I'm thinking of switching over to a mac mini as my primary computer, but my external SSD that has a lot of really important files I'll need to access from my mac is an NTFS formatted drive. Is MacOS able to copy files off of the NTFS drive onto the mac's internal storage before reformatting the drive for the mac?
Mac mini (M4, 2024)
You can, as long as macOS is able to mount the NTFS volume normally. The important distinction is that macOS has read access to NTFS but generally not native write access, so copying files from the NTFS SSD to your Mac’s internal storage is fine, while copying them back to NTFS is not.
Before you erase the drive, I’d copy the data over and open a few files from the Mac to verify the transfer, especially if these are important files. If the NTFS drive was ever disconnected without ejecting, or is showing errors, deal with that first because a filesystem issue can make the drive mount read-only or prevent some files from being read correctly. Once you’ve verified the backup, format the SSD as APFS if it will be Mac-only, or exFAT if you still need to use it with Windows.
You can, as long as macOS is able to mount the NTFS volume normally. The important distinction is that macOS has read access to NTFS but generally not native write access, so copying files from the NTFS SSD to your Mac’s internal storage is fine, while copying them back to NTFS is not.
Before you erase the drive, I’d copy the data over and open a few files from the Mac to verify the transfer, especially if these are important files. If the NTFS drive was ever disconnected without ejecting, or is showing errors, deal with that first because a filesystem issue can make the drive mount read-only or prevent some files from being read correctly. Once you’ve verified the backup, format the SSD as APFS if it will be Mac-only, or exFAT if you still need to use it with Windows.
Certainly.
These are the most relevant official Apple resources for this situation:
NTFS read/write support: Apple: If your Mac can't save files to an external drive — Apple specifically states that macOS might be able to read NTFS but not write to it. This directly supports the ability to copy your files off the NTFS drive.
Choosing APFS or exFAT: Apple: File system formats available in Disk Utility — Apple explains APFS, including that it is optimized for SSD storage, and describes exFAT as a Windows-compatible format.
Reformatting an external drive: Apple: Disk Utility User Guide — Apple's general guide for managing, formatting, and erasing internal and external storage.
Formatting for Mac + Windows: Apple: Format a disk for Windows computers in Disk Utility — useful if you decide to use exFAT so the SSD remains usable with both macOS and Windows. Apple warns that formatting erases the files on the disk.
So Apple's documentation directly supports the key point: your Mac can potentially read the NTFS SSD, allowing you to copy the files to the Mac before erasing/reformatting the external drive.
Yes.
(264679)
Yeah copying files back onto the NTFS Drive won't be necessary, I just need to copy them off of the NTFS drive onto the external SSD dedicated to that machine, so it seems the read only access will be fine. thank you! :)
Sometimes the complete manual is really helpful though! Like yeah, I only asked if Mac OS can copy files off of an NTFS drive onto its own storage, but I hadn't even considered the possibility that the external drive could be formatted in a way that would be readable and writable by both windows and macos, and given that I am going to still be using both operating systems on separate devices and potentially even through parallels on the Mac, that's actually really helpful information! :)
Magnificent! Thank you very much.
But you can't copy anything from your Mac back to the NTFS drive.
If you want to copy files to your NTFS drive you can buy apps for around £25 from Paragon or Tuxera that enable your Mac.
That's the way it goes sometimes . . . you ask how to switch it on and we give you the complete manual! 🤔
Can macOS copy files from an NTFS external SSD to internal storage?
