Mac OS X Newbie Errors Or How I Lost 80GB Of Data

2023 Author: Gordon Kinson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-26 08:36

In Mac OS X I am a relatively new user, although I am familiar with other operating systems firsthand (Windows / Linux). Perhaps that is why I expect from any operating system approximately the same behavior and similar key combinations. Immediately after switching to Mac, I got the impression of it as the most user-friendly operating system.

What else I noticed is that the security of working with data is quite high - Finder also warns about an incorrectly removed drive (without unmounting) and does not allow deleting files without going through the trash can. It somehow relaxes, lulls the vigilance, and therefore, even experienced users (I think they are even more so than beginners) can lose important files as a result of their actions.

Be careful when copying (moving) folders with the same name

But actually, how I lost 80 GB of data: I wanted to update one of my AU-synthesizers in Logic Pro, the update was already on the disk, all that was left was to copy the folder with the sounds to the required directory, “aligning” it with it. Interestingly, this folder has a complex hierarchy - several other directories are nested within it. When copying, Finder warned me about the coincidence of file names and suggested two actions - "replace" or "stop". I clicked "replace" out of habit. At startup, the synthesizer gave an error that the sound library was missing! But I didn’t delete anything, and so, ten minutes ago I was working on this synthesizer. What happened? In the system monitor, in the "disk space" section, 80 free gigabytes appeared from somewhere. It immediately became clear to me where.

It turns out that the standard Mac OS X file manager copies overwritten files by default, completely removing nested directories. That is, if you have 2 folders and both have a complex structure, then when copying with replacement, you will lose the contents of one of the folders! “Undo” this action will not work - it will only delete the copied data, leaving an empty folder altogether, as if the original information did not exist.

Use extreme caution when copying and replacing in Finder, or use an alternative file manager.

See also:

• Finder in OS X - hidden path bar features.
• Hidden features of the program Screenshot in OS X.
• Alternative to Home, End, PgUp and PgDown buttons from PC to Mac.
• How to change the folder for screenshots in Mac OS X.
• Useful multitouch trackpad gestures on Mac OS X.