How-To: Snow Leopard: Enable Native NTFS R/W Support - Overclock.net

halifax1 · 10-03-09

Snow Leopard has the ability to mount NTFS volumes as read/write, but it's not enabled by default. Just read only is supported, as in 10.5.

Here's how to get full read/write support for NTFS drives in Snow Leopard. First, uninstall NTFS-3G or Paragon if you're using either one:

1. In Terminal, type diskutil info /Volumes/volume_name, where volume_name is the name of the NTFS volume. From the output, copy the Volume UUID value to the clipboard.

2. Back up /etc/fstab if you have it; it shouldn't be there in a default install.

3. Type sudo nano /etc/fstab.

4. In the editor, type UUID=, then paste the UUID number you copied from the clipboard. Type a Space, then type none ntfs rw. The final line should look like this: UUID=123-456-789 none ntfs rw, where 123-456-789 is the UUID you copied in the first step.

5. Repeat the above steps for any other NTFS drives/partitions you have.

6. Save the file and quit nano (Control-X, Y, Enter), then restart your system.

I thought this was a nifty little tip to post on here, as before I read this I was using Paragon.

Tip Source

eflyguy · 10-03-09

I'll try this and let you know how it works out. I have a large number of NTFS external drives that I'd like to be able to write to..
..a

halifax1 · 10-03-09

It worked for me flawlessly on one of my external NTFS drives

Much nicer to have native support than having to have an application enable it

Dismounted · 10-03-09

Just make sure you ALWAYS eject it. You'll have a good chance of getting some nasty issues otherwise.

halifax1 · 10-03-09

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dismounted

Just make sure you ALWAYS eject it. You'll have a good chance of getting some nasty issues otherwise.

In OS X, you get an error message if you don't eject drives and USB devices.

I always do

Dismounted · 10-08-09

Quote:

Originally Posted by halifax1

In OS X, you get an error message if you don't eject drives and USB devices.

I know - but the message appears after you've pulled said USB drive out.

At which time its too late. Also, the current implementation by Apple seems to have a few issues (maybe that's why its been disabled). So use at your own risk!

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How-To: Snow Leopard: Enable Native NTFS R/W Support

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