I can't copy my Documents folder even though I'm logged in as admin; it says I have "unknown access"

Question

Level 1

5 points

I can't copy my Documents folder even though I'm logged in as admin; it says I have "unknown access"

When the Finder refused to even copy my documents folder to an external SSD the first thing I did was use the command I to get info.

However under sharing and permissions it says "You have unknown access"

There is no padlock icon to click on and there are no listed groups with permissions.

Any thoughts on how I fix this? I can open the files in the folder but I'd like to be able to back them up to another drive.

Thanks!

iMac 27″ 5K, macOS 10.14

Posted on Jul 18, 2021 4:37 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

BDAqua

Level 10

244,835 points

Jul 18, 2021 8:49 PM in response to trinko

See if this works...

Do a Get info on your Home folder, unlock the lock in the Get Info panel. Make sure it says you have Read & Write privileges.

Using the tiny gear icon, use the drop down to "Apply to enclosed items...

Reply

Answer 2

Jul 20, 2021 8:03 AM in response to trinko

I have the same issue since yesterday.

A reboot fixed it for a day, but it's doing it again.

I can access the files from the browser for example when I want to upload them to Google Drive or attach something to Gmail. Also I can access the files from the Terminal, but not from the Finder.

I am doing regular backups, but since I have absolutely no idea what caused this issue, there's no point in going back to a three days old version.

It's also not possible to set the permissions as no padlock is showing up in the window. Also I have read somewhere that using chmod 777 is not working either.

Any other ideas?

Reply