rename external disk

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Level 2

181 points

rename external disk

OK, this is majorly weird. When I do a monthly backup, on an eternal disk, I rename that disk, as in "backup 1/16/23". I just did that backup, and I am UNABLE TO RENAME THE DISK! I click on the disk icon, and then the name, and nothing happens. Never seen this before. In fact, looking at my various mounted disks, some I am able to rename that way, and some I am not able to rename. In Get Info, the name of that disk is dimmed, and I am unable to change it there. I don't see any options in Disk Utility for renaming a disk.

How do I change the name of this disk??? I am using Monterey 12.6.2.

iMac, OS X 10.11

Posted on Jan 16, 2023 09:24 AM

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Answer 1

Dannymac22 Author

Level 2

181 points

Jan 16, 2023 10:09 AM in response to Luis Sequeira1

I last did this monthly backup to this disk a month ago, and I could easily change the name of the disk then and before that. Nothing was changed on the disk. So either Monterey has changed or the new version of SuperDuper, which I just downloaded before doing the latest backup, changed something on the disk that prevents it from being renamed easily.

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Answer 2

Dannymac22 Author

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181 points

Jan 16, 2023 09:41 AM in response to Luis Sequeira1

Well, I have several backup volumes online, and I can easily change the names of some of them, but not others. Something has changed. Unless I can resolve this, I guess it means that before doing a backup, I have to reformat the disk! That would be a PIA.

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Answer 3

Dannymac22 Author

Level 2

181 points

Jan 16, 2023 09:55 AM in response to Luis Sequeira1

Well, that's interesting. I go to disk utility, where I'll just erase the disk in order to give it a new name. No go. Disk Utility tells me "Couldn't be unmounted because it is in use by process605 (fseventsd). Couldn't open device.: (-69877).

Whazzat?

So, I say, to **** with that. I'll just reboot. After reboot, I STILL can't do a name change for that disk. But I can, at least erase the disk and give it a new name. This is a pretty clutzy way to change the name of a disk!

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Answer 4

Jan 16, 2023 10:04 AM in response to Dannymac22

I have a theory as to why you can't rename the drive.

It is not just a "drive", it is an APFS Volume Group, like the one you use to boot your system (at least mine is; it is bootable). Since Big Sur (or was it Catalina?) the system and data volumes are separate volumes inside such an APFS group. The Finder hides this from users, but I suppose that the whole structure could become inconsistent if one were to, say, rename just the system drive but not the data drive, or the other hidden volumes in there.

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Answer 5

Dannymac22 Author

Level 2

181 points

Jan 16, 2023 10:43 AM in response to Luis Sequeira1

Whoa! Now that I managed to erase the disk and do another backup, the disk can NOW get renamed, as it used to. So I guess something was screwed up on the older copy of that disk. That being said, I still have a few disks that still refuse to allow renaming. Maybe I just have to erase all of them and start over with them.

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Answer 6

Jan 16, 2023 09:27 AM in response to Dannymac22

How are you backing up? Manually? How is the disk formatted?

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Answer 7

Dannymac22 Author

Level 2

181 points

Jan 16, 2023 09:29 AM in response to Luis Sequeira1

I back up with SuperDuper, as I ALWAYS do, and the disk is formatted APFS, as it has ALWAYS been, and I have ALWAYS been able to change the name easily. Suddenly, I can't.

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Answer 8

Jan 16, 2023 09:35 AM in response to Dannymac22

I also use SuperDuper! (have bought it several years ago), but I had never tried to change the disk name.

I tried just now and I see the same thing as you. I can't say when this changed.

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rename external disk

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