diff --git a/src/MediaSource/MediaSourceService.php b/src/MediaSource/MediaSourceService.php
index 533789857..fb1897949 100644
--- a/src/MediaSource/MediaSourceService.php
+++ b/src/MediaSource/MediaSourceService.php
@@ -289,8 +289,14 @@ public function putToNode(
       }
 
       $directory = $this->fileSystem->dirname($content_location);
+
       if (!$this->fileSystem->prepareDirectory($directory, FileSystemInterface::CREATE_DIRECTORY | FileSystemInterface::MODIFY_PERMISSIONS)) {
-        throw new HttpException(500, "The destination directory does not exist, could not be created, or is not writable");
+        $parent_directory = dirname($directory);
+        $error_current_user = shell_exec('whoami');
+        $sanitized_current_user = str_replace(["\n", "\r"], '', $error_current_user);
+        $error_message = "The destination directory does not exist, could not be created, or is not writable by $sanitized_current_user: $directory";
+        $this->logger->error($error_message);
+        throw new HttpException(500, "An error occurred while processing your request. Please contact the website administrator.");
       }
 
       // Copy over the file content.