Mac I/O Error Code -36 copying to and from disk array

[EG Eriksson]

Hey,

Just a quick one I am having issues copying media files to and from a G-Speed Studio XL. It stops coping giving me a -36 error code, which is an I/O error and tells me the file is corrupt (It isnt). Finder then hangs up needing a hard reboot. It is frustrating, dangerous for my data and G Tech support is non existent.

The normal remedy for the -36 error code is to do a dot_clean command and to delete the DS_store from the terminal app for the relevant directories. Neither of these makes any difference.

Based on my experimentation I have noticed that I am more successful moving files if I break them into smaller batches, meaning transferring 20 files at a time. Also the more complex the directory structure the more issues I seem to have, but even if I only transfer the media files themselves ie no hidden files or sub directories I still have this.


Directories from my Fuji camera and DJI SSD seems to present me the most issues.

To clarify all updates are installed, checking the drive integrity with both the G Tech and 3rd party software reveals no issues. Read/Write speed are within spec.

Shot in the dark I know but does anyone have any suggestions as to what could be the underlying cause.

Thanks

Erol

 

[EG Eriksson]

Guess no one else has any ideas though.

Word to the wise though; G-Tech gear, they purport to have professional solutions (and are certainly priced that way), but their support is anything but professional.

I hope other people have had good experiences with G-Tech (although many reviews suggest otherwise) but I won t support corporates that are too arrogant to even reply to your technical queries.

Thanks guys

 

[Antony Newman]

Hi Erol,

I have not delved into disk issues on a mac before.

In the same scenario - I would start by:

1) Using Disk Utility on Source and Destination locations to determine the healthiness of storage (to ensure the are no 'referential integrity' style problems or high randomised error rates)

2) I would where possible switch the Drive format on the the Mac Side to ADFS (if not already used) - to determine if use of an ATOMIC (all or nothing) style file format transfer allows a graceful failure.

3) (if it may own machine - this would be my (2) : I would route around the system error logs to see what error is being reported)

4) I would attempt to switch out physical position / physical cables / and even see if I can reproduce the problem on a different machine to help determine the common denominator.

Hope this helps as a starting point.

AJ

 

[EG Eriksson]

Thanks AJ,

I did check the integrity of the array, both with disk utility and the GTech bundled software. Plus I used the Black Magic Disk utilities to check sustained read and write speeds. Nothing seemed to be flagged with these.

I ll look at trying steps 2-4 when I get home, although in this lock down world who knows when that will be.

Do you think directory structure impacts read and write operations? In my mind there seems to be a correlation between the complexity of the media sub-directory structure and the likelihood of this failure cropping up. I can t really get my head around why this would be.

Best Erol

 

[Antony Newman]

If the system locked up - there should be logs of cause when rebooted (either presented to the user - of detailed in the system logs).

Parcelling up at many details as possible, sharing those with G-Tec asking what their thoughts are to help remedy this, and also what you should collect (for them) on the next occurrence would be wise.

Isolating the components that involved failure would help narrow the cause.

There might be correlation between a certain task (eg complex structures or large files) and the appearance of other problems (eg mechanical problem, bug in code) - but that does not mean the former was a 'problem'.

AJ

 

[EG Eriksson]

Thanks AJ,

Thats super helpful. I ll get to this as soon as I am home. Doesnt mean the G-tech people will actually reply though. Jesus wept

Stay safe

E

 

[DJ Meyer]

It's been awhile since I've troubleshot Mac disk issues but Diskwarrior was always the gold standard utility back in the day.

Also agree that G-Tech is overrated.

 

[EG Eriksson]

I don t think it is an actually disk error. Certainly nothing else I ve tried so far flags an actually array error. I think at least as far as I can tell.

Going to be a bit of a COVID 19 enforced hiatus in fault finding, but I ll doubel check when I am back home.

Thanks