Avoid a 'download' problem with iDisk and media files

Mar 10, '05 09:47:00AM

Contributed by: windrag

I have been trying to get a large (700+MB) AIFF file to one of my clients using a File Sharing page through my .Mac account. It took a long time to upload (5+ hours on an aDSL line), and neither my client nor I could download it (but that's another story...). I decided to try to delete it and try again. I opened the iDisk in the Finder, navigated to the Music folder where it was located, and...

...every time I would select the file itself in the Finder, my network traffic meter (MenuMeters installed) would show that the file was being rapidly downloaded, and the Finder had been hijacked (spinning beachball, unable to force quit, even with Activity Monitor). The only thing I could do to stop the file from 'downloading' (a search found no trace on my HD) was to force restart. I went through this a few times until the solution dawned on me.

I have the Finder set to column view, and the View Options set to show the Preview column. Any time I select an AIFF or other media file, the Preview column shows a Play control. I reasoned that since this AIFF file is on a network volume, perhaps the Finder was trying to load the file into the Preview. Sure enough, I switched the Finder window to icon view before selecting the file, and had no more problems. I was able to delete the file and start over. Now, if abyone has any hints regarding large AIFF files and the .Mac FileSharing page, I'll be grateful!

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