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sim667

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Dec 7, 2010
1,456
2,933
So I've got a hard drive I want to plug into my router, but its becoming a pain in the bum.

I managed to successfully do it, using FAT 32 file structure, but this means I can't copy files over 4.2GB to it, which is what I want to store on there.

So I reformatted it as MAC OSX journaled - unsupported by the router.

So my obvious choice is to go with NTFS, however OS X can't format to this structure, and even when its presented with a NTFS disk, its read only isn't it?

So has anyone got a workaround suggestion for this? I only have mac, no windows machines, so the solution needs to work on OS X.
 

Gav2k

macrumors G3
Jul 24, 2009
9,216
1,608
A netgear AC1900
As per the routers support page...

The router supports the following file system types for full read/write access:

  • FAT16, FAT32
  • NTFS
  • NTFS with compression format enabled
  • Ext2, Ext3, Ext4
  • XFS
  • HFS
  • HFS+

[doublepost=1461693297][/doublepost]Given those choices you just need to format correctly.
 

ddmcnair

macrumors member
Apr 25, 2011
63
11
You could download Virtual Box, install windows, mount your drive then format it as NTFS. You could use a Windows PC to format it NTFS too. Once it is formatted attach it to your router and configure the sharing. Surely you have access a Windows 7 PC or know someone that does. If you go the virtual box route remember you only have to get Windows running, do not worry about activation if this you are only going to format the drive.

Lastly you could download the demo of Tuxera for Mac (http://www.tuxera.com/products/tuxera-ntfs-for-mac/). Good Luck
 

sim667

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Dec 7, 2010
1,456
2,933
As per the routers support page...

The router supports the following file system types for full read/write access:

  • FAT16, FAT32
  • NTFS
  • NTFS with compression format enabled
  • Ext2, Ext3, Ext4
  • XFS
  • HFS
  • HFS+
[doublepost=1461693297][/doublepost]Given those choices you just need to format correctly.

FAT32 and 16 is unusable due to some of the file sizes.

Weirdly HFS didn't work, and the rest aren't supported by mac os x (although mine is a ddwrt firmware one, not standard).

I've managed to find a piece of software that embeds NTFS support in OS X, so I'm currently copying everything over to the drive to test that again.
[doublepost=1461752646][/doublepost]
You could download Virtual Box, install windows, mount your drive then format it as NTFS. You could use a Windows PC to format it NTFS too. Once it is formatted attach it to your router and configure the sharing. Surely you have access a Windows 7 PC or know someone that does. If you go the virtual box route remember you only have to get Windows running, do not worry about activation if this you are only going to format the drive.

Lastly you could download the demo of Tuxera for Mac (http://www.tuxera.com/products/tuxera-ntfs-for-mac/). Good Luck

I've downloaded paragon to try :D
 

Ipadlover29

macrumors 6502a
May 28, 2011
977
319
So I've got a hard drive I want to plug into my router, but its becoming a pain in the bum.

I managed to successfully do it, using FAT 32 file structure, but this means I can't copy files over 4.2GB to it, which is what I want to store on there.

So I reformatted it as MAC OSX journaled - unsupported by the router.

So my obvious choice is to go with NTFS, however OS X can't format to this structure, and even when its presented with a NTFS disk, its read only isn't it?

So has anyone got a workaround suggestion for this? I only have mac, no windows machines, so the solution needs to work on OS X.


If it's the netgear r7000. I have the same router and my hard drive is formatted in the Mac format, it works perfectly fine with the router. I use the hard drive as a nas with no issues. I am using the stock firmware. So it's probably because your using ddrt.
 
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sim667

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Dec 7, 2010
1,456
2,933
If it's the netgear r7000. I have the same router and my hard drive is formatted in the Mac format, it works perfectly fine with the router. I use the hard drive as a nas with no issues. I am using the stock firmware. So it's probably because your using ddrt.

I resolved it by using paragon to format it as NTFS

Ill probably buy the software, NTFS is handy to have.
 

throAU

macrumors G3
Feb 13, 2012
9,143
7,301
Perth, Western Australia
If you're browsing the share over the network (i.e., it is a NAS) the file format is irrelevant as far as your Mac is concerned - once plugged into the router.

I'd suggest using exFAT (basically enhanced FAT32 that should be readable/writeable in a anything reasonably modern) or NTFS.

if you already formatted as NTFS, try plugging it into the router and seeing if you can read/write to it over the network. The protocol running over the network will be CIFS most likely (network sharing protocol) and the router does the job of talking to the disk, your Mac doesn't need to know what format it is.
 

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,556
950
So my obvious choice is to go with NTFS, however OS X can't format to this structure, and even when its presented with a NTFS disk, its read only isn't it?
OS X does not write to or format to NTFS format natively, but there are ways to accomplish this. See below.

Format A Hard Drive Using Disk Utility (which is in your /Applications/Utilities folder)
Choose the appropriate format:
HFS+ (Hierarchical File System, a.k.a. Mac OS Extended (Journaled) Don't use case-sensitive)
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, here are some alternatives:
    • For Mac OS X 10.4 or later (32 or 64-bit), install Paragon (approx $20) (Best Choice for Lion and later)
    • For 32-bit Mac OS X, install NTFS-3G for Mac OS X (free) (does not work in 64-bit mode)
    • For 64-bit Snow Leopard, read this: MacFUSE for 64-bit Snow Leopard
    • Some have reported problems using Tuxera (approx $36).
    • 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
  • You can use this format if you routinely share a drive with multiple Windows systems.
exFAT (FAT64)
  • Supported in Mac OS X only in 10.6.5 or later.
  • Not all Windows versions support exFAT. See disadvantages.
  • exFAT (Extended File Allocation Table)
  • AirPort Extreme (802.11n) and Time Capsule do not support exFAT
  • Maximum file size: 16 EiB
  • Maximum volume size: 64 ZiB
  • You can use this format if it is supported by all computers with which you intend to share the drive. See "disadvantages" for details.
FAT32 (File Allocation Table)
  • Read/Write FAT32 from both native Windows and native Mac OS X. [*]Maximum file size: 4GB.
  • Maximum volume size: 2TB
  • You can use this format if you share the drive between Mac OS X and Windows computers and have no files larger than 4GB.
 
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