Ntfs Usb For Mac
Facing problem in using Windows formatted NTFS drives on a Mac? Looking for a solution?
In this tutorial, we will explain ways to use Windows NTFS drives on your favorite macOS.
The debate about which is better Microsoft’s Windows or Apple’s macOS isn’t going to end anytime soon. That said Windows is the most popular operating system. Due to which most external storage devices are pre-formatted to NTFS.
NTFS is the format created by Microsoft and is used to retrieve and store files on the hard disk. Since it is a proprietary, Apple requires a special license to use it. This means macOS users can only open and view files stored on NTFS drive, they cannot copy or edit these files.
Worry not in this tutorial, you’ll learn how to use NTFS on macOS and edit files stored on it.
We will discuss inbuilt Apple features and third-party tools to use NTFS drives on macOS.
Steps to use NTFS drives on macOS
Note: Terminal command aren’t fully tested therefore if you plan to use them take complete data backup.
- MacBooks are partially compatible with the New Technology File System. MacBooks can read data stored on NTFS-formatted storage devices, but are unable to write data to NTFS-formatted storage devices.
- Most Mac users will be better off formatting external drives with exFAT, ensuring they work well on both Windows and Mac OS X without any extra work. If you must write to an NTFS drive, one of the paid, third-party drivers will be the easiest option with the best performance and least risk of file corruption.
Sep 10, 2020 Guide: format USB to FAT 32 & NTFS. Step 1: Select the USB drive to format. Connect the USB drive or pen drive to your computer. Download and launch EaseUS partition software. Right-click the USB drive you intend to format and choose 'Format'.
1. Format to FAT32
This one is the easiest solution but once you format NTFS to FAT32 the drive won’t work as it works with NTFS. FAT32 supports files sizes of only up to 4GB.
To reformat NTFS to FAT32 use macOS Disk Utility. Once done you’ll be able to read and write data on both Macs and PCs.
To format NTFS to FAT32, using macOS Disk Utility follow the steps below:
1. Launcḥ Disk Utility.
2. Next, insert NTFS drive or USB stick.
3. Select disk name from the left pane.
4. After this click on Erase tab and under ‘Format’ choose ‘(MS-DOS FAT)’.
5. Give a new name to the drive and click Erase to continue.
Note: As this process will permanently delete all existing data from the drive. Hence read the warning carefully before proceeding. Once done you’ll be able to move files to your drive and edit them in place from a Mac or PC.
2. Use a third-party app
The fact that macOS doesn’t support Windows NTFS has given developers an opportunity to develop apps that will make this possible. There are a number of apps available in the market that will help to allow macOS to run Windows NTFS drive.
We recommended using Microsoft NTFS for Macby Paragon. This tool offers a ten-day free trial. Once the software is installed it will mount your Windows drive allowing you to edit, delete files from the disk.
3. Enable NTFS write support in Terminal
If you are not comfortable formatting NTFS to FAT32, then you can enable write support for specific Windows disks using macOS Terminal.
Remember: This feature is not fully tested therefore before you plan to use it take complete data backup.
The main benefit of using Terminal is it’s fast and it eliminates the need for third-party software.
To get started, ensure the NTFS drive is connected. Once done open Terminal and enter the command:
Autocad architecture for mac os. sudo nano /etc/fstab
This will display a list of drives, scroll to the end using arrow keys on the keyboard. Here add the following line, replacing ‘NAME’ with the actual name of your NTFS drive e.g. Kingston (if you do not know the name, open Disk Utility, it will help you). Once you have the name of the NTFS drive enter the following command. Remember, to replace Name with NTFS drive name.
LABEL=NAME none ntfs rw,auto,nobrowse
Now save the list and exit by pressing Ctrl+X. After this, connect your Windows drive to the Mac > launch Finder > click Go > Go to Folder, type ‘/Volumes/NAME’ where ‘NAME’ is the name of your NTFS drive.
Click Go and access your Windows disk. This will allow you to edit existing files and copy new ones.
In addition to this, if you want to use only a handful of files then you can leave all this trouble and switch to cloud backup tools like Right Backup. This tool will allow your backup all your data, edit and share a file. This means the file that was originally created for Windows and saved on NTFS disk can also be edited.
Once the tool is installed you’ll need to create an account and start syncing data. Moreover, you can share the edited document with others on email, Facebook and Twitter. This amazing tool offers a web interface and application that can be used on all the platforms.
To share an uploaded file, right-click on it and click on Share. From here you can choose from different methods to share the file.
Using these simple steps you can easily use Windows NTFS drive on macOS. We hope you like the guide. Please share it with your friends and follow us to get learn more tweaks like this. Do leave us a comment if you liked it and if you want us to write on anything specific.
Cross-platform incompatibility has been a huge roadblock for people who have to move back and forth between Windows and macOS, especially when you need to share files between Windows and Mac using an NTFS drive. After you connected an NTFS drive such as a Seagate or WD My Passport NTFS drive to the Mac, you found that you could view the files stored on your NTFS-formatted drive on Mac, but you couldn't edit, rename, copy, paste, delete, move or create files on it.
Any ways that you can read-write to NTFS drives on Mac running either macOS or Mac OS X? This article will introduce three solutions for you to solve the ready-only NTFS drives on Mac without formatting. Cut pdf for mac.
- Table of contents
- 1. Can macOS read NTFS drives?
- 2. How to read-write to Microsoft NTFS drives on Mac?
- 3. Conlusion
Can macOS read NTFS?
Yes, you can read Windows NTFS-formatted USB flash drives, SD cards, memory sticks and external hard drives without any problem.
No matter what Mac you are using, either a desktop or a laptop, and no matter which Mac operating system is running on your Mac, macOS or Mac OS X, you are able to read NTFS drives on Mac. You can view your files by opening them. Files will appear the same quality as they do on a PC. What's more, if you have used Boot Camp Assitant to create a Windows BootCamp partition on your Mac SSD, the BootCamp partition is also formatted with NTFS. Therefore, you have read support to Bootcamp partition on your Mac SSD as well.
However, your files will show read-only or locked beside the file name. You can't make any changes to those files nor create/save/move any files on the NTFS drives on Mac. Sharing files between NTFS drives and Mac looks impossible.
Want to have full read-write access to NTFS drives or BootCamp partition on Mac? Keep reading to learn how to enable NTFS write support on Mac and mount BootCamp partition with read-write support.
How to read-write to Microsoft NTFS drives on Mac?
In this section, three options are introduced:
- Free NTFS drivers for Mac
- Cost-effective NTFS for Mac software
- Apple's native NTFS support
Option 1: Free but complicated NTFS driver for Mac
There are some free NTFS driver for Mac that can help you read-write to NTFS drives on Mac. For example, FUSE for macOS is an open-source project. It can mount NTFS drives in read-write mode.
The process will be very technical and please follow the guide very carefully.
Step 1: Download and install Xcode.
1. Go to Finder > Applications > Utilities > Terminal and run the following command line: xcode-select --install.
2. Click 'install' when you are asked to install the Apple's command line developer tools.
Step 2: Download and install Homebrew.
1. Go to the Terminal window and run the following command line:
/usr/bin/ruby -e '$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)'.
2. Hit Enter to install it (provide password when prompted).
Note: If you have installed Xcode and Homebrew before, messages will pop up in Terminal window telling you have installed them before. You just ignore the messages, keep doing the next steps.
Step 3: Download and install FUSE for macOS.
Use default options when installing it.
Step 4: Install NTFS-3G.
1. Go to Terminal window and run the following command line: brew install homebrew/fuse/ntfs-3g.
2. Hit Enter.
Step 5: Disable SIP (System Integrity Protection).
SIP exists to protect the operating system from unauthorized changes.
1. Restart your Mac and hold down Command + R immediately until you see the Apple logo.
2. Open Terminal from the Utilities menu.
3. Run the command line: csrutil disable.
4. Hit Enter.
5. Reboot the Mac.
Step 6: Read and write to NTFS on Mac.
1. Go to Finder > Applications > Utilities > Terminal.
2. Run the following command line:
sudo mv /sbin/mount_ntfs /sbin/mount_ntfs.original
sudo ln -s /usr/local/sbin/mount_ntfs /sbin/mount_ntfs
3. Hit Enter.
Note: It is recommended that you enable SIP after you finish using NTFS drives on Mac to better protect your Mac. To enable SIP, you just need to follow the Step 5 and run command line 'csrutil enable' in Terminal window, hit Enter and restart the Mac.
Other than FUSE for macOS, Mounty for Mac, NTFS-3G, SL-NTFS are other free NTFS drivers for Mac. Like NTFS-3G, they are free but all of them require a good bit of work to install and use.
If you feel uncomfortable with this method which involves so many command lines and rebooting the Mac, here is an easier solution for you to read and write to NTFS drives on Mac.
Option 2: Commercial but easy-to-use NTFS driver for Mac
Commercial NTFS drivers for Mac are other options to make the NTFS drive compatible with both PC and Mac. They include iBoysoft NTFS for Mac and NTFS Assistant. They might cost you a little money, but they offer high reliability, fast write speed, excellent compatibility and free technical support, which you probably won't get from a free NTFS driver for Mac.
In this section, we'll introduce two cost-effective NTFS apps for Mac: iBoysoft NTFS for Mac to help you read and write to NTFS on Mac computer.
iBoysoft NTFS for Mac - a comprehensive NTFS manager
iBoysoft NTFS for Mac can enable NTFS write support on Mac automatically after NTFS drives are detected. It supports full read-write support. You can create, save, copy, paste, delete and modify files on NTFS drives on Mac freely. iBoysoft NTFS for Mac has fast NTFS write and file transferring speed. With iBoysoft NTFS for Mac, you won't feel any difference between using an NTFS drive on Mac or using an drive with the format that is fully supported by macOS.
Best NTFS for Mac - iBoysoft NTFS for Mac
- Read and write NTFS volumes on Mac
- Mount and unmount NTFS volumes
- Repair NTFS file system errors
- Erase data on NTFS disks
- List and open all attached external drives
- Reformat other file systems to NTFS
- Support macOS 10.15/10.14/10.13/10.12 and OS X 10.11/10.10/10.9/10.8
Besides, iBoysoft NTFS for Mac offers other NTFS management features to help users better manage NTFS drives and other external drives. It allows you to open, unmount, eject or erase the NTFS volumes with one click. You can utilize it to repair the NTFS file system errors. Also, the software will list all conencted USB flash drives, SD cards, external drives and memory sticks. You can open them in the main window too. Moreover, iBoysoft NTFS for Mac supports erasing the data on NTFS disks and reformatting other file systems to NTFS.
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Ntfs Usb For Mac Windows 7
Steps to read and write to NTFS drives on Mac:
Step 1: Free download and install iBoysoft NTFS for Mac on Mac.
Step 2: Connect your NTFS drive to your Mac computer.
Step 3: After your drive is mounted successfully, you can manage your drives and read-write to NTFS drives.
Option 3: Enable NTFS write support using command line
Ntfs Usb For Mac Installer
I bet most people don't know that the Mac operating system includes the experimental NTFS write support, but it is disabled by default. You can run some command lines in Terminal to enable it. However, Apple hasn't officially supported NTFS-writing ability yet. It is proven to be unstable and risky. It may cause disk corruption and permanent data loss. If you accidentally couldn't access your NTFS drives or lost data from them, try iBoysoft Data Recovery for Mac to recover important files.
This solution is not recommended, but if you are curious about how to enable Apple NTFS write support, follow the steps below:
Step 1: Go to the Applications > Utilities > Terminal to launch the Terminal program.
Step 2: Input 'sudo nano /etc/fstab' to edit the fstab file (provide your password when prompted). No letters will show up when you type in password.
Step 3: Type 'LABEL=VOLUME_NAME none ntfs rw,auto,nobrowse' in the editor window for the fstab file and press 'Control + O' to write. (Be sure to change the word VOLUME_NAME to the name of your NTFS volume)
Tips: If you have multiple NTFS drives you want to write to, write different line for each NTFS drive.
Step 4: Hit Enter and press 'Control + X' to exit.
Step 5: Re-connected the NTFS drive to the Mac.
Step 6: Click 'Go' at the top left menu bar and choose 'Go to Folder'.
Step 7: Type in /Volomes and hit Enter.
Step 8: Find the NTFS volume or drive and drag it to sidebar for easy access.
Tips: If you want to undo the change, follow the step 1 and step 2, then delete the command line. Save your change and exit.
Conclusion
Using Ntfs On Mac
Writing to NTFS drives on Mac is totally possible. You have several options to choose from - free NTFS drivers, cost-effective NTFS drivers and Apple's native NTFS support. Free NTFS drivers for Mac and Apple's NTFS support are free but take extra amount of work to mount NTFS drives on Mac in read-write mode. They are risky and very unstable. Even though iBoysoft NTFS for Mac is not completely free, it saves you a lot of time and effort for its excellent reliability and ease of use.
Ntfs Usb For Mac Windows 10
If you want to use external drives for file transferring between Windows and Mac frequently, it is a good idea to convert NTFS to exFAT or FAT32 to make the drives compatible with both platforms.