One of the most usual problems encountered in file transfer between Mac and PC using a disk has something to do with disk format. Windows natively support the FAT and NTFS files systems, while Mac uses Apple File System and macOS Extended as the default file system. It's well-known that Apple macOS has limited support for hard drives formatted in NTFS. When you insert an NTFS external drive in your Mac, you can only read from but not to write to the drive. In other words, you can only open and view all the files on an NTFS disk, but you can't change them in any way, nor can you copy new files to NTFS format disks.
HFS+ Mac OS X's native file system is HFS+ (also known as Mac OS Extended), and it's the only one. Enable NTFS Write Support on Mac for free To enable write support on an NTFS-formatted external drive, you can install an NTFS driver. That way, the existing data remains intact, and you can read/write to the drive on both macOS as well as Windows. Now, there are both free and paid NTFS drivers available for Mac.
IBoysoft NTFS for Mac features high integrity with macOS Finder. You can directly tag, airdrop, duplicate, rename, and move the files to Trash from an NTFS drive in Finder. You can also use the NTFS drive as the backup disk for your Time Machine backups. The deep integrity applies to Disk Utility as well. If you need a broadly compatible drive fit for Windows and macOS, the Microsoft NTFS for Mac by iBoysoft is your best bet. It's efficient, secure, and fast. What's more, its primary repair purpose is perfect for resolving small disk errors. The interface is simplistic and gives you all the information required. Microsoft NTFS is one of the primary file systems of Windows. If you work on a Mac computer and need to read or write files from HDD, SSD or a flash drive formatted under Windows, you need Microsoft NTFS for Mac by Paragon Software. Write, edit, copy, move and delete files on Microsoft NTFS volumes from your Mac! Fast, seamless, easy to use.
Wondering how to write to NTFS drives? The following will show you three solutions in detail.
Solution 1: Use paid NTFS drivers
The easiest way to bridge the gap between formats is to use third-party software. There are various apps available online that have been developed for this incompatibility issue. Some are free, but they may be difficult to set up and less reliable. So we highly recommend paid ones as they are safer and require any computer skills.
iBoysoft NTFS for Mac is the fastest NTFS driver I have ever used. It gives your Mac the ability to read and write to NTFS drives. With the software, you can delete, rename, add files and folders on NTFS formatted drives on macOS Catalina and earlier. It delivers blazing-fast read-write access to NTFS hard drives with a speed of up to six times more that of other competitors.
The program can also be used as a disk manager that enables you to unmount, erase, check and repair NTFS disks within one click. Besides handling NTFS drives, iBoysoft NTFS for Mac also impress you by formatting FA32/exFAT/HFS+/APFS drives to NTFS.
iboysoft-NTFS-for-mac-Catalina
Step 1: Download and install iBoysoft NTFS for Mac on your Mac computer.
Step 2: Plug the NTFS drives on your Mac. Once the drive is detected, a Finder window with its content will pop out. Then you can read and write to NTFS drives as you wish.
Solution 2: Use free NTFS drivers
FUSE for macOS is the most famous free NTFS driver that can let you extend the list of file systems handled by your computer. Once installed, it automatically mounts NTFS drives on Mac in read-write mode.
Note: this method will be very technical and tedious. During the process, you have to temporarily disable System Integrity Protection that is a risk for your operating system.
Step 1: Download FUSE for macOS from https://github.com/osxfuse/osxfuse/releases
Step 2: Download and install Xcode command-line tools.
- Open a Terminal window from Finder > Applications > Utilities and run the following command:
Xcode-select –install
- Click 'Install' when you're prompted to install the tools. Follow the wizard to complete the installation process.
install-Xcode
Mac Ntfs Rw
Step 3: Download and install HomeBrew.
- Go to Finder > Applications > Utilities > Terminal.
- Copy and paste the command line (Provide your password when prompt):
Step 4: Install NTFS-3G for Mac. Copy and paste the following command line, then hit Enter.
Step 5: Disable SIP (System Integrity Protection). If you want to automatically mount NTFS drives in read-write mode.
- Enter into Recovery Mode. Restart your Mac and press Command+R while it's booting.
- Launch Terminal from the utility menu in Recovery Mode.
- Type in the command line and hit Enter.
install-Xcode
Mac Ntfs Rw
Step 3: Download and install HomeBrew.
- Go to Finder > Applications > Utilities > Terminal.
- Copy and paste the command line (Provide your password when prompt):
Step 4: Install NTFS-3G for Mac. Copy and paste the following command line, then hit Enter.
Step 5: Disable SIP (System Integrity Protection). If you want to automatically mount NTFS drives in read-write mode.
- Enter into Recovery Mode. Restart your Mac and press Command+R while it's booting.
- Launch Terminal from the utility menu in Recovery Mode.
- Type in the command line and hit Enter.
csrutil disable
disable-sip
- After your Mac successfully disabled SIP, you need to restart the machine.
Step 6: Read and write to NTFS drives.
- Open Terminal again.
- Copy and paste the following command line and hit Enter:
Step 7: Re-enable SIP. To ensure the security of your Mac, you should enable SIP after the above operations. Hold Command+R while rebooting your computer. Then launch Terminal in Recovery Mode and run csrutil enable.
Solution 3: Enable NTFS drive write support natively
Actually, NTFS write access can be enabled natively by running some command line. But this solution is unsupported officially by Apple, which may work unstably and cause data corruption. Please back up your important data first. Within this in mind, let's proceed.
Step 1: Connect an NTFS drive to your Apple computer.
Step 2: Go to Finder > Applications > Utilities > Terminal and type in the following command: (Enter your password when prompt)
sudo nano /etc/fstab
apple-NTFS-write-support-step-2
Step 3: You will see the fstab file that is blank. Then enter the following command (Remember to replace 'VOLUME_NAME' to the name of your NTFS volume):
LABEL=VOLUME_NAME none ntfs rw,auto,nobrowse
apple-ntfs-write-support-step
Step5: Reconnect the NTFS drive to your Mac. You will notice the drive does not show in the Finder or desktop.
Step 6: Select 'Go' and choose 'Go to Folder' from the top left Finder menu.
Step 7: Type in /Volumes and hit Enter.
Ntfs Format Download
apple-ntfs-write-support-step
Read Also:
Conclusion
This article has introduced you three general options to write to NTFS drives – free NTFS drivers, paid NTFS for drivers, and Apple experimental NTFS-write support. Free and open-source NTFS drivers for Mac take a bit of work to install and they are slower than paid ones. It's full of risk to Apple experimental NTFS-write support as this method is not stable. Therefore, using paid NTFS for Mac apps like iBoysoft NTFS for Mac is the easiest way to read/write to NTFS drives on Mac. This software really surprises me for its fast speed in reading and writing to NTFS drives.
Dec 21, 2020 • Filed to: Solve Mac Problems • Proven solutions
This is a recent query posted by a Mac user on a leading forum about formatting a MacBook Pro. Just like this, thousands of other people also encounter a similar situation as well. It doesn't matter if you wish to troubleshoot a disk problem or would like to resell your system – you might wish to format MacBook due to different reasons. The good news is that Mac provides a seamless solution to format its internal drive and even an external data source. In this guide, we will let you know how to format MacBook in every possible way and how to recover data from the formatted MacBook.
Part 1. Common Scenarios for Formatting Mac
Before we discuss how to format HDD/NTFS on Mac, it is important to cover the basics. Ideally, there could be different reasons and scenarios for formatting Mac's storage. Some of them could be as follows:
Can A Mac Read Ntfs
- You might be reselling your Mac and by formatting it, you can get rid of all the unwanted data.
- Your Mac might be running low on free space and formatting it will help you reclaim tons of available storage on Mac.
- If a partition or storage unit has been infected by malware, then you can get rid of it by formatting it entirely.
- It can help you troubleshoot a problem with your Mac's disk or any external device.
- You can also defragment the disk and get back some free space on it this way.
- By reformatting a drive, you can manage the partitions and the entire storage as well.
How to Format MacBook Completely?
To make it easier for users to format MacBook entirely, Apple has come up with an inbuilt tool – Disk Utility. Using it, you can erase a partition or format the entire hard drive. Apart from that, it can also help you manage the partitions or repair a broken disk. To learn how to format Mac entirely, follow these simple steps:
- If your Mac is already functioning, then just go to its Finder > Applications > Utility and launch the Disk Utility application. If not, then you need to boot it in the recovery mode instead.
- As the Disk Utility window will open, you can view all kinds of operations to perform. On the left panel, a list of all the connected devices and Mac's internal storage is displayed. Just select the root directory of your Mac's hard drive (like Macintosh HD or Fusion HD).
- Click on the 'Erase' button on the toolbar to get the following window. Here, you can change the scheme and file format of the drive as per your choice. Some commonly supported file formats are APFS, exFAT, FAT 32, HFS, etc.
- In the end, just click on the 'Erase' button and confirm your choice as the application would entirely wipe Mac's hard drive.
- Furthermore, if you wish to completely reset your system, then you can choose to reinstall the macOS on it as well. To do this, restart your Mac and hold the Command + R keys to boot it in the Recovery Mode.
- As the macOS Utility window will open, click on the 'Reinstall macOS' option and follow the simple on-screen instructions to install the latest macOS version on your system.
How to Format NTFS on Mac
NTFS is a commonly used file format for Windows systems and external devices. The format is not used for the internal hard drives in Mac. Thus, if you wish to format NTFS on Mac, then you must be using an external storage unit. For instance, you might wish to format as SD card, pen drive, external hard disk, etc. with an existing NTFS format.
Also, you should know that while Mac can format the source, it will change its file format in the end. Some of the supported file systems in Mac are exFAT, FAT, and HFS+. Therefore, you should follow these steps to learn how to format NTFS on Mac if you are ready to take this risk.
- To start with, connect your external device to your Mac and make sure it gets detected by your system.
- Now, launch Disk Utility by visiting the Applications section on your Mac. From the left sidebar, select the device. It would be listed under the 'External' section.
- Afterward, click on the 'Erase' button to format NTFS on Mac. As the following pop-up would appear, you can click on the 'Format' section to select a supporting format. From the list, exFAT is the most compatible choice.
- When you are ready, click on the 'Erase' button again and confirm your choice as Disk Utility would format the connected source.
If you want the target file format of the storage unit to be NTFS, then consider using a third-party tool instead (like Tuxera or OSxFuse).
How to Format HDD on Mac
Ideally, hard drives can either be of two types – HDD (Hard Disk Drives) or SDD (Solid State Drives). With the advancement in time, most of the systems use HDD these days. Since Mac also supports HDD, you can easily take its assistance to format a hard drive as well. Once you have erased the existing data, you can get rid of its partitions as well to completely wipe it. Here's how to reformat Mac HDD without using a third-party tool.
- Simply go to Finder > Applications > Utility and launch Disk Utility from here. Also, make sure that the HDD is well-connected and functioning beforehand.
- Select the connected HDD from the sidebar, click on the 'Erase' option, and once again confirm your choice. You can alter the disk format and scheme if you want to.
- Once it is formatted, you can get rid of its partitions as well. To do this, select the disk again and click on the 'Partition' option from the toolbar.
- A visual representation of the storage unit will be displayed. You can just drag to resize the volume of the disk or enter its numeric value as well. To remove a partition, just click on the minus '–' sign or the '+' sign to add a partition.
That's it! In this way, you can format MacBook's HDD and easily manage its partition as well.
How to Perform Mac Data Recovery After Format
As you know, when we format a hard drive or a partition, all the existing data in it is deleted by Mac. Sometimes, users end up formatting a hard drive by mistake or forget to take a backup of their important files beforehand. If you have lost your important files in the process, then take the assistance of Recoverit Data Recovery. Developed by Wondershare, the brand has recently released the latest update of the tool – Recoverit 8.0. Now, users can get back all kinds of lost or deleted content in less time using this remarkable data recovery tool for Mac. Here are some of the major features of Recoverit 8.0 that you should note.
- Recoverit 8.0 is the latest update of the tool that provides faster and better data recovery results for Mac and Windows.
- It supports the recovery of more than 1000 different kinds of content, including photos, videos, audios, and documents of numerous extensions.
- The application will let you preview the recovered data so that you can save the files of your choice.
- It performs excellent results in every data loss scenario like accidental deletion, formatted disk, lost partition, virus attack, and so on.
- Apart from performing data recovery on Mac's internal storage, you can do the same on any external device (like SD card, pen drive, etc.) as well.
If you want, you can even try its basic version for free (it has a restricted data limit) and can later be upgraded to a premium version. Once you have installed Recoverit Data Recovery on your Mac, just follow these simple steps:
Step 1: Select a Location
Whenever you wish to recover files after format, simply launch the Recoverit application on your Mac. In case if you wish to recover data from an external drive, then connect it to your system beforehand. From the home of Recoverit 8.0, you can just pick a location to scan – a partition, external source, or the entire disk. If you want, you can browse to a particular folder to scan as well.
Step 2: Scan the Location
Once you select a source and click on the 'Start' button, Recoverit will extract all sorts of lost or inaccessible content from it. Simply wait for a while and try not to tamper with the process in between. An on-screen indicator will let you know the progress of the recovery process.
Step 3: Preview and Recover
When the recovery process is completed, Recoverit will automatically display the extracted data into different categories. You can even go to the search option to look for specific content as well. In the end, you can just select the files of your choice and click on the 'Recover' button to save them.
Tips for Formatting Mac and do Mac Recovery
By following the listed guide, anyone can learn how to format HDD on Mac and wipe its data entirely. Apart from that, you can also follow these suggestions for getting better results.
- Since formatting will erase all the saved data on your Mac, make sure that you have taken a prior backup of your important files.
- Choose the format for the disk wisely. Some formats like APFS or HFS+ are native to Mac and might not work on other systems. To get better compatibility, go for FAT or exFAT instead.
- Just like formats, the scheme of the disk is also important. The GUID Partition Map is mostly recommended as it works with all the Intel-based computers.
- Sometimes, formatting a disk is not enough. If you want to manage your disk, then consider deleting the existing partitions on it and reinstall macOS to reset it entirely.
- Always keep a reliable data recovery tool (like Recoverit 8.0) handy. In case if you end up deleting something accidentally, then a recovery tool will help you get your important files back easily.
Conclusion
There you go! Now when you know how to format Mac entirely or a particular disk, you can easily make the most of your Mac storage. Since Disk Utility offers tons of features, it will certainly let you format NTFS or HDD on Mac. It can also help you repair a damaged disk as well. Also, if you never want to suffer from an unexpected loss or deletion of data, then use a reliable data recovery tool like Recoverit 8.0. The latest update of the tool is equipped with numerous high-end features and is available for free for Mac and Windows users to try.
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