A common issue of concern during file transfer between computers using a disk is associated with the disk format. Generally, this file compatibility issue can be remedied by using any of the NTFS for Mac free tools.
If you are using the Mac OS and you plug in a disk, the computer can read the disk but you are limited since you cannot write anything or save any files. Generally, this is a cross-platform compatibility issue that manifests when the disk you are using was previously formatted using a Windows OS.
To fully understand this predicament, you should take a close look first on file systems. A file system is a method on how an operating system organizes and stores files on drives as well as specifies which information can be attached on files such as filenames, permissions, and attributes.
As an example, Windows saves, stores and setups any external hard disk or flash drive utilizing its default format – NTFS (New Technology File System). The main concern is, while Apple can support NTFS and other Windows formats, the “write” capability to NTFS drives has been inactivated in OS X. It simply means that if you are using a Mac OS and a disk drive that is Windows-formatted, you cannot save on the drive or modify any existing files there.
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A Close Look on NTFS
NTFS or “New Technology File System” is a type of file system that the Windows NT operating system utilizes for storing and retrieving files on a hard disk. The difference with NTFS is that it provides several improvements over FAT and HPFS when it comes to security, performance, and extensibility.
Once a hard disk is being formatted, it is separated into partitions of the entire hard disk space. In every partition or segment, the operating system monitors all the stored files. Every file is stored on the hard disk in one or several clusters that have a set size.
When NTFS is used, the sizes of these clusters vary from 512 bytes to 64 kilobytes. Generally, the bigger the hard disk, the larger the default size of the cluster. It is believed that a system user might decide to increase performance at the cost of some space inefficiency.
Format Your Drives in FAT
A simple way to deal with this format-related compatibility issue is to reformat your drive into FAT (File Allocation Table). This is an older file system created by Windows and has full read and write compatibility with OS X.
Evidently, NTFS possesses several benefits as a format. Generally, it is a newer variant and verified to function rapidly than its FAT-formatted equals. Can macOS format NTFS? In case your drive is new and you do not have any files in your drives, it is recommended to reformat and convert your drive to FAT.
There are instances though where this is not the ideal solution such as:
- If data has been written on the drive that has not yet been backed up. If you decide to reformat the drive to FAT format, it will erase all the data saved on it.
- If there is a need to transfer files that are larger than 4GB in a single go. Remember that FAT only allows file transfers with the maximum size of 4GB and below.
In case these instances are not your concerns and you want to make a transfer between your computers with different operating systems an easy task, reformatting your drive is the best solution.