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Unable to write to Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex

H

hajime

macrumors G3
Original poster
Jul 23, 2007
8,134
1,394
Hello. I bought the Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex 2T few months ago. It was formatted by Seagate in a way that it can be used under both Mac OS and Windows. As far as I recall, I was able to write to the drive under Mac OS. However, I used it to backup my Windows PC. I just tried to copy some files from my Mac to this drive. It mounted but for some reason, it is write protected. I tried it under Windows and I can read and write. Anybody knows how to remove the write protection? I tried disk utility but there seems to be no option for me to do that. sudo chmod -r 777 does not seem to help. Thanks.
 
What format is it, exactly? Right-click on the drive and "Get Info" to find out.

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)
    • 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.
 
Last edited:
Thank you very much for the very useful information.
 
crazy$hark said:
What do you mean by maximum file and volume size? I have a GoFlex HDD (Windows NT Filesystem) and i can read and write from my mac.
Click to expand...
That maximum file and volume size is for FAT32. Mac OS X can read NTFS but not write, unless you enable that feature in SL or install something like NTFS-3G.
 
hajime said:
Hello. I bought the Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex 2T few months ago. It was formatted by Seagate in a way that it can be used under both Mac OS and Windows. As far as I recall, I was able to write to the drive under Mac OS. However, I used it to backup my Windows PC. I just tried to copy some files from my Mac to this drive. It mounted but for some reason, it is write protected. I tried it under Windows and I can read and write. Anybody knows how to remove the write protection? I tried disk utility but there seems to be no option for me to do that. sudo chmod -r 777 does not seem to help. Thanks.
Click to expand...

You need this NTFS driver that Seagate bundles with the drive to read AND write to it when it's formatted NTFS.
 
Man if I had known Mac could read/write NTFS I probably would have formatted my HDD partition that way. I'm stuck with the 4gb file limit now on my Seagate too but I don't want to reformat in case I lose files.
 
rayjay86 said:
Man if I had known Mac could read/write NTFS I probably would have formatted my HDD partition that way. I'm stuck with the 4gb file limit now on my Seagate too but I don't want to reformat in case I lose files.
Click to expand...
Is there another drive you can move your files to, so you can reformat the drive and move them back?
 
I am having similar issues

I actually have a 1TB seagate. It is formatted by Seagate for both PC and Mac.

I haven't taken it NEAR a PC, however. I can write to the drive at home, but when I go to school (where I cannot install anything) I am unable to write to the drive.

It is in the Windows NT File format. When I went to the site for the software, it is not updated for Lion, yet.

I'd appreciate any help.

This is incredibly frustrating. I also have another Seagate 1TB that I formatted and partitioned ON THE MAC! and I can't write to it at home now. Only the PC partition is viewable.:confused:

The
 
apfel-itis said:
I haven't taken it NEAR a PC, however. I can write to the drive at home, but when I go to school (where I cannot install anything) I am unable to write to the drive.
Click to expand...
If it's NTFS format, you can read and write to the drive in native Windows. You can read, but not write in native Mac OS X.

Read the NTFS info in the 2nd post of this thread.
 
Last edited:
Currently setup as NTFS but want to read/write to it on a MAC (with Lion) and Win7. Don't want to buy Paragon since I don't have files > 4GB and it's a 1.5 TB drive.
From a MAC, how do I switch/reformat it's format to FAT32?
 
Last edited:
Use Disk Utility to format the drive and select MS-DOS as the file system.

Or use your Windows machine to format it and select FAT32.

Either way, your data WILL be erased, so make sure you back it up prior to formatting it.
 
Hi

I have the Seagate-Goflex Cinema

I installed it on my mac 10.6.8 and chose the PC & Mac option.

Like the others, I can use it on my Mac but when I hook it up to a windows and try to transfer files, it ain't happening.

I know the second thread explains the options but could someone point me in the right direction of which one to use?

I wish to use the hard drive on the mac and PC the same.

Sorry but I found it a bit confusing as the reading and writing are different and do I install macdrive?

Any help is appreciated, sorry for being a bit slow.:eek:
 
cj-r said:
Any help is appreciated, sorry for being a bit slow.:eek:
Click to expand...
The best approach would be to purchase the $20 driver from Paragon and format the drive as NTFS. NTFS is the standard going forward on the Windows side. A less ideal but perfectly functional approach for the near term is to format as FAT32. The only limitation is that your drive be under 2TB and your files be under 4GB.
 
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