Permission for external hard drive can't be changed

[Ellis Gaskell]

I have a WD external disk drive for back-ups and old unused files. When I go to applications/utilities/disk on my Mac I get only the options to verify the external drive or repair it. The buttons about disk permissions are greyed out. It's a divided disk and the other half has acceptable permissions. How can I change the permission on the half I want to add to?

 

[Spawn_Dooley]

How is the ext drive formatted?

If it's Mac OS Extended Journaled, I think this is normal, the files were not installed by Mac Installer so the repair permissions is unavailable. Repairing permissions only applies to bootable volumes.

You can however do this:

• Make sure the ext drive is plugged in.
• Right-Click or use the Ctrl key to select the drive's icon. Click the "Get Info" option in the drop-down menu.
• At the bottom of the "Get Info" window you'll see the "Sharing & Permissions" section. Click on the disclosure triangle to expand it if needed.
• Using the drop-down menu next to each class of user on the iMac you can select who has permission to read or write to the ext drive.
• Close the "Get Info" window to save your changes.

 

[Kaveman]

Just click Ignore Permissions, on the whole Drive in the Get Info panel