Resolved Reading Windows 7 (NTFS) hard drive in OSX

[Coley2]

Hey guys,

Not sure if this is the correct sub-forum...

I've got an old Windows 7 laptop that I no longer use. I have quite a lot of data on it's hard drive, but because the thing is so old and slow I can't really copy it over to an external hard drive without it crashing.

If I remove the hard drive and place it into a USB 2.5" enclosure and plug it into my Macbook Pro, will I be able to read all the data?

Thanks,
Matt.

 

[Gav2k]

Read yes. Write ? Not natively. But yes you can read from the drive without an issue

 

[MRxROBOT]

To expand on what Gav2k said.

If you want both read/write access to the drive you can install NTFS For Mac or Tuxera NTFS For Mac. I've used the former for years now without issue.

On an unrelated note, EXTFS for Mac works great for Ext 2/3/4 for any linux users here

 

[Coley2]

Thanks guys. So it sounds like if I get an enclosure I can copy the data over to my Mac, but I just can't add any new data to the Windows hard drive?

 

[MRxROBOT]

Thanks guys. So it sounds like if I get an enclosure I can copy the data over to my Mac, but I just can't add any new data to the Windows hard drive?

Exactly. However once you move your data over you can reformat the drive to ExFAT or FAT and move your data back again if you want to be able to access it via windows and Mac. If reformatting is not an option but you would like write access, install one of the above softwares listed.