https://getferret.app/blog/ Notes on finding files across many drives on a Mac. en https://getferret.app/blog/spotlight-v100-folder-external-drive-mac https://getferret.app/blog/spotlight-v100-folder-external-drive-mac Plug a Mac-used drive into Windows or a camera and a .Spotlight-V100 folder shows up. Here is what it is, whether it is safe to delete, and how to stop it coming back. 26 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 https://getferret.app/blog/catalog-external-hard-drives-mac https://getferret.app/blog/catalog-external-hard-drives-mac A catalog lists every file on every drive you own, so you can search them without plugging them in. Here are the ways to make one on a Mac, from a text file to an app that keeps it current. 26 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 https://getferret.app/blog/find-files-not-backed-up-mac https://getferret.app/blog/find-files-not-backed-up-mac Most people with several drives have copies of some files everywhere and copies of others nowhere. Here is how to find the files that exist in only one place on a Mac, before a drive dies. 26 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 https://getferret.app/blog/keep-track-of-external-drives-mac https://getferret.app/blog/keep-track-of-external-drives-mac Knowing a file is on "Archive 04" does not help if you do not know where Archive 04 is. Here is a simple system for tracking a pile of external drives, and how to make your Mac remember it for you. 26 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 https://getferret.app/blog/find-a-file-you-cannot-remember-the-name-of-mac https://getferret.app/blog/find-a-file-you-cannot-remember-the-name-of-mac Filename search only works if you remember the filename. What to search instead when you do not, and how to narrow a result set down by the things you do remember. 04 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 https://getferret.app/blog/spotlight-not-working-mac https://getferret.app/blog/spotlight-not-working-mac Spotlight stops finding files for a small number of concrete reasons. How to tell which one you have, how to rebuild the index properly, and the one case rebuilding will never fix. 04 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0000 https://getferret.app/blog/find-photos-across-external-drives-mac https://getferret.app/blog/find-photos-across-external-drives-mac Camera filenames tell you nothing, and the drive is usually unplugged. How to search a photo archive by what you actually remember about the shot. 29 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 https://getferret.app/blog/find-duplicate-files-across-external-drives-mac https://getferret.app/blog/find-duplicate-files-across-external-drives-mac Duplicates hide in the gaps between drives, and name plus size is not a safe way to spot them. How to compare by contents, across drives that are not plugged in, without deleting a last copy. 22 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 https://getferret.app/blog/verified-camera-card-offload-mac https://getferret.app/blog/verified-camera-card-offload-mac A Finder copy tells you the write finished, not that the files arrived intact. What a verified offload checks instead, and the rule worth following before you format a card. 22 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 https://getferret.app/blog/spotlight-not-searching-external-drive-mac https://getferret.app/blog/spotlight-not-searching-external-drive-mac Spotlight keeps a separate index on each volume, skips exFAT drives entirely, and loses the lot when you eject. The three causes worth checking, and what none of them fix. 22 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000 https://getferret.app/blog/find-files-on-an-unplugged-drive-mac https://getferret.app/blog/find-files-on-an-unplugged-drive-mac Eject an external drive on a Mac and its files vanish from search, because Spotlight keeps the index on the drive itself. Here is why that happens and how to search a drive that is sitting in a drawer. 31 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000