How is Paragon NTFS 11?

[tech3475]

I recently purchased an external HDD for use with my Mac and I'm currently deciding which way to format it.

I'm currently considering NTFS because I've read that ExFAT has issues and I can see me using it with other non-mac systems so HFS+ isn't a viable option (may create a small partition or DMG for non-TM backups at the most).

But then of course the issue is NTFS write support, is Paragon NTFS a decent solution?

 

[maflynn]

Its ok from what I've read.

Sounds like you vetted out the process to exclude HFS+. What issues have you seen about ExFat

 

[tech3475]

What issues have you seen about ExFat

Compatibility (I use e.g. Linux), the lack of journalling and various other reports I've read concern me.

 

[Gav2k]

Tuxera is my preference these days

 

[maflynn]

Compatibility (I use e.g. Linux), the lack of journalling and various other reports I've read concern me.

Looks like you've made the decision then for NTFS, so yeah your best option is Paragon NTFS.

Like I said, I've only read and seen positive things from this. I played with it a few years ago and it worked well enough. I didn't stick with it for a number of reasons (I found setting up a NAS to be a better solution for me).

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Tuxera is my preference these days

Did they offer a free version of their product at one time? I tried this and seemed to cause headaches, perhaps because it wasn't being updated (being free).

 

[tech3475]

Tuxera is my preference these days

Is there any specific reason? e.g. more stable, faster, etc?

Right now it's £11 on Amazon for Paragon and £20 for Tuxera.

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Looks like you've made the decision then for NTFS, so yeah your best option is Paragon NTFS.

Like I said, I've only read and seen positive things from this. I played with it a few years ago and it worked well enough. I didn't stick with it for a number of reasons (I found setting up a NAS to be a better solution for me).

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Did they offer a free version of their product at one time? I tried this and seemed to cause headaches, perhaps because it wasn't being updated (being free).

I was still willing to consider exfat if the NTFS solutions weren't ok but if they are then I think it would be the better solution.

There is "NTFS-3G + Ntfsprogs" on tuxera's website (found it just now since the original NTFS-3G doesn't seem to be maintained anymore) although I can't seem to find any reviews on it besides the 3 relatively old ones on the sourceforge page and I don't know about mavericks support.

 

[Gav2k]

Was the wait for update between osx revisions that annoyed me with paragon if I'm honest.

 

[maflynn]

There is "NTFS-3G + Ntfsprogs" on tuxera's website (found it just now since the original NTFS-3G doesn't seem to be maintained anymore)

you're right, NTFS-3G is all but dead and since its not maintained, I'd be hesitant to use it. Messing with filesystems can be tricky and any update to the OS may cause more problems then its worth.

 

[tech3475]

Was the wait for update between osx revisions that annoyed me with paragon if I'm honest.

10.x or 10.x.x (i.e. the wait between a major revision or just a minor one) and how long was the wait?

Also, do you get free upgrades with either software so if e.g. 10.10 gets released later this year I won't have to buy another copy?

 

[Gav2k]

10.x or 10.x.x (i.e. the wait between a major revision or just a minor one) and how long was the wait?

Also, do you get free upgrades with either software so if e.g. 10.10 gets released later this year I won't have to buy another copy?

I used paragon through several major releases and had to wait for them to catchup.

Tuxera I've not had to wait an update came through the same day

 

[tech3475]

I used paragon through several major releases and had to wait for them to catchup.

Tuxera I've not had to wait an update came through the same day

Did you pay for the update? I know Paragon do charge even if it's just for basic OS support.

 

[Gav2k]

Did you pay for the update? I know Paragon do charge even if it's just for basic OS support.

Didn't pay for the last update

 

[tech3475]

Didn't pay for the last update

Are there any particular problems with the software? I'm tempted to get Tuxera if the updates are quicker and free even if it costs more initially.

 

[Gav2k]

Are there any particular problems with the software? I'm tempted to get Tuxera if the updates are quicker and free even if it costs more initially.

Check with others about the update mate. I brought mine 12 months ago and it updated to work with mavericks perfectly. As for future updates I do not know.

 

[radicool]

I purchased Paragon NTFS because it seemed most popular on forums. It worked perfectly until I tried to install a specific application on a virtual machine that was running from my NTFS drive.

VMware would freeze the entire laptop and I had to reboot. I could reproduce each time I tried to install the application. It was a large application which I suppose resulted in a lot of disk activity on the NTFS drive (although installing Windows on the the virtual machine in the first place worked fine).

The freezing also resulted in a lot of disk errors. I tried opening a document I had been working on, and it was just garbage. I also couldn't delete the corrupted virtual machines until I booted into Windows and performed a checkdisk which found a ton of errors.

I then tried the trial of Tuxera NTFS and I could complete the installation of my software on the VM without any problem. So I ended up having to buy that too.

Paragon Positives:
* About 10% faster read/write compared to Tuxera

Paragon Negatives:
* Corrupted data!
* Paragon's response to the problems - "I checked with the product team; it’s very unlikely for this problem to be resolved soon. Once again, we apologise for the inconvenience. Your case has been logged for review when this issue comes under development."

Tuxera Positives:
* Works!
* Hides all the Windows system files and folders from Finder

Tuxera Negatives:
* I am still careful to regularly run a checkdisk from Windows and it often finds errors which the Verify/Repair disk functionality provided by Tuxera in Disk Utility doesn't find

 

[tech3475]

Tuxera Negatives:
* I am still careful to regularly run a checkdisk from Windows and it often finds errors which the Verify/Repair disk functionality provided by Tuxera in Disk Utility doesn't find

Sorry for not responding quickly, forgot I hadn't subscribed to the thread.

Funnily enough I only visited this topic again because I was going to ask about the Paragon 3in1 bundle because it's on sale and was wondering what the other software was like:
http://www.paragon-software.com/home/ntfs-hfs-camptune-bundle/

Did you only have the major issue when running the VM or was it a constant but subtle thing like with Tuxera that was only made worse by the VM?

Also how long have you had it? I'm wondering if Tuxera will provide free updates for newer OS support or whether there are limitations on support.

 

[radicool]

Did you only have the major issue when running the VM or was it a constant but subtle thing like with Tuxera that was only made worse by the VM?

Also how long have you had it? I'm wondering if Tuxera will provide free updates for newer OS support or whether there are limitations on support.

I only know of the major issue with the VM (and specifically, installing SQL Server on the VM). There could actually have been subtle background issues like Tuxera, but I wasn't really aware that it was something I needed to check at the time, and so hadn't ever bothered. There's nothing that leads me to believe that was the case though, but I couldn't count it out completely either.

I only ran Paragon NTFS for about 2-3 weeks, that's when I got around to getting my VM running and installing software on it that I needed. I've been running Tuxera for about a month now. I'm feeling fairly comfortable with Tuxera despite the occassional errors checkdisk throws up, I haven't lost any files or had any software problems.

That being said, until the complete blowout with Paragon when installing SQL Server on the VM, I was comfortable with it too, and hadn't lost any files or had any software problems.

I'm not too sure what either company's upgrade policy is, I didn't really factor that into my purchasing decision because I just wanted to the best software for the job for my personal requirements. I thought it would be Paragon, and in the end it turned out to be Tuxera. If Paragon brought out a new release that was stable with SQL Server, I would give it a go again. If Tuxera resolved their occasional inconsistencies, that would be great too.

 

[tech3475]

I only know of the major issue with the VM (and specifically, installing SQL Server on the VM). There could actually have been subtle background issues like Tuxera, but I wasn't really aware that it was something I needed to check at the time, and so hadn't ever bothered. There's nothing that leads me to believe that was the case though, but I couldn't count it out completely either.

I only ran Paragon NTFS for about 2-3 weeks, that's when I got around to getting my VM running and installing software on it that I needed. I've been running Tuxera for about a month now. I'm feeling fairly comfortable with Tuxera despite the occassional errors checkdisk throws up, I haven't lost any files or had any software problems.

That being said, until the complete blowout with Paragon when installing SQL Server on the VM, I was comfortable with it too, and hadn't lost any files or had any software problems.

I'm not too sure what either company's upgrade policy is, I didn't really factor that into my purchasing decision because I just wanted to the best software for the job for my personal requirements. I thought it would be Paragon, and in the end it turned out to be Tuxera. If Paragon brought out a new release that was stable with SQL Server, I would give it a go again. If Tuxera resolved their occasional inconsistencies, that would be great too.

Thank you.

 

[SkimMilk168]

For anyone interested, I just got to know that there's a 1 day 50% off at the moment (from BitDuJour).

http://www.bitsdujour.com/software/paragon-ntfs-for-mac-os-x/in=todays-deals-home

Will be grabbing 2 copies for wife and I.