More and more people are finding themselves using both Macs and Windows based PCs. While compatibility is almost a non-issue now days between Macs and PCs, as well as Macs and third party.
Hi there, I have a 2TB Seagate external hard drive that I purchased and used with various PCs at work. It turned into read-only when I connected it to Mac this morning. I was able to open the drive and view files on the drive.
But if I attempted to copy a file from my Mac to the drive, nothing happened. Something might be obviously not right with the storage drive. If you have any clue to fix read-only external hard drive on Mac, please tell me.
It is really confusing that when you try to but failed without any error message. In fact, external hard drive being read-only error happens frequently to people who use both Mac and Windows. So long as not the fault of your external hard drive or Mac computer, most of the time, it is just because your external hard drive is formatted with NTFS for Windows computers. How to check? Just right click the external hard drive and select 'Get Info', you will see: Format is Windows NT file system (NTFS) and you can only read at the bottom of the info window. Why an NTFS formatted external hard drive can't be written on Mac? How to fix read-only external hard drive on Mac?
This passage will offer you the reason and solution to NTFS external hard drive read-only error. Why external hard drive becomes read-only on Mac? NTFS (New Technology File System) is the default file system in Windows operating system. Due to copyright issues and technical problems, Apple Inc. Only enables NTFS read while NTFS write support hidden. Even with the latest version -, you still don't have permission to write to NTFS external hard drive.
Then how to solve read-only external hard drive problem on Mac? Here is a handy Mac tool to on macOS Mojave.
Fix read-only external hard drive on Mac with iBoysoft Drive Manager is the without any doubt, which makes it possible for you to write to NTFS external hard. Once this app gets installed successfully, you are able to write, read, edit, move,. It is easy to use, fast, secure and affordable.
What's more, iBoysoft Drive Manager can also manage network drives and external drive (including external hard drive, USB flash drive, SD card, memory card, CF card, pen drive) with ease. Only a single click on the menu bar, we can mount, unmount network drives and external drive. It can automatically connect all network drives and external drive when system wakes from sleep and safely eject all network drive and external drives when the system sleeps. So if you are also bothered by the inconvenience of mounting, unmounting external drive and network drives, iBoysoft Drive Manager is certainly the best choice. IBoysoft Drive Manager works fast and stably on macOS 10.14/10.13/10.12/10.11/10.10/10.9/10.8/10.7. It fully supports file systems: NTFS, exFAT, FAT32. Here are simple 3 steps to fix read-only external hard drive on Mac with iBoysoft Drive Manager: Step 1: Download and install iBoysoft Drive Manager on Mac.
Step 2: Launch iBoysoft Drive Manager and connect NTFS external hard drive to Mac. Step 3: Write to NTFS external hard drive after getting the notification that the drive has been mounted successfully.
Reading PC-formatted hard drives using your Mac is easy enough. Just plug in the drive, then access the files you need to use.
But writing to that drive? Well, that's a little more complicated. This is due to the fact that NTFS, the file system utilized by Windows PCs, has limited support on Mac. While you can read files from these drives just fine, if you need to write to a PC-formatted hard drive, you'll need some third-party software to get the job done. Here are the tools you can use to work with NTFS-formatted drives on your Mac.
• • • Microsoft NTFS for Mac. What many consider to be the go-to for writing to NTFS drives on a Mac, Microsoft NTFS comes from developer Paragon Software. It gives you complete control over how your Mac interacts with NTFS-formatted drives, letting you edit, copy, and delete files from them as though your machine had native support.
The app also lets you choose how NTFS drives mount when attached to your Mac. You can choose to mount in read-only mode if you don't want to accidentally modify files but you still need access to them, or you can even choose not to mount automatically. Microsoft NTFS for Mac is available directly from Paragon Software for $19.95 after a 10-day free trial.