A folder move failed or was cancelled
When a move in Data Parking fails or you cancel it, your original stays where it was — Storage Studio removes it only after the copy has been checked. Read the line under the move, fix what it points to, and start the move again.
If a move in Data Parking fails, or you cancel it, your original is safe: Storage Studio removes the original only after the copy at the destination has finished and been checked. The red line under the move in the Moves list says what happened. Sort that out and start the move again.
What you might see
Under a failed move, in red:
| Message | What to try |
|---|---|
| The drive became unavailable while moving “…”. Your original is safe — reconnect the drive and try again. | Make sure the drive is connected and has enough free space, then move again. |
| The copy of “…” didn't match the original closely enough to be sure it's complete, so the move was stopped before touching your original. | Quit any app using that folder, then move again. If it keeps happening, the folder is probably changing while it's copied. |
| Your Mac wouldn't let Storage Studio move “…”. Your original is safe and untouched. | Check that Storage Studio has Full Disk Access. |
| The destination is read-only, so “…” couldn't be copied there. | Choose a destination you can write to. |
| Some files in “…” changed while they were being copied, so the copy couldn't finish cleanly. | Quit the app using those files, then move again. |
| “…” was copied successfully, but the original couldn't be removed afterwards, so it's still using space. Your data is safe. | The copy is good. Check that no app has the original open. |
| Storage Studio couldn't finish moving “…”. Your original is safe and untouched. | Try again. If it fails the same way, contact support with your diagnostic logs. |
A move you stopped yourself shows Cancelled. A move that's waiting because the drive went away shows Waiting for drive — see The drive was unplugged during a move.
For Full Disk Access problems see Full Disk Access is on but the app says it isn't; for an original that an app is holding open see When an app is holding a folder open.
Why your original is safe
A move happens in steps: copy, check, and only then remove the original. A failure or a cancel during copying or checking stops before the last step, so the original is never touched. The one exception is a cancel that arrives while the original is already being removed — by then the copy has passed its check, so that step is allowed to finish.
Flowchart outline: The steps of a move, and where a failure or cancel stops it
- Copy to the destination
- leads to Check the copy
- Fails or cancelled: leads to Original untouched
- Check the copy
- leads to Remove the original
- Check fails or cancelled: leads to Original untouched
- Original untouched
- leads to Fix the cause and move again
How to fix it
- Read the red line under the move in Moves.
- Check the destination drive is connected and has room for the whole folder.
- Quit apps that might be using the folder.
- Start the move again from Data Parking. There's no separate retry button — moving the same folder again starts a fresh, complete attempt.
- Use Clear finished moves to tidy the list once you're done.
Files marked Locked in Finder no longer stop a move.
If you want to stop everything at once, the stop button above the list asks "Cancel all moves?" — "Your source files are never deleted before a move finishes, so nothing is lost".
See also: Moving folders safely · How copies are checked · The Moves log · What a move keeps · Something's not working: start here