No NTFS write support for Mac OS X? Even in Leopard?

Question

Level 1

0 points

No NTFS write support for Mac OS X? Even in Leopard?

Hello everyone,
I was just wondering if there is a specific reason why Apple did not implement NTFS write support for NTFS formatted Windows Bootcamp partitions and NTFS formatted external hard drives and other types of external storage. I've found several programs online that would enable one to do this, either for purchase or for free, and now I'm a little confused as to why Apple would not include this kind of functionality. Do they plan to add it soon soon? I may have to invest in some of this software, but I would much rather use Apple's own solution, should one ever be made, just because I would assume it to be more reliable, and most importantly, less risky.

Message was edited by: Tbassist4

Macbook Pro 17" 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, Mac OS X (10.5.2), 2GB RAM, 200 GB 7,200 RPM HD

Posted on Apr 2, 2008 8:20 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Király

Level 6

10,017 points

Apr 2, 2008 8:29 AM in response to Tbassist4

NTFS is Microsoft's own proprietary filesystem. It is closed source.

My guess is that Microsoft is either not willing to provide Apple with the code so that Apple can implement it, or Apple is not agreeing to the terms that Microsoft is demanding in order to make it possible.

Unless either company is willing to comply with the demands of the other, I wouldn't expect anything to happen soon.

Reply

Answer 2

Tbassist4 Author

Level 1

0 points

Apr 2, 2008 8:33 AM in response to Király

Thank you for your response. So then, are these other solutions safe? I was looking at Google's MacFUSE, which lets you read/write on NTFS, as well as on many other file systems. There was also another program for purchase called NTFS for Mac OS X by Paragon Software. Has anyone used either of these or have any recommendations?

Reply

Answer 3

Tom Gewecke

Level 10

115,952 points

Apr 2, 2008 8:33 AM in response to Tbassist4

Do they plan to add it soon soon?

Apple never provides info on such things. If you need the capability, get the programs that will do what you need.

Reply

Answer 4

Kurt Lang

Level 9

58,188 points

Apr 2, 2008 8:33 AM in response to Tbassist4

and now I'm a little confused as to why Apple would not include this kind of functionality.

Probably for the same reason Microsoft has never added the functionality to Windows to read and write Mac HFS volumes.

Do they plan to add it soon soon?

Unknown. If you need to write NTFS from your Mac, for now you'll have to go with a third party solution. Here's a couple that you may or may not have already seen.

Paragon NTFS for Mac

NTFS-3G

Reply

Answer 5

Tbassist4 Author

Level 1

0 points

Apr 2, 2008 11:04 AM in response to Kurt Lang

Thank you. I've been looking at these two a little bit. NTFS-3g seemed like a pretty good choice at first, but I question the stability a little bit, as they do warn you that the project is experimental. Paragon actually looks like a good, safe solution, and also generally inexpensive, but I am trying to find out whether or not it will run on intel-based Macs, as it only lists system specs for running the program on a PPC-based Mac. I'll report the results as soon as I find out.

Reply

Answer 6

DJ_Boxer

Level 1

40 points

Apr 2, 2008 11:08 AM in response to Tbassist4

Tbassist4 wrote:
Thank you. I've been looking at these two a little bit. NTFS-3g seemed like a pretty good choice at first, but I question the stability a little bit, as they do warn you that the project is experimental. Paragon actually looks like a good, safe solution, and also generally inexpensive, but I am trying to find out whether or not it will run on intel-based Macs, as it only lists system specs for running the program on a PPC-based Mac. I'll report the results as soon as I find out.

On the System Requirements Page for Paragon it does say Intel. Actually it says x86 which are Intel processor architecture, plus on the box it shows the Universal logo on it (hard to see but it's there).

David L.

Reply

Answer 7

Tom Gewecke

Level 10

115,952 points

Apr 2, 2008 11:10 AM in response to Tbassist4

Paragon actually looks like a good, safe solution, and also generally inexpensive, but I am trying to find out whether or not it will run on intel-based Macs, as it only lists system specs for running the program on a PPC-based Mac.

Paragon's specs read: "CPU: PowerPC G4, G5* and x86"

x86 means Intel.

Reply

Answer 8

Apr 2, 2008 2:51 PM in response to Tbassist4

How 'safe' the solutions are really depend on your circumstances.

I understand that no one has access to the "real" NTFS specs and that MS can modify things whenever they feel like it. So all of the solutions that are out there are reverse-engineered (to some greater or lesser extent).

If would be happy to use them on volumes that I can reformat because the data is held elsewhere, but I would not rely on them in a commercial production environment.

Susan

Reply