External hard drives provide storage space for Mac and Windows users to store their files. Although most external hard drives allow you to read and write to them, there are still some cases where the data stored on external storage devices can only be read on Mac computers. Today, we will tell you how to solve external hard drive read-only on Mac.
Why is your external hard drive read-only on Mac? There are three possible reasons. First, you are using an NTFS drive on your Mac. Second, you are not allowed to write to your external hard drive because you have no write permission. Third, your external storage device is corrupted. This article will present you with solutions to the first case that you are using an NTFS drive on your Mac in detail.
What Is NTFS?
File systems are structures and logical rules that conduct how data is stored and retrieved on disks. Different file systems have different sizes, capacities, flexibility, security performance, and many more.
NTFS is the abbreviation for the New Technology File System. Generally, this file system is the default file system on Windows 2000 and later versions of Windows, and it is known as its large capacity, file permissions, the journal function, and its compression function. As a Mac read-only file system, the NTFS file system is readable on Mac, but it will not give you the permission to write to it on your Mac.
How to Solve NTFS Drive Read-Only on Mac Problem?
Solution 1: Use iBoysoft NTFS for Mac
iBoysoft NTFS for Mac is an easy-to-use program that helps you to fix NTFS read- only on Mac issue. If you are ready to use a Windows computer and want to move your important files from your Mac to a new Windows computer with an NTFS formatted hard drive, you can use this NTFS for Mac software to offer you help.
Microsoft NTFS for Mac by iBoysoft is one of the best NTFS drive management programs for your Mac. This tool enables you to manage your NTFS disks on Mac safely and quickly. After installing this software on your Mac, you can edit, move, save, convert, delete NTFS files on Mac. If you want to erase disks to the Mac read-only file system, this NTFS disk management software on Mac can meet your needs. It is worth mentioning that the latest version of Microsoft NTFS for Mac by iBoysoft is available on Apple M1 Mac.
iBoysoft NTFS for Mac software is simple to use because of its intuitive interface. You can write to the NTFS-formatted external hard drive on your Mac with three steps.
Step 1 Download, install this utility and restart your Mac.
Step 2 Connect the NTFS drive to your Mac.
Step 3 Start to write to the NTFS drive that has been automatically mounted by iBoysoft NTFS for Mac.
Solution 2: Use Terminal to Enable NTFS Read-Write Support
The use of Terminal is also a solution to NTFS external hard drive read-only on Mac.
Step 1 Go to Launchpad > Other > Terminal.
Step 2 Enter sudo nano/etc/fstab to edit the fstab file.
Step 3 Input LABEL=NAME none ntfs rw, auto, nobrowse for the fstab file. Remember to replace NAME with the name of your drive.
Step 4 Save the file by pressing Control + O, and exit by pressing Control + X.
Step 5 Unmount the NTFS drive and connect it to your Mac again.
Solution 3: Format the NTFS External Hard Drive
exFAT and FAT32 are compatible with both Windows and Mac operating systems. If your NTFS drive shows read-only on Mac, you can format this drive to exFAT and FAT32 to write to it on Mac. Before formatting, please remember to back up all your files on this NTFS drive.
Step 1 Connect the NTFS external hard drive with enough space to your Mac.
Step 2 Go to Launchpad > Other > Disk Utility.
Step 3 Select the NTFS read-only on Mac drive, and click the Erase button.
Step 4 Edit the disk name, select a Format and a Scheme, and click Erase. For PC and Mac compatibility, select exFAT format.
As for the second case that you are not allowed to write to your external hard drive detected as read-only on Mac because you have no write permission, you can solve the external hard drive read-only by changing the permission of your external hard drive or ignoring the permission on this drive in Finder.
As for the third case that your external storage device is corrupted, use the First Aid function in Disk Utility to help you fix external hard disk that shows read only on Mac problem.
Final Words
The above solutions will help you solve the external hard drive read-only on Mac issue, but among all the solutions, using iBoysoft NTFS for Mac is the easiest and the most convenient method. After reading this article, you may know the reason why is your external hard drive read-only on Mac and have a better understanding of the solutions to the write-forbidden external hard drive on Mac. If the above solutions are helpful to you, take them as a reference.
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