Problem with file attributes using cp -Rp

While executing

cp -Rp /Users/xxxx/Directory_Name /Volumes/Backup/Directory_Name

where xxxx represents my user-name and same thing for Directory_Name and File_name

I got the following error message

cp: fchflags: /Volumes/Backup/Directory_Name/File_Name.txt: Invalid argument

So I looked at the attributes. Nothing for the standard ones but something for the extended ones obtained with xattr -l

Source:

xattr -l File_Name.txt

com.apple.TextEncoding: utf-8;134217984

com.apple.lastuseddate#PS: ??'e

com.apple.macl:

com.apple.metadata:kMDLabel_w3vm6mn2ztywmrwdcjm6otzsxm: ??^<`??~/?LT??)??$??m??????u?z%ڀS?̕m??3Ym|?HЦ??+?ƌʎ?++*uf?a0

Destination

xattr -l File_Name.txt

com.apple.TextEncoding: utf-8;134217984

com.apple.lastuseddate#PS: ??'e

com.apple.macl:

?ƌʎ?++*uf?a0tadata:kMDLabel_w3vm6mn2ztywmrwdcjm6otzsxm: ??^<`??~/?LT??)??$??m??????u?z%ڀS?̕m??3Ym|?HЦ??+??k}???

So it appears in the last line that

com.apple.me

has been changed into

?ƌʎ?++*uf?a0

I suspect some character encoding is malfunctioning.

Any idea on how to solve the problem ?

Some extra data

System version : macOS 12.7.6 (21H1320)

Kernel version : Darwin 21.6.0

External drive

Type de volume : Unknown

Nœud d’appareil BSD : disk5s1

File system : ExFAT

Connexion : USB

Posted on Apr 7, 2025 03:35 AM

Top-ranking reply

etresoft

Level 9

55,286 points

Posted on Apr 8, 2025 09:33 AM

Bezout_Avon_Other wrote:

Thank you for the suggestion. But I do need to keep the attributes. My problem is that some (out of many) are corrupted. Is there a way to prevent this corruption, namely to have -p working properly

Use a functional file system like APFS.

Recent versions of macOS are using experimental new versions of FAT filesystems. I think your old version of Monterey might actually be using the older versions, but clearly it isn't working for you.

See Picking the Right Drive Format: ExFat is Not Your Friend

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Problem with file attributes using cp -Rp

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