan Stone — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 12:19:49 +0000

Oh, and I forgot to mention that I do get the -36 error message at each failed attempt to copy a file.

By: Alan Stone

Alan Stone — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 12:17:07 +0000

I have a Mac Journaled terabyte drive external. I’ve been backing up files to this drive for at least a year or more. All of a sudden SOME (not all) files will not copy from my internal drive to the external drive OR to USB thumb drives. It’s a random issue. Also, TimeMachine has also stopped backing up on the partitioned section of that external. I’m running Mac 10.5.8 on a 4 year-old Macbook. Files are all under 4 gb. Would a “dot_clean” solution be advisable or am I looking at a possible drive failure (internal or external) in my future? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

By: Michael Bovaird

Michael Bovaird — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 01:01:24 +0000

Thanks so much! I have spent DAYS trying to find each stupid little file that caused the copying of files to fail. I’m simply trying to move files from directories on a Windows Server to our awesome new mac mini server! It was a MAJOR PAIN. THANKS!!!!!!!

By: Rudy

Rudy — Fri, 27 May 2011 11:50:48 +0000

Works for me !

Thanks man.

By: informatique Grenoble

informatique Grenoble — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 13:14:53 +0000

This (dot_clean) doesn’t work on mac os 10.6.5 system (MBP).

any solution / tips ?

rsync is an alternative but doesn’t solve this issue …

thanks

Sebastien

By: Matt

Matt — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 12:31:10 +0000

the dot_clean wasn’t working for me. I attempted to zip the files up. It just wasn’t doing anything, no progress. I attempted to rar the files. Still nothing.

But I did find a solution. A solution that goes around those files that it can’t copy. So it will still copy the entire folder’s contents but just ignore the files it can’t copy.

Open up terminal and put in this code:

rsync -avz /Volumes/source-drive-path /Volumes/target-drive-path

Source drives is from where you are copying from.
Targe is where you want to put your files.

By: Paul

Paul — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 12:55:36 +0000

users on two Macs (OS X 10.3.6) couldn’t access a folder on a shared drive on the network (server 2003 OS) receiving the same message as above. Reading between the lines on the advice above I switched to a pc and viewed hidden files – there was a bunch of hidden files starting with “._” so i deleted them. Suddenly both Macs can access the folder.
I’m updating to 10.6.3 this weekend to avoid a recurrence :)
Thanks for the advice

By: bipsa

bipsa — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 10:50:05 +0000

Once I came across the situation in which my dmg file could not mount. DMG file you are trying to load is somehow corrupt or damaged and thus cannot be loaded i.e. mounted for access. So, irrespective of the number of attempts you make the same error would keep showing in this situation if you want to recover your data just make use of an efficient data recovery software.

By: Ivan Machiz

Ivan Machiz — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 20:25:44 +0000

Correction, this does NOT work for zipped files as well.

By: Ivan Machiz

Ivan Machiz — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 17:34:09 +0000

This works for zipped files as well.

By: David Kovacic

David Kovacic — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 04:34:38 +0000

I cant copy folders from dvd or cd.. i get error -36.. will
this also work with my problem?

By: Hector

Hector — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 00:52:30 +0000

I had the same issue with OS X 10.6.4 and the problem seems to be with Finder. Using the dot_clean trick didn’t work for me but copying the files directly from the terminal did. This is really annoying but I hope this helps somebody:

cp -X sourcefile targetfile

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 06:20:24 +0000

I get this error when copying to my iDisk.

By: stu

stu — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 19:15:23 +0000

I have another solution for those that need it!
First compress the file then extract it to the destination of the ext hd sorry for the late reply and works every time
Stu

By: Hinkle

Hinkle — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 11:30:55 +0000

Great fix, worked like a charm. Have had this problem on multiple occasions and couldn’t figure it out. Thanks a lot!

By: Tim

Tim — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 14:40:51 +0000

I get this error whenever I try to copy folders to Dropbox. I tried your suggestions, but they have not worked. Dropbox says it is a common problem with Finder, and it is not related to Dropbox at all. Thanks Dropbox! If it’s a common problem, a heads up would have made me reconsider my purchase.

In any case, does anyone else have a suggestion for error code -36?
It appears after a minute of copying a folder into Dropbox, at which point it names a specific file that it cannot copy. The whole process then freezes at that point.

Thanks.

By: Doron Segal

Doron Segal — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 14:48:57 +0000

I just used the comman cp on my terminal, working great.

just run the following command on the terminal:
cp -r

By: anthony

anthony — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 19:33:58 +0000

I tried the dot_clean didn’t work but sending the files to FTP works, I got majority of my data back!

By: Melissa Markakis

Melissa Markakis — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 06:30:46 +0000

I just tried your fix but it wouldnt let me drag the file to the utilities page. it from a CD any idea how to fix it. it need it for class

By: Gerhard

Gerhard — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 12:40:26 +0000

I hate this so much. I HAVE to back up to my external, but NOTHING works. Often I don’t even get the error 36 message. The copy window just freezes and I can’t quit it or stop it, all I can do is force shutdown my macbook. My external is partitioned – one is Mac OS Extended and the other one obviously FAT, where the problem is. In disk utility, when clicking on Info, it tells me there are no files on the drive (although there are, and 150GB is used) and on the Mac partition (which is empty) it says there are 115 files! WTF? I hate steven jobs