Troubleshooting iDisk connection issues
Symptoms
The Finder connects to your iDisk much like your web browser connects to webpages, so usually if you can connect to webpages on the Internet, you should be able to connect to iDisk in the Finder.
You must be able to connect to the Internet reliably in order to connect to iDisk. If your Finder does not connect to iDisk reliably, other applications that interact with iDisk and MobileMe may be affected. Such applications and activities include Backup, MobileMe Sync, and publishing to MobileMe from iPhoto, iMovie, and iWeb.
Products Affected
iDisk, MobileMe
Resolution
If you are receiving error messages from a variety of services and programs that also require Internet access—such as webpages, Mail, iChat, and the iTunes Store—restart your computer to reinitiate any network connections that may have changed or lapsed. If that does not help, troubleshoot your connection to the Internet as described in this article.
iDisk connections are made using port 80 and the Digest Authentication protocol. If you can connect to the Internet but you cannot connect to iDisk, something is probably interrupting your connection to iDisk.
Specific iDisk Error Messages
If you receive a numeric error code when attempting to connect to iDisk in the Finder, please make a note of it. Click any of the linked error codes below for more information about specific error messages and their resolutions.
General iDisk Troubleshooting
First make sure you can connect to MobileMe by logging in to MobileMe at http://www.me.com. If you cannot log in to MobileMe, you should check the information you are using to log in. If necessary, reset your MobileMe password as described here. If you can log in to MobileMe, click the iDisk icon to connect to iDisk.
If you can log in to MobileMe but you cannot connect to your MobileMe iDisk, try these these steps:
- Review the MobileMe System Status in your MoblieMe Account to make sure there are no widespread issues affecting iDisk.
- Connect to MobileMe iDisk with another browser. (For example, if you are using Safari, try connecting to MobileMe iDisk in Firefox.)
- Troubleshoot your web browser's cache.
- Contact MobileMe Support if you can connect to other services but still can't connect to MobileMe iDisk.
If you can connect to MobileMe iDisk, but you still cannot connect to iDisk in the Finder, verify your MobileMe account and password information in Mac OS X System Preferences. Instructions for verifying and modifying your MobileMe account information in System Preferences can be found here.
If your MobileMe Settings are correct in System Preferences and you can connect to MobileMe iDisk with your web browser, try connecting to another user's iDisk Public folder in the Finder:
- From the Finder, select Go > iDisk > Other User's Public Folder.
- When prompted for a MobileMe account, enter: emily_parker
- A new Finder window named emily_parker-Public should open, and you should be able to see emily_parker in the Devices section of the Finder window sidebar.
If you can connect to the emily_parker iDisk Public Folder, but you cannot connect to your own iDisk Public Folder, please contact MobileMe Support. If you can't connect to the emily_parker iDisk Public Folder, continue troubleshooting your connection to iDisk with the steps below.
If everything seems to be connecting except iDisk, reboot your computer and then use Disk Utility to Repair Mac OS X permissions on your startup volume. Verify that you are connected to the Internet by opening your web browser and connecting to http://www.apple.com, then try to connect to your iDisk by choosing Go > iDisk > My iDisk from the Finder.
If connection issues persist and you have another computer that you can use to test on your network, see if iDisk connections from another computer results in the same error messages. If another computer on the same network can access your iDisk without issue, you may be experiencing a software issue on the affected computer.
If you cannot connect to iDisk from your preferred network on any computer, try to connect from another network if one is available to you. If you can connect from another network, but not the one you are primarily attempting to use, something may be interrupting you connection to iDisk. This article has a good amount of detail about configurations and situations that can result in iDisk connection error messages.