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How to reade/write External HD NTFS in Lion
- Thread starter ilorimac
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No version of OS X can write to an NTFS disk - they can read NTFS disks, but not write. So you must have had a utility that would do that for you. This could have been Paragon NTFS for Mac, or the open source (free) MacFuse. If it was Paragon NTFS, check their website for a Lion version; if it was MacFuse you can't use it in Lion because the original MacFuse software is 32-bit only and Lion runs in 64-bit mode. Did you or someone else install either of these programs under Snow Leopard?
NTFS (Windows NT File System)
- Read/Write NTFS from native Windows.
- Read only NTFS from native Mac OS X
[*]To Read/Write/Format NTFS from Mac OS X: Install NTFS-3G for Mac OS X (free) - Some have reported problems using Tuxera (approx 33USD).
- Native NTFS support can be enabled in Snow Leopard and Lion, but is not advisable, due to instability.
- AirPort Extreme (802.11n) and Time Capsule do not support NTFS
- Maximum file size: 16 TB
- Maximum volume size: 256TB
Adding NTFS write support to OS/X
I've used both Tuxera and ParagonNTFS with OS/X 10.6 without any problems. I have ParagonNTFS (9.x) installed on my MBP, which I upgraded to 10.7 last week; NTFS driver is still working without problems.
Tuxera: http://www.tuxera.com/
ParagonNTFS: http://www.paragon-software.com/home/ntfs-mac/
Only drawback with MacFuse is confusion about 64-bit driver compatibility.
I've used both Tuxera and ParagonNTFS with OS/X 10.6 without any problems. I have ParagonNTFS (9.x) installed on my MBP, which I upgraded to 10.7 last week; NTFS driver is still working without problems.
Tuxera: http://www.tuxera.com/
ParagonNTFS: http://www.paragon-software.com/home/ntfs-mac/
Only drawback with MacFuse is confusion about 64-bit driver compatibility.
Thank you for the reference, but that's hardly "native" support. I couldn't trust TB of data to anything that had to be activated through terminal. At least Paragon NTFS has a company behind it willing to actively support and upgrade their software.
Not that I'm a fan of write access to NTFS or vice-versa of Windows to HFS+ anyway. Each OS leaves a scattering of files on the opposite file system that the native OS doesn't understand, and that can confuse a user of the disk (well, it certainly confused me when I tried it). So I'd always rather make a native file system read-only to a guest OS.
Not that I'm a fan of write access to NTFS or vice-versa of Windows to HFS+ anyway. Each OS leaves a scattering of files on the opposite file system that the native OS doesn't understand, and that can confuse a user of the disk (well, it certainly confused me when I tried it). So I'd always rather make a native file system read-only to a guest OS.
I've been using MacFuse since SL and it works great under Lion as well. All my file servers sit on a VMWare ESX server in my basement. They use NTFS with Windows XP and Win 7. I can mount any of those volumes and read/write to them with ease.
http://code.google.com/p/macfuse/
http://code.google.com/p/macfuse/
Being compiled in the Kernel is the very definition of "native", the default mount setting being write only is pretty insignificant, and if you are going to trust you data to the kernel thats reading and writing the HFS+ you may as well trust it to write the NTFS.
Read the points in my earlier post. Activating the native NTFS write capability in Mac OS X is unstable. Many have reported problems with it. 3rd party solutions have proven to be more reliable.
Do I understand this correctly that you would need to add each individual NTFS drive using this technique?
Mon Dieu! That might be considered "native" but I rail against calling it "support".
The many faces of macfuse
The version of MacFuse @ code.google.com is 2.0.3
There is also a build of 2.1.7 compiled for 64-bit SnowLeopard; it's beta but stable.
And there is a more recent build (for Lion) created by Tuxera, macfuse-core-10.5-2.1.9
There is an explanation at http://www.offthehill.org/articles/2010/12/31/macfuse-for-64-bit-snow-leopard/ and a discussion at http://groups.google.com/group/macfuse/browse_thread/thread/217a91cb665dfab5?pli=1
If you're completely lost (as I was about 10 minutes ago), my recommendation would be to start with the Tuxera 2.1.9 (for Lion); partly because I'm not sure where the 64-bit 2.1.7 is (besides my archive disk).
If you want a no-fuss solution, just get the Paragon driver. How much is your time worth to you? Of course, if you *like* to tweak things or want to use TrueCrypt... Lay on MacFuse and damned be he who first cries "hold the build"! (My thanks to the muse for his amazing foresight.)
The version of MacFuse @ code.google.com is 2.0.3
There is also a build of 2.1.7 compiled for 64-bit SnowLeopard; it's beta but stable.
And there is a more recent build (for Lion) created by Tuxera, macfuse-core-10.5-2.1.9
There is an explanation at http://www.offthehill.org/articles/2010/12/31/macfuse-for-64-bit-snow-leopard/ and a discussion at http://groups.google.com/group/macfuse/browse_thread/thread/217a91cb665dfab5?pli=1
- 2.0.3 may work with Lion (at least, that's what I appear to be running now; but I've switched a few times, so my install is far from canonical). In any event, the system pref applet is 32-bit only -- annoying but not insurmountable.
- I have used the 2.1.7 with SnowLeopard without any trouble.
- I have not tried the 2.1.9 yet; I will probably do so this week.
If you're completely lost (as I was about 10 minutes ago), my recommendation would be to start with the Tuxera 2.1.9 (for Lion); partly because I'm not sure where the 64-bit 2.1.7 is (besides my archive disk).
If you want a no-fuss solution, just get the Paragon driver. How much is your time worth to you? Of course, if you *like* to tweak things or want to use TrueCrypt... Lay on MacFuse and damned be he who first cries "hold the build"! (My thanks to the muse for his amazing foresight.)
There are ample reviews elsewhere. There is no need to add another one here. That said--given this choice, I would go with Paragon. You may give me this choice, but that does not mean that I will accept it. Tuxera's NTFS-3G is free. It is what I use.
Just to pick up on this thread, I have just got an iMac and have realised that it will not read either of my two NTFS drives that I have previously used with my old PC.
Although it seems like some of the above-mentioned software will do the job, am I correct in thinking that a long term solution would be to: get all the data off the drives onto my old PC; reformat them both as FAT32; put everything back on - and then I will be able to read / write to them via my Mac without the need for third party software?
Or am I falling under the assumption that this will be too easy!?
Although it seems like some of the above-mentioned software will do the job, am I correct in thinking that a long term solution would be to: get all the data off the drives onto my old PC; reformat them both as FAT32; put everything back on - and then I will be able to read / write to them via my Mac without the need for third party software?
Or am I falling under the assumption that this will be too easy!?
Read the previous posts in this thread like the mine immediately before yours. MacOS X can read, write, and format NTFS volumes if you have an NTFS driver installed. As I stated in my last post, I use the freeware NTFS-3G driver. With the ability to read and write NTFS, it is stupid to format a DOS drive as FAT32.
BTW, if you have trouble reading NTFS, then your drive may have issues.
The drives always worked fine on the PC, so no issues there.
Just tried the free NTFS-3G driver but it's coming up with the following error:
I am a complete novice to this! Do you know what it's referring to?
Thanks for your help.
Reading NTFS Drive
grholden:
It sounds like the NTFS-3G driver is not loaded correctly. You have two options, really, depending on your needs, specifically, if:
First, if you only need to read the drives, then you should just remove the NTFS-3G drivers; OS/X can already read NTFS disks. In your case, not only are they not required, but they seem to be causing additional problems.
Second, if you need to be able to write to NTFS disks, I would highly recommend getting Paragon NTFS for OS/X; this is a commercial program and is designed to be usable by anyone. For a self-proclaimed novice (as well as anyone who simply values their time highly), I strongly recommend Paragon's product. From my perspective, the time to install a free driver will actually cost me more than the $20 Paragon is charging. [No disrespect to NTFS-3G, people; this is simply a time statement. So, please, no philosophical wars about free vs. commercial.]
In either case, I suspect you will need to start by removing the NTFS-3G driver since it appears not to be installed correctly. If you have trouble with that, I would suggest requesting help from the Apple Genius bar.
[Again, everyone, I'm trying to suggest a simple course of action for grholden; if you have other suggestion, please contribute, but don't let this degenerate into an opinion war.]
I hope that helps.
grholden:
It sounds like the NTFS-3G driver is not loaded correctly. You have two options, really, depending on your needs, specifically, if:
- Reading NTFS drives is enough, or
- You need to read and write NTFS drives
First, if you only need to read the drives, then you should just remove the NTFS-3G drivers; OS/X can already read NTFS disks. In your case, not only are they not required, but they seem to be causing additional problems.
Second, if you need to be able to write to NTFS disks, I would highly recommend getting Paragon NTFS for OS/X; this is a commercial program and is designed to be usable by anyone. For a self-proclaimed novice (as well as anyone who simply values their time highly), I strongly recommend Paragon's product. From my perspective, the time to install a free driver will actually cost me more than the $20 Paragon is charging. [No disrespect to NTFS-3G, people; this is simply a time statement. So, please, no philosophical wars about free vs. commercial.]
In either case, I suspect you will need to start by removing the NTFS-3G driver since it appears not to be installed correctly. If you have trouble with that, I would suggest requesting help from the Apple Genius bar.
[Again, everyone, I'm trying to suggest a simple course of action for grholden; if you have other suggestion, please contribute, but don't let this degenerate into an opinion war.]
I hope that helps.
I have nothing against Paragon NTFS. From everything that I have heard of it, it is the best NTFS driver available for the Mac. However, I use NTFS-3G because it works and it is free. In fact, the OP is the first report I have ever read of an issue with NTFS-3G.
Having said that, I understand that NTFS-3G is slower than its commercial alternatives. Even so, it is a bit of an overstatement to claim that it costs more than $20 in time. In fact, mStyle's post might lead the uninitiated to infer that NTFS-3G is some kind of commandline utility.
The fact is that NTFS-3G installs quickly and just works. With it, Disk Utility is able to format my USB thumb drive as NTFS, ridding me of that misbegotten file system known as FAT32. Back to the $20 time expense--if this is true, then you are probably using a bad choice of file system options. I use DOS/Windows-formatted disks on rare occasion. Most of my work is on the Mac. I have occasional requirements to use a Windows machine or to exchange files with Windows users. The time premium to copy files to NTFS disks is a few extra seconds, not an hour.
Having said that, I understand that NTFS-3G is slower than its commercial alternatives. Even so, it is a bit of an overstatement to claim that it costs more than $20 in time. In fact, mStyle's post might lead the uninitiated to infer that NTFS-3G is some kind of commandline utility.
The fact is that NTFS-3G installs quickly and just works. With it, Disk Utility is able to format my USB thumb drive as NTFS, ridding me of that misbegotten file system known as FAT32. Back to the $20 time expense--if this is true, then you are probably using a bad choice of file system options. I use DOS/Windows-formatted disks on rare occasion. Most of my work is on the Mac. I have occasional requirements to use a Windows machine or to exchange files with Windows users. The time premium to copy files to NTFS disks is a few extra seconds, not an hour.
Excellent information, MisterMe, thanks. I'm glad to hear that NTFS3G is that simple and reliable (I haven't needed to experiment with it myself).
One thing that goes into the "did-it-cost-me-more-than-$20-of-my-time" question is what else you need to do to find a solution. Of course, this double-edged sword works against commercial software also, as you may have to find the author, figure out a confusing web payment system, sometimes even sign up and register a password. Oh, and maybe even provide three security question... This can be a bigger "cost" than the software!
When trying to provide advice, I always try to consider things from the requestors point of view; for the "time" question, we can only ever answer that for ourselves.
In summary, I appreciate your point of view and technical contribution.
One thing that goes into the "did-it-cost-me-more-than-$20-of-my-time" question is what else you need to do to find a solution. Of course, this double-edged sword works against commercial software also, as you may have to find the author, figure out a confusing web payment system, sometimes even sign up and register a password. Oh, and maybe even provide three security question... This can be a bigger "cost" than the software!
When trying to provide advice, I always try to consider things from the requestors point of view; for the "time" question, we can only ever answer that for ourselves.
In summary, I appreciate your point of view and technical contribution.