I have a 13-inch Early 2014 MacBook Air running macOS Big Sur 11.7.11. In June, I tried to transfer more than 400 photos and videos from my iPhone XR using AirDrop. The files now appear in Finder with faded or transparent icons, and Get Info shows that each one is 0 bytes. I cannot open, preview, copy, or upload them, and Finder says they are in use when I try to move them. Entering my password makes the transfer attempt disappear, although I can move the files to the Trash. Relaunching Finder did not help. I have already deleted the originals from my iPhone to free storage, so I am worried these memories may be lost. Is there any way to restore the files or at least view their previews? Please explain the steps simply.
1 Answer
A file showing 0 bytes does not contain any photo or video data. These are most likely incomplete AirDrop entries or placeholders created when the transfer failed, not damaged files that a repair website can rebuild. Finder may still report them as being in use because of a file-lock or Finder metadata issue, but that does not mean the actual contents are present. Do not permanently delete them until you have checked every possible backup. Look in iCloud Photos, an iPhone backup, Photos Library backups, Time Machine, or another computer where the files may have been copied. If none of those contain the originals, the best option is to recover them from the phone or cloud service rather than trying to repair these 0-byte entries. You should also retry the transfer with the phone unlocked, both devices nearby, and enough free storage on the Mac.
So the fact that macOS says the files are in use does not mean the pictures are still hidden inside them? I will check iCloud and my backups before deleting anything.