Converting External Hard Drives from Windows NTFS

I just got a MacBook a few days ago and have been transferring all of my data over from my old Windows XP Dell. I decided that I wanted to shoot some pictures over back to the hard drive and realized that it was read only (the drive is NTFS). What are my options? I have three external drives. One 320GB and two 120GB (one is a travel drive) all are NTFS. The 120GB desktop isn't used so if worse comes to worse, I can reformat it to what ever Mac needs and play hop scotch and run all of my info around til I get all of the drives formated Mac...
Questions:
What should I format my desktop drive to if I will use it purely on my Mac? What would happen if I use that format when I run Windows XP Parallel?
Also, my travel drive I like to use for both Mac and Windows if possible so at the very least, Windows has to read this drive. How should that be formated?
One last one, would it be worth buying a program like ParagonNTFS for Mac? Is there any risk with this. I like the simplicity of not having to play hard drive shuffle with it but don't what my data to be at risk with it...
Thanks for the help,
Brian

BrianJ844 wrote:
Questions:
What should I format my desktop drive to if I will use it purely on my Mac? What would happen if I use that format when I run Windows XP Parallel?
Journalled HFS. Win XP via parallels can access it just fine.
Also, my travel drive I like to use for both Mac and Windows if possible so at the very least, Windows has to read this drive. How should that be formated?
FAT32 (aka MS-DOS on the mac)
One last one, would it be worth buying a program like ParagonNTFS for Mac? Is there any risk with this. I like the simplicity of not having to play hard drive shuffle with it but don't what my data to be at risk with it...
A free alternative is NTFS-3G. Link here. Not sure about reliability... I don't use it. I access NTFS over a network, so it is not an issue as it uses samba to do so.

Similar Messages

  • Can I bring files from a NTFS formatted external hard drive (from Windows XP 32 bit desktop) to my new macbook pro retina?

    Can I bring files from a NTFS formatted external hard drive (from Windows XP 32 bit desktop) to my new macbook pro retina?

    What are these files you are trying to copy over?
    If they are program specific and there is no program on a Mac to read them then you'll have to find either a Mac version of that program or one that does the same thing and can read those files.
    The file extension should not change just because you connect a NTFS formatted drive to a Mac computer. A Word Document is still a .doc/.docx ad the same for all other office type programs. Music files with an extension of .MP3, or whatever, should read the same on both system. Same goes for all other files like images with a .JPG extension.
    Yes I would network them.
    I would not use Migration Assistant. There is nothing on your Windows PC that can be used on the Mac other than your personal data files. No programs or settings can be carried over from Windows to OS X.
    marimbapony1 wrote:
    Also, when I view the files from the external hard drive, they show up as .nbz and are not recognized by any program on the Mac. Should I just abandon the hard drive option and start sharing files through the LAN approach?

  • External Hard Drive (from windows to Mac)

    Hi Mac users!
    I just moved from Windows to Mac and I'm very glad I made the switch. However, I am having some issues with my Win-Mac transistion. I have 3 external hard drives that I used under Windows to keep backups of my videos and personal files. Out of the 3 external hard drives, only one is recognized by OS X (10.5). I really need the other 2 to be recognized to transfer some more data to my new Mac system. Could you please help me to figure out what to do??
    Here are some information on my 3 externl hard drives:
    1 is a WD My Book (working fine)
    1 is a La Cie Porsche model (Not working)
    1 is a Ximeta (Not working)
    I tried several USB ports, USB hubs. I have checked the Utilities to make sure the hard drive is not recognized/detected. Please, i need help to recover some important information and to complete my Windows-Mac transistion!
    Thank you for your help!

    I had to ask...I also have to ask, when you tried a USB hub, was it an externally powered hub? Sometimes a USB disk won't mount because there isn't enough USB power. However, Mac OS has always given me an explicit message to that effect...
    If your LaCie came with a CD, you might use it to install drivers. In principle, that shouldn't be necessary, but is a possibility. If it is a drivers issue then you may be SOL for the Ximeta; glancing at their website--but not necessarily for the right product--they seem to claim that their hard drives require Windows. But I've never had to install drivers on a Mac to use an external hard drive.
    It shouldn't be an NTFS issue because NTFS is still readable, just not writable, as you already observed with the WD. The filesystem(s) should still mount.

  • Re formatting an external hard drive from windows to mac

    hi all,
    bought a samsung hd400ld which i found out later had been formatted for windows nt?? just wondering if there is a way of reformatting the hard drive so i can save stuff from my mac onto it??
    any suggestions would be appreciated,
    (have tried using disk utility to no avail)
    cheers,
    sam

    Open the Disk Utility in the /Applications/Utilities/ folder and reformat it as Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and with the GUID partition table format.
    (103822)

  • I have an external hard drive, from Iomega. However, I cannot copy or save any file to it. On my PC it says that is possible to read and write in it, but in my Mac, it says I can only read. can somebody help me?

    I have an external hard drive, from Iomega. that I can open and see my files. However, I cannot copy or save any file to it. On my PC I have it says that is possible to read and write in it, but in my Mac, it says I can only read. can somebody help me?
    Also, Im a photographer, so I like to name a lot of files at the same time (used to do in on PC and it was very usefull.) cannot find out how to do it on my Mac. Really appretiate if some one can give me a solution! Thanx

    Your drive is formatted with the NTFS file system.  OS X can read but not write to the NTFS file system.  There are third party drivers available that claim to add the ability to OS X to write to an NTFS partition.  I have not tried them and don't know if they work.
    The only file system that OS X and Windows can both write to natively is the FAT32 file system.

  • How do you transfer info from an external hard drive from a PC to a Mac

    How do you transfer info from a external hard drive from a pc to a imac?

    Expanding on what Niel said, a Mac can mount and read just about any hard drive from a Windows system. It can't write to an NTFS-formatted drive without third-party drivers, but it can read them. So as Niel indicated, you should be able to just connect the drive to your Mac and drag-copy over whatever you want. If you want to save things from the Mac to that drive, then it will need to be formatted either as FAT32 or exFAT, or if it's NFTS you'll again need drivers.
    Regards.

  • I can not save any data to external hard drive from my mac pro. Is there anyone can help me in this regard?( note, when i first plug my ext. drive to mac i chose option to backup later)

    I can not save any data to external hard drive from my mac pro. Is there anyone can help me in this regard?( note, when i first plug my ext. drive to mac i chose option to backup later)

    The device may be formatted for Windows, as NTFS. The format is readable, but not natively writable on a Mac. To write to the device, you must either reformat it (erasing all the contents) or install third-party software to enable write access to NTFS.

  • HT3275 Time machine at home and it will not allow me to remove the listing of my external hard drive from the excluded files list.

    Please help guys, I have a Time machine at home and it will not allow me to remove the listing of my external hard drive from the excluded files list.
    I am trying to use time machine to back up the hard drive. For backing up from Macbooik pro and Imac, there is no problem. It seems to not want to allow the external drive to be removed from the Excluded list and as such will not back up from it.
    Is there a way to be able to transfer files (music, movies etc) to time machine, format the external drive then put the files back to hard drive?
    Sorry it is a long winded question but it is driving me nuts that I cant sort this out.
    The <Macbook and Imac are both running mountain lion.
    Thanks Guys

    As for the hard drive to which you have never been able to write, is it by any chance in NTFS format? OS X can read NTFS for importing files, but it does not contain code for writing on an NTFS volume. That's a choice, not a bug.
    There is third-party software available to install NTFS-writing capability into OS X. An example is Paragon NTFS for Mac OS X. Another alternative would be to use a disk format that both Macs and Windows systems can use for both reading and writing; this would require either a new drive or erase the existing data.
    If by "the new system software" you mean OS X 10.9 Mavericks, you may want to repost that portion of your query in the Mavericks forum at https://discussions.apple.com/community/mac_os/os_x_mavericks . I haven't made the leap yet.
    I don't know what other problems you have been having, so I cannot comment on them. You don't seem to have any other recent postings on these forums.

  • Can i use an external hard drive in windows to add additional storage after my initial partition is set up. i want to add a 500 GB hard drive to use with my windows. I set windows up in boot camp with a 50 GB partition?

    can i use an external hard drive in windows to add additional storage after my initial partition is set up. i want to add a 500 GB external hard drive to use with my windows. I set windows up in boot camp with a 50 GB partition? I now want to add another 500 GB?

    Yes. Windows supports external USB drives.

  • I have an external hard drive from my time capsule that stopped working on me. I am attempting to access the data with a hard drive reader on my MAC. I am able to see the drive in disk utility and under system info USB. But I am unable to access the data.

    I have an external hard drive from my time capsule that stopped working on me. I am attempting to access the data with a hard drive reader on my MAC. I am able to see the drive in disk utility and under system info USB. But I am unable to access the data and it does not show on the desktop when connected.

    Ok if disk utility was able to verify the drive I doubt there is any problem.. are you trying to open a TM backup??
    You need to mount the sparsebundle then check the actual info inside the bundle.
    Don't use disk warrior.. if the disk has verified then unless you deliberately deleted files there is nothing that is going to do.
    Pondini has a lot of stuff about getting access to the sparsebundle.
    http://pondini.org/TM/17.html
    But if you have copied info to the TC that is now gone.. and the disk is ok.. I am not sure.. the TC will not have deleted the files itself.

  • How do you dump a external hard drive from PC to mac

    How do i dump my external hard drive from a PC to my Mac

    If you don't see the external HD when you connect it to the Mac, then you need to use Disk Utility to format the XHD to a FAT32 drive. Once done it will read on the Mac and PC without any problems.

  • I want to move my music and photos to an external hard drive from my iMac. What external hard drive should I get?

    I want to move my music and photos to an external hard drive from my iMac.  What kind of hard drive should I get?  Will it remove it from iMac and only be on external hard drive?

    How to correctly move your media:
    iTunes: How to move the library to an EHD
    iPhoto: How to move the Library to an EHD
    It is important that the External Hard Drive is formatted as Mac OS Extended (journaled).
    And also make sure that all is working to your Satisfaction before Deleting anything Off your Mac.

  • How can I make a backup to an external hard drive from iPhoto if it won't open?

    how can I make a backup to an external hard drive from iPhoto if it won't open? I just wan't to make a backup to my pictures not my entire computer so how does Time Machine work on that?

      you could also clone the drive or volume, or just some of the user folders. look for carbon copy cloner, then enable the "use checksum to insure file integrity."
      you can have multiple iPhoto Library catalogues in different locations.
    Continue to use TimeMachine and make sure it has 350% or more capacity than your system and data.

  • I bought an external hard drive from apple puter (I thought) should I be able to see my pictures in the time capsule? I never set up the time capsule I just plugged it in and it seemed ready to go. But can't see the pictures

    I bought an external hard drive from the apple store. I didn't set up time machine I just plugged it in and it seemed good to go. When I go into time capsule should I be able to see my pictures? I would think i could but all I see is a spot for the pictures to be

    Ok if disk utility was able to verify the drive I doubt there is any problem.. are you trying to open a TM backup??
    You need to mount the sparsebundle then check the actual info inside the bundle.
    Don't use disk warrior.. if the disk has verified then unless you deliberately deleted files there is nothing that is going to do.
    Pondini has a lot of stuff about getting access to the sparsebundle.
    http://pondini.org/TM/17.html
    But if you have copied info to the TC that is now gone.. and the disk is ok.. I am not sure.. the TC will not have deleted the files itself.

  • I just bought a MBA and I need to move my photos and itunes to an external hard drive (from my old MacBook Pro) because they won't fit on the Air.  I got the photos moved fine and I followed an online tutorial to move the necessary files for itunes, but i

    I just bought a MBA and I need to move my photos and itunes to an external hard drive (from my old MacBook Pro) because they won't fit on the Air.  I got the photos moved fine and I followed an online tutorial to move the necessary files for itunes, but it didn't work.  The files copied fine, but when I tell iTunes on the Air to look at the external drive for the library, it doesn't find anything.  What I copied was the entire iTunes Media folder.  So, how do I move the necessary iTunes files from my old Pro to a external drive so I can access them from my new Air?  Whew!

    iTunes- How to move the library to an EHD
    After you move the library you need to open iTunes by first depressing the OPTION key then launching iTunes. You will be given a choice of which library to use. This can then be made a permanent change, if you wish, in the Advanced section of iTunes preferences.

Maybe you are looking for