Update to Ventura changed format of an external HD

[Joelouis07]

Hello. I recently update my iMac OS to Ventura.
I have two Seagate external HDs. Yesterday I couldn't work with one of them because it was like Read Only.
I went to Get Info and I noticed that the format had changed from Mac OS Extended (Journaled) to Windows NT File System (NTFS).
Any ideas?. Thanks
JL

 

[fisherking]

that can't happen. make sure you're looking at the external drive NAME in disk utility, not the enclosing drive.

not sure about the 'read only' issue, unless your drive actually was always NTFS. an OS upgrade does not format an external drive (& you'd have to wipe that drive clean to change it's format as well).

what format does the other seagate show as?

anyway, am sure others here will have some ideas...

 

[Joelouis07]

that can't happen. make sure you're looking at the external drive NAME in disk utility, not the enclosing drive.

not sure about the 'read only' issue, unless your drive actually was always NTFS. an OS upgrade does not format an external drive (& you'd have to wipe that drive clean to change it's format as well).

what format does the other seagate show as?

anyway, am sure others here will have some ideas...

Thanks. The other HD format is Mac OS Extended (Journaled). I've always used Mac OS Extended (Journaled) in my HDs. Besides, I have worked for a long time with this HD. I would not have been able to do it if the format was read only.
I just read on Google that I have to backup the HD, then reformat it. In that case, can I backup to the Mac HD, or is it better to iCloud?

 

[hwojtek]

And MacOS by itself wouldn't be able to convert it to NTFS, as it does only supports NTFS read, not write. Therefore it is unable to rewrite your disk into NTFS.

your drive actually was always NTFS

Most probably yes, and the upgrade disabled some software (old version of Paragon NTFS?) which allowed NTFS read/write.

 

[fisherking]

at this point, if you want to resolve things simply, rather than hunt for a fix... you could get a new drive, format it mac os extended (or APFS), and copy everything from the problematic drive to the new drive.

then, you can always reformat the older drive for the mac, and use it as well. just a suggestion of course.

(external drives, in my experience, also make great paperweights) 🤔

 

[FreakinEurekan]

Definitely try to get rid of NTFS… if you need a disk to be compatible with both Mac and Windows, format it as exFAT. But as others said, changing the format on a disk will ALWAYS erase the disk.

 

[Mike Boreham]

But as others said, changing the format on a disk will ALWAYS erase the disk.

One exception is you can convert HFS+ volumes to APFS in Disk Utility without reformatting.

 

[Joelouis07]

Thanks so much. You all are really great!.
Then, I have to backup the HD, then reformat it. In that case, is it better backup to the Mac HD, or to iCloud?
I started to buck up to the Mac HD. Then reformat the external HD using APFS as suggested.
Am I right? Any suggestion? (I'm afraid of losing something in the process) Thanks again

 

[fisherking]

Thanks so much. You all are really great!.
Then, I have to backup the HD, then reformat it. In that case, is it better backup to the Mac HD, or to iCloud?
I started to buck up to the Mac HD. Then reformat the external HD using APFS as suggested.
Am I right? Any suggestion? (I'm afraid of losing something in the process) Thanks again

icloud is not a backup system.

if you have room on your internal HD, you can copy the contents from the problematic drive to your internal drive; once you're SURE everything is there, wipe and reformat the external (ie as mac os extended). then copy everything back, and once that's good.. you can delete it from your mac.

make sure you have a time machine drive setup, and you're backing up everything important to you (even if it's on an external drive). you HAVE TO have everything in 2 places...

 

[Joelouis07]

make sure you have a time machine drive

 

[Joelouis07]

Fisherking, time machine is for backing up, right? Don't I just copy directly?

 

[bradl]

Time machine is for backing up, right? Don't I just copy directly?

Time Machine handles versioning, where simply copying will overwrite any previous version of a file you may have. Additionally, Time Machine can be used to restore not a given drive, but the entire OS, let alone allow you to migrate between Macs with Migration Assistant and Setup Assistant.

As far as the upgrade goes, I think the bigger question is as the upgrade only handles the drive internal to your Mac, unless you are running MacOS from the external drive, why have that external drive connected to your Mac during the upgrade? If anything, those should be disconnected, let alone a TM backup made of your Mac prior to upgrading. Should anything go wrong, you can restore the affected files, let alone restore your Mac back to its last known good state prior to upgrading.

BL.

 

[fisherking]

Fisherking, time machine is for backing up, right? Don't I just copy directly?

yes, i suggested you copy everything from the external to your mac, then, if all is well, reformat the external, then copy everything back to it.

time machine is for backing up, and you NEED to be doing that, with your mac, and your external drives. you HAVE TO have everything in (at least) 2 places. otherwise, if a drive fails, everything goes with it.

the macrumors forums (among others) is littered with stories of people who lost important data because they never got around to backing up...

 

[Joelouis07]

Ok, I understand. I already copied all the external drive content directly to a new folder in my Mac. Must I repeat the BU using TM?
What about a recommendation for a good new external drive Pro Tools?
Thanks