How to change "Read Permission" to "Read & Write Permission" of an EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE on MAC ?

It's formatted NTFS, the Windows format. OS X can only READ from NTFS formatted drives, It can NOT Write to them.

You will need to change the format to somethiing OS X can both Read and Write to. FAT32, exFAT (for use on both Windows and Mac) or Mac Extended (Journaled) for Mac only.

If you need to keep the data, go and get Paragon software that allows the Mac to write to NTFS drives. I use this all the time because I live in a mixed environment. The Paragon software is installed and then forgotten. It just works.

There is also a free package (sorry forgot the name) that does the same thing but I had problems with it. Others love it.

II Ricky II wrote:

thanks, but how to do that without erasing my content on hard drive......?

and where can i check in which format it is ?

Simple. Connect it to your Windows PC and copy all the data to that computer. Then format the drive FAT 32 or exFAT, do that on the Windows PC, then copy the data back.

If you don't have a Windows PC anymore then OS X CAN READ the drive. Copy all the data to the Mac then format it Mac Extended (Journaled) on the Mac in Disk Utility.

It is right in the first image you posted.

FORMAT: Windows NT File System (NTFS). That is how I knew what your problem was.

Buy another external drive, format that Mac Extended (Journaled) and copy the data from your original external to that new external then format the original external. You can never have to many external drives. You will also need one for Time Machine Backups so the new external won't go to waist.

Hello, all. 🙂

I'm a musician with a similar problem, the only difference is my external drive is MAC OS STANDARD (see image).

The system is running 10.8.2. Like the original poster, a GET INFO on the drive produces the same result. No owners. I can only read to the drive. There is no means of changing the permissions.

I would really like to write to this drive. It is an external. If anyone would be so kind, could someone please help me with the following:

- I'd like to write to the drive. Is there any means of making this happen? A fix? A third party tool? I would really love to write to it without having to backup and reformat it.

- Anyone know why I cannot write to it? It would be good to know to avoid this in the future.

- In the event I have to reformat the drive, is there a format I can use that will enable me to use Macs with Lion and old versions of the OS... like.. Panther (10.4.X) ... assuming this has something to do with it??

🙂

I'm having the same problem, when I try to drag photos from anywhere on my mac to my external hard drive it wont allow it.
I document my photos a lot into folders on this hard drive and this is making it really hard.
(I'm also new to Mac's (I don't know what I'm really doinf right now))

this is the info on hard drive

and as I've been reading comments on this I have tried to do what others are doing except I have no clue.

PLEASE HELP, I'M SO FRUSTRATED

Same answer as above by Shootist007. The drive is NTFS, which is Microsoft's proprietary file system. By default, OS X can only READ NTFS, not write.

Your choices are:

1) Copy everything off the drive (if there is anything) to a different drive. Repartition the drive as GUID, and then reformat the drive as Mac OS Extended. Copy the data back.

2) Purchase Paragon NTFS and install it in OS X. That will allow you to both read and write NTFS drives.

This might help some with similar issues

I had a You can only read, on my external hard drive and no way to unlock it (no lock was visible on get info) after a power failure, ie it wasn't ejected properly. I ejected the drive correct way, that is dragging it to trash, then pulled the USB plug out, waited a few seconds, put it back in again and then it was indexed correctly and I have all my correct permissions.

cheers

m

Hi,

I had the same problem and solved it.

You must Install PARAGON NTFS or TUXERA NTFS and then restart your mac and then it will be OK!

Good luck!