Troubleshooting & messages · Moves and copies that didn't finish
Why does it say "The drive stopped responding while it was being copied"?
Short answer: The Mac lost contact with the drive mid-copy. Your original is safe — reconnect directly with a good cable and retry; if it repeats, run First Aid in Disk Utility.
Your Mac lost contact with the drive mid-copy — a loose cable, a hub, not enough power, or the drive itself struggling. Your original is safe and untouched.
### What to do 1. Reconnect the drive, ideally straight into the Mac with a known-good cable. 2. Try again. 3. If it happens repeatedly, run First Aid in Disk Utility and watch for other signs of a failing drive.