How to solve ‘Error Code 0’ in Mac OS X Mountain Lion

How to fix Error code 0 in Mac OS X 10.8? – A very frequently asked question on various Macintosh support forums. We are trying to answer the query and help new Mac users with this article.

Data stored on Mac’s hard drive is certainly the most valuable thing. However, what is the security measure you take in order to keep your personal and professional data (such as collection of pictures and videos, movies, and many other things) protected against various threats? You most likely would say that you move every single essential file to an external hard drive for backup purpose. Though keeping a backup copy for every essential file is a wise decision, you may not always be successful in copying/moving large files (i.e. videos, movies, etc.) to an external drive, and get the following error:

“The operation can’t be completed because an unexpected error occurred (error code 0).”

Error Code 0 appears when the size of the file you are copying or moving is too large and the file cannot be located on the selected destination drive due to either less disk space or any other issue, such as file format (i.e. FAT file system) of the destination disk does not allow saving such a large single file. Getting such errors on different computer operating systems is general, and you most likely can resolve them by following the right rectification procedure. However, you must be aware of the cause of the error.

Cause of Error

The file system plays a significant role in the operating system.  One of its primary functions is to maintain the integrity of data. FAT (i.e. File Allocation Table) file system has a biggest limitation that it does not support storing a single file of size  equal to or more than 4GB. The NTFS (New Technology File System) file system supports file sizes up to 16TB.

Possible Resolution

Mac OS X formats the hard drives using HFS+ file system that facilitates storing a file of size up to 8exabyte. Therefore, you can resolve the issue by converting the file system of the destination drive from FAT to HFS+ (in Mac). Make sure the destination drive is empty before you start formatting it. However, you can recover Mac data using advanced data recovery software for Mac if it is formatted. Following are the simple steps to format a hard drive to HFS+ file system.

·  Connect the hard drive to your Mac machine.

·  Launch Disk Utility (Applications > Utilities folder > Disk Utility).

·  Select the destination hard drive in the left pane and go to Erase tab.

· Select ‘Mac OS Extended (Journaled)’ in the ‘Format’ dropdown list under ‘Volume Information’ area.

·  Click ‘Erase’ button.

·  It will prompt a warning message, and then click ‘Erase’ again.

Mac data recovery application are available on the Internet facilitating lost, deleted data recovery. They also support recovering data from any formatted media. Choosing a better one matters. Download and use demo/trial versions of these software, and then opt for the best one.