How to back up to external disc (Q Mac)

Question

When I try to backup to my external disc from MacBook Pro, OS Catalina, I get the following message:
 “Davids Q Acct-2021-01-03 2021-06-14.quickenbackup” couldn’t be copied because you don’t have permission to access “G-DRIVE mobile USB-C”.
 I tried to give full read-write permission in the Get Info box for the G-Drive backup disc, but it would not let me change the permissions. The G-Drive mfr. says it must be a Quicken problem.
 Please advise.

jacobs · Answer

FIrst, just confirm, are you using the current version of Quicken Mac?

Second, Quicken relies on the Mac operating system for all file access, so it's unlikely to be a Quicken issue. If I understand your description, you've indicated that the G-Drive does not have full read/write permission, and that the Finder Get Info window won't let you change the permission. This seems to indicate it's a macOS issue.

Is this message coming up when you quit Quicken and it tries to make an automatic backup? Or when you try to crate a manual backup using File > Save a Backup? When you try to change the permissions in Get Info, what message do you get?

Let's try a simple test. Save a file -- anything… a screenshot, a PDF -- to your desktop. Now click and drag that file to the G-Drive. Does it copy to the drive or give an error.

On your Mac, is the account you're logged into an Admin account?

How is this external drive formatted? (In the Get Info window, int shows "Format". Is it APFS? Mac OS Journaled? Or something else?