IBoysoft NTFS for Mac is a cheap and easy-to-use tool that breaks down the borders among Windows NTFS file system and macOS. Fully compatible with macOS Catalina and earlier, the software is designed to help users read and write to NTFS-formatted external hard drives, SSDs, SD cards, or USB drives.
It has been a headache trying to get Windows and macOS to talk to each other over the decades, especially when using an NTFS-formattedexternal drive to transfer files between the two platforms. By default, Apple’s macOS can only read from Windows-formatted NTFS drives, but can’t write to them out of the box.
Do you have an external hard drive formatted to NTFS that you would like to use onyour Mac? The incompatibility is not just an issue for those switching from Windows machines to Mac, but also for those use Boot Camp on Mac. Don’t worry. This guide will walk you through steps to enable NTFS writing support on macOS.
Solution 1: Change the Drive Format from NTFS to exFAT
We know that the NTFS file system built into Mac cannot write NTFS drives by default, it can only read NTFS drives. Hasleo NTFS for Mac is a free software primarily designed to help users full access to NTFS drives in Mac, with it you can mount, unmount, read and write NTFS drives easily, safely and seamlessly in macOS & OS X. To full access (mount, read and write) the BitLocker-encrypted. Format NTFS to Enable NTFS Writing on Mac. The basic reason for not writing to NTFS on Mac is.
exFAT and FAT32 are two kinds of drive formats supported by both Windows and Mac. But FAT32 cannot store a single file larger than 4GB. If you have large files to store, exFAT is a better choice. Follow these steps to change a drive format from NTFS to exFAT on Mac:
Note: The following steps will erase all the data on your NTFS drive. If you have important data on it, please back up data before reformatting.
Step 1: Go to Finder > Applications > Utilities and then open Disk Utility.
Step 2: Select the drive to change the format. Click the Erase tab and choose the exFAT/FAT32 option in the drop-down box. Click on Erase.
Now, this drive can now be used to transfer files from a Mac to any Windows PC and vice versa.
Solution 2: Run Command Lines
Actually, macOS includes the writing feature but it’s disabled by default. Fortunately, you can enable this feature in the settings. To enable the NTFS writing feature, you have to do so on a per-volume basis, by editing the system’s hidden fstab file.
Warning: I don’t recommend the method below because the writing ability of Apple’s NTFS driver has not been thoroughly tested. So, the method would not work properly and cause data corruption. Please run these steps with caution.
Step 1: You’ll first need to launch Terminal. Navigate to Finder > Applications > Utilities > Terminal.
Step 2: Type the following command into the Terminal window. The Terminal will show an editor window for the fstab file.
sudonano /etc/fstab
Step 3: Enter the following command in one line. Be sure to change the word NAME to the name of your drive (it’s case-sensitive):
LABEL=NAME none ntfsrw,auto,nobrowse
Step 4: When finished, press Control-O to save the files, followed by Control-X to exit.
Step 5: Unplug our NTFS drive and attach it again. The disk will not immediately appear in the Finder or on desktop, but you can click Go > Go to Folder in the Finder window and type /Volume into the box to access the NTFS volume.
Solution 3: Use Free NTFS Driver
FUSE for macOS is an open-source application that allows the cross-platform implementation of the Microsoft Windows NTFS file system with read-write support. The method is totally free but it is tedious and can get very technical. You might feel uncomfortable in rebooting into Recovery Mode and using Terminal. Here is how:
Step 1: Install Brew in your Mac
First of all, you need the package manager for macOS to continue. If you haven’t already installed it on your Mac, you can open Terminal from Finder > Applications > Utilities and run the following command:
/usr/bin/ruby -e “$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)”
Step 2: Download and install FUSE for macOS from http://osxfuse.github.io/. Use the default option when installing it.
Step 3: Install xCode.
Then you have to install a command-line tool xCode. Go to Finder > Application > Utilities > Terminal and run the following command line:
xcode-select –install
Click Install when the dialogue appears. Click Agree when the license Agreement appears.
Step 4: Install NTFS-3G by opening Terminal and entering the following command:
brew install ntfs-3g
Step 5: Auto-mount NTFS volume in read-write mode
Even though you have installed FUSE for macOS, newly connected NTFS volumes will still be auto-mounted in read-only mode. To change this, you need to disable SIP (System Integrity Protection).
Ntfs Driver For Mac
Warning: SIP is to protect the operating system from unauthorized changes. When you disable it, the computer system might be vulnerable to malware and other badly-behaved programs.
- Boot into Recovery Mode. Restart your Mac and hold Command+R while it boots.
- When you enter the recovery environment, click the Utilities menu and select Terminal to openit.
- Type the following command into the Terminal and press Enter:
csrutil status
- You’ll see whether SIP is enabled or not. To disable SIP, run the following command and hit Enter:
csrutil disable
- Reboot the Mac.
Step 6: Once the SIP is disabled, you need to go to Terminal and run command as follows:
sudo mv /sbin/mount_ntfs /sbin/mount_ntfs.originalsudo ln -s /usr/local/sbin/mount_ntfs /sbin/mount_ntfs
Finally, plug in your NTFS drive and it will be automatically mounted in read and write mode.
Note: It’s highly recommended to re-enable SIP after you finish using NTFS drives on Mac. To enable SIP, you just need to reboot the Mac into the Recovery Mode and enter the command line in the Terminal window: csrutil enable.
Solution 4: Use Commercial but Easy-to-use NTFS Driver
The above procedures, however, may require too much work and fail due to any reason. The easiest and most reliable way to write to NTFS drives on Mac is to use paid NTFS for Mac app.
iBoysoft NTFS for Mac is a cheap and easy-to-use tool that breaks down the borders among Windows NTFS file system and macOS. Fully compatible with macOS Catalina and earlier, the software is designed to help users read and write to NTFS-formatted external hard drives, SSDs, SD cards, or USB drives. This software also includes disk management features for easily checking, repairing, and formatting NTFS drives on Mac seamlessly.
Step 1: Free download and install iBoysoft NTFS for Mac.
Step 2: Connect theNTFS external hard drive to Mac and write to the disk after it is mounted successfully.
Conclusion
Writing to NTFS drives on Mac is possible. You have many options to choose from: formatting NTFS drives to exFAT, enabling Apple’s native NTFS support, and installing a third-party NTFS driver. But the first two solutions are risky and very unstable. The most reliable way is to download and install a third-party NTFS driver. There are both free and paid NTFS drivers in the market. I strongly recommend paid NTFS for Mac apps like iBoysoft NTFS for Mac. Compare to free ones, paid NTFS drivers are easier to use and don’t need any extra work.
About Author:-
Laura Yuan is a tech lover who digs IT trends and helps others with practical tips and solutions. Being a part of @iBoysoft, she’s been writing and sharing tons of related articles.
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.
- 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.
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
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.
Ntfs For Mac Download
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.
Write Ntfs Mac
Conclusion
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 Write For Mac
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.