Spotlight Search

[sc_john]

I am trying to run a Spotlight search of keywords on an external drive. When I set-up the search, I indicate that search should be limited to the external drive and folder containing images (note: images are in subfolders within this folder... e.g. Indicated Folder (top level)= Images, subfolders= 200901, 200902, etc.). When I start the search, PM shows message that search is underway, but external drive shows no indication that it is being accessed. Search comes back with no results. Images were keyworded in PM, so I know they are there. If I run Spotlight search on internal drive, it finds images and presents in a new contact sheet, as requested. I am running PM v4.6 on Mac OS X 10.5.6. Any thoughts/suggestions? Thanks.

[Kirk Baker]

I am trying to run a Spotlight search of keywords on an external drive. When I set-up the search, I indicate that search should be limited to the external drive and folder containing images (note: images are in subfolders within this folder... e.g. Indicated Folder (top level)= Images, subfolders= 200901, 200902, etc.). When I start the search, PM shows message that search is underway, but external drive shows no indication that it is being accessed. Search comes back with no results. Images were keyworded in PM, so I know they are there. If I run Spotlight search on internal drive, it finds images and presents in a new contact sheet, as requested. I am running PM v4.6 on Mac OS X 10.5.6. Any thoughts/suggestions? Thanks.

Are you certain that Spotlight has indexed your external drive?  If you use the Spotlight tool in the menu bar (upper right corner of the menu bar which looks like a magnifying glass) can you enter terms that find things on your external drive that don't exist anywhere else?

-Kirk

[sc_john]

Wow... that was a fast response! I am not sure what you mean by indexed... sorry, I'm tot very technical. To test this, I entered a keyword (not used elsewhere) into an image on external drive and searched via menu bar. Same results as before... indication that search is underway, no indication of drive access and no match found.

John

[Kirk Baker]

John,

Wow... that was a fast response! I am not sure what you mean by indexed... sorry, I'm tot very technical. To test this, I entered a keyword (not used elsewhere) into an image on external drive and searched via menu bar. Same results as before... indication that search is underway, no indication of drive access and no match found.

Spotlight works by 'indexing' files that change.  Spotlight has a bunch of plug-ins that know how to read various file formats, looking for metadata and keep that metadata in Spotlight's database in a format that can be looked up quickly.  If Spotlight isn't working on your external drive then it is likely that Spotlight hasn't indexed that drive.

You'll need to find a way to get Spotlight to index your drive.  I know it can be done manually from the Terminal application but I'd guess there are other ways to get Spotlight to index your drive.

-Kirk

[sc_john]

I went to local Apple Store and spoke with technical guy. Spotlight will read a network drive, but not an external. While he also said that I could use Terminal, he advised that this could void warranty. ??

John

[Kirk Baker]

John,

I went to local Apple Store and spoke with technical guy. Spotlight will read a network drive, but not an external. While he also said that I could use Terminal, he advised that this could void warranty. ??

I can't see how that would violate your warranty.  If that were the case then the Terminal program would have to have a dialog telling you that the use of it may violate your warranty.  I use the Terminal all the time and there is no such disclaimer/warning.

Here are some people discussing Spotlight on Apple's own forums:

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=432773

HTH,

-Kirk

[sc_john]

Kevin,

Thanks for the link. After I searched forum, I found specific instructions on how to fix (using Terminal). I'll give it a go. Part of the problem may be that this is a NTFS formatted external drive that I transferred to Mac when I switched platforms (I'm using Paragon to write to disk).   

Regarding warranty comment, I also thought it was a strange response.

As a final note, I am very impressed with Camera Bits support. Thanks for your help!. I'll let you know if this fixes it.

John

[Kirk Baker]

John,

Thanks for the link. After I searched forum, I found specific instructions on how to fix (using Terminal). I'll give it a go. Part of the problem may be that this is a NTFS formatted external drive that I transferred to Mac when I switched platforms (I'm using Paragon to write to disk).

During my searches for information on Spotlight working with external drives, I happened across a thread that said that Spotlight didn't work on NTFS formatted drives.  I don't know if this is true or not, but I guess you'll find out.

-Kirk

[sc_john]

Keith,

I am happy to report that I was able to index external drive (NTFS drive... I am running Paragon which enables Mac to write to NTFS drive). Plus, the real good news is my MacBook Pro didn't melt down or burst into flames, so no warranty problem that I can see. Here's a link to specific discussion that I found on Apple Discussion Forum that you suggested: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=9157583�

Specific Terminal command as follows:
run the following command in terminal

sudo mdutil -i on /Volumes/"drive name"

Put the name of the NTFS-formatted drive in the above. KEEP the quotes.

It took a couple of tries, because spacing between words is not evident to a newbie, but I finally got it. The Spotlight feature in PM works GREAT. Thanks again for your help and patience.

John

[Kirk Baker]

John,

I am happy to report that I was able to index external drive (NTFS drive... I am running Paragon which enables Mac to write to NTFS drive). Plus, the real good news is my MacBook Pro didn't melt down or burst into flames, so no warranty problem that I can see. Here's a link to specific discussion that I found on Apple Discussion Forum that you suggested: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=9157583�

Specific Terminal command as follows:
run the following command in terminal

sudo mdutil -i on /Volumes/"drive name"

Put the name of the NTFS-formatted drive in the above. KEEP the quotes.

It took a couple of tries, because spacing between words is not evident to a newbie, but I finally got it. The Spotlight feature in PM works GREAT. Thanks again for your help and patience.

Great.  I'm glad you got it working and posted the solution back here.  That may help someone else solve their problem more quickly.

BTW, my name is Kirk, not Keith.

-Kirk

[sc_john]

Kirk,

As Charlie Brown would say "Good grief!". I not only called you Keith, but Kevin in the post before that. My apologies, I just returned from a business trip to China, and my brain is sort of like oatmeal, at the moment. Good thing your software runs better than my head! Thanks, again.

John