The NTFS partition might be marked as 'dirty' and the Apple NTFS driver cannot recover from that situation. Mounty will not delete anything by itself, please try to restore your files on a Windows PC using usual recovery s/w, i.e. Chkdsk command line utility or professional tools like GetDataBack for Windows. Format the External Drive to FAT32. This method is not very coinvent. Not at least for me. NTFS-3G is a free and open source read and write file system driver for NTFS that enables your Mac to effortlessly write files to a NTFS formatted drive. In other words, NTFS-3G is designed to give your Mac the ability to write to NTFS partitions and mount them as native parts of the operating system environment. Installation from source code: 1.
- Our software is the only NTFS driver on the market to include support for NTFS extended attributes. You also get Tuxera Disk Manager, a companion app that makes it easy to format, check, and repair NTFS drives. Plus, NTFS for Mac works conveniently with dual boot or virtual machine set-ups.
- How To Use iBoysoft NTFS For Mac To Manage NTFS Drives? In addition to enabling macOS to write NTFS-formatted storage devices, the Microsoft NTFS for Mac by iBoysoft can function as a disk management tool as well. First, you click on the app icon and select Disk Management in the pull-down menu. Then you will see an interface with two sections.
☛ Get Tuxera NTFS 2021 For Mac - how to get Tuxera NTFS 2021 on Mac. Tuxera NTFS 2021 for MacOS from the link in the. NTFS-3G is a free and open source read and write file system driver for NTFS that enables your Mac to effortlessly write files to a NTFS formatted drive. In other words, NTFS-3G is designed to give your Mac the ability to write to NTFS partitions and mount them as.
Paragon NTFS for Mac is a driver which gives you full read and write access to Windows partitions under Mac OS X. When working with media files or documents on Mac, you need access to the high performance of your system regardless if the files are located on the Mac's HFS+ formatted volume, or in Window's NT File System. Paragon NTFS for Mac provides full read/write access to NTFS with the same high speed as native HFS+ file system.
Why seek for Paragon NTFS for Mac alternative?
1. Paragon NTFS for Mac fails to recognize the NTFS drive.
2. Paragon NTFS for Mac doesn't provide easy-to-use and intuitive UI.
3. Paragon NTFS for Mac fails to install, because Paragon NTFS for Mac has complex operating system compatibility.
- The NTFS-3G driver is a freely and commercially available and supported read/write NTFS driver for Linux, FreeBSD, Mac OS X, NetBSD, Solaris, Haiku, and other operating systems.
- When you plug an NTFS disk into your Mac, it just mounts on the desktop like any other disk, and when you copy a file to it, it just works, no muss, no fuss. This utility is also invaluable if you find yourself in a situation where you need to format a disk as NTFS, and it performs this task with an equal lack of drama.«.
Ntfs For Mac Free
Paragon NTFS for Mac alternative: M3 NTFS for Mac
As Paragon NTFS for Mac alternative, M3 NTFS for Mac is a NTFS driver which enables you to read and write NTFS external hard drive and flash drive on macOS. M3 NTFS for Mac provides easy-to-use and intuitive UI to make NTFS read-write operations very simple. After mounting NTFS drive with M3 NTFS for Mac, M3 NTFS for Mac allows you to read and write NTFS drive as same high speed as native HFS+ drive on Catalina/Mojave/High Sierra/Sierra and Mac OS X.
How to enable NTFS read-write access with Paragon NTFS for Mac alternative: M3 NTFS for Mac?
Step 1: Download, install and launch M3 NTFS for Mac.
Step 2: Insert NTFS external hard drive or USB flash drive into Mac computer.
Step 3: Click Open icon to open NTFS drive with M3 NTFS for Mac.
Step 4: After mounting NTFS drive, you can read and write NTFS drive.
Related articles:
Ntfs For Mac Free Download
Before you are led to the introduction of free NTFS for Mac, here is some background information in case you don't know.
You can read Windows NTFS drives on Mac. But Mac can't write to NTFS drives, including create, edit, copy, paste, delete, or transfer files on NTFS drive on Mac desktops and laptops. Do you know why?
NTFS is a file system developed by Microsoft, the competitor of Apple. NTFS is used by default on Windows platform, especially for system drive. Additionally, if you use Boot Camp to create a Windows partition on your Mac, you will find you can't mount BOOTCAMP partition with read-write access either. Up to now, Mac operating systems, including macOS Catalina/Mojave/High Sierra/Sierra and Mac OS X El Capitan, only provide NTFS read support but deny NTFS write support.
You know the business, but for users, is there any way to let Mac write NTFS drives? Can you make the NTFS drive fully compatible with macOS or Mac OS X? Sure. The easiest method is to use NTFS driver for macOS software.
If you are looking for a totally free NTFS for Mac software, there are four options: Mounty for NTFS, NTFS-3G, FUSE for macOS and SL-NTFS.
Top 4 NTFS for Mac free software
Some Mac users may have upgraded to macOS Catalina and are digging around for an NTFS driver for macOS 10.15. But it's hard to find a Free NTFS for Mac that supports macOS 10.15 yet. Fortunately, iBoysoft has upgraded their software iBoysoft NTFS for Mac to be compatible with macOS Catalina.
If you are using a Mac running macOS 10.14 and earlier, you can try the NTFS for Mac below and share NTFS drives between Windows and Mac.
1. Mounty for NTFS
Mounty for NTFS is completely NTFS for Mac free software to enable write ability to NTFS drives on your Mac. It has simple design to help users mount NTFS drives with write support on Mac.
As a free utility, Mounty for NTFS does have some highlights:
- Totally free.
- Fast download and installation because it is less than 1MB.
- One-time installation and no additional driver needed.
But Mounty for NTFS dose get complaints because:
- The write speed to NTFS drive is rather slow.
- It can't mount the NTFS formatted drives in read-write mode automatically.
- It can be unstable and fails to mount NTFS drives.
- It can cause data loss problems.
- It doesn't provide tech support.
- The software is not compatible with the latest macOS Catalina or Mojave.
2. NTFS-3G
NTFS-3G is an open-source project from Tuxera, so the public can download this NTFS for Mac free software to write to Windows NTFS drives on your Mac computers
Set aside its advantage for being free, NTFS-3G is complained a lot because of its poor performance. Some main drawbacks of this free NTFS for Mac are listed below:
- Complicated installation. You have to know how to use Terminal or have already downloaded FUSE for macOS, Homebrew or Xcode.
- Poor usability. Users have to use the software by command lines in Terminal instead of an interface.
- Poor compatibility. NTFS-3G only supports macOS 10.12 or earlier. It doesn't support the latest macOS 10.15 and macOS 10.14.
- Slow write speed. The file transferring is noticeably slow.
- Tuxera stops maintaining this utility.
- No technical support. As freeware, no technical support is available when issues occur.
3. FUSE for macOS
FUSE for macOS (was OSXFUSE) is another open and NTFS for Mac free software that can enable write support to NTFS drives on Mac. In fact, FUSE is a file system extension that allows user to read and write disks with the formats that are not fully supported by Apple.
FUSE for macOS is worth trying because:
- It is free of charge.
- It is compatible with Mac operating system from Mac OS X 10.6 to macOS 10.14.
- Multiple languages are available.
As a free NTFS for Mac, FUSE for macOS has some obvious limitations:
- It can be unreliable sometimes such as file size being reported as 0 bytes.
- It has no technical support when issues occur.
4. SL-NTFS
SL-NTFS means Snow Leopard NTFS. As a matter of fact, writing to NTFS drive on Apple is possible since Mac OS 10.6 without any third-party NTFS driver, but the NTFS writing support is disabled by default. Therefore, SL-NTFS is used as an interface on the Apple NTFS driver to enable writing to NTFS drives on Mac.
As a NTFS for Mac free app, SL-NTFS has some pros as followings:
- It is free.
- It is simple to install.
However, SL-NTFS has some cons to prevent people from using it.
- It has limited access to a large number of files and a large volume of data.
- It can't enable NTFS write on some NTFS external hard drives.
- It can cause conflicts if you have another NTFS enabler installed.
- It has no technical support.
Mac Ntfs
Generally speaking, despite of being free, those NTFS for Mac free software have various flaws, making them very risky to use.
If you are afraid of using a risky free NTFS utility for Mac, there are two cost-effective alternatives for you. Even though they are not completely free, they can provide a lot of merits that NTFS for Mac free software on't have.
Best NTFS for Mac software
NTFS for Mac free software can be troublemakers because of their low write speed, poor compatibility, no technical support, etc. Nevertheless, you don't have to pay a fortune to get enough reliability, stability and simplicity from a cost-effective NTFS for Mac - iBoysoft NTFS for Mac or iBoysoft Drive Manager.
1. iBoysoft NTFS for Mac
iBoysoft NTFS for Mac is an ultimate NTFS for Mac solution in macOS and Mac OS X that can easily help you mount NTFS volumes on Mac desktops and laptops as regular drives in read-write mode.
iBoysoft NTFS for Mac has quite a few advantages you can take into account:
- It can mount NTFS volumes in read-write mode automatically.
- It can unmount and eject NTFS volumes with one click.
- It can repair NTFS file system errors.
- It can erase NTFS volumes for data cleanup.
- It can reformat other file system (except APFS) into NTFS.
- It is fully compatible with macOS 10.15/10.14/10.13/10.12 and Mac OS X 10.11/10.10/10.9/10.8.
- It is easy to install and use.
- Free technical support is provided.
2. iBoysoft Drive Manager
Another great alternative to NTFS for Mac free software is iBoysoft Drive Manager. It is a handy Mac tool that can enable full read-write access to NTFS drives on Mac and help manage multiple external drives/network drives with one click.
iBoysoft Drive Manager is a great replacement of a free NTFS for Mac because:
- It is extremely affordable and offers 7-day free trial.
- It is fully compatible with macOS 10.15/10.14/10.13/10.12 and Mac OS X 10.11/10.10/10.9/10.8.
- It is fast to write to NTFS drives and transfer files between NTFS drives and Mac.
- It is easy to install and use.
- It provides lifetime free upgrades.
- Free technical support is provided.
- Besides powerful NTFS writing support, it can manage external drives and map network drives as local drives in the Finder.
If you want to know any disadvantages that iBoysoft Drive Manager might have, I would say the only one should be - it is not free. But it is really cheap compared with other commercial NTFS for Mac programs, such as Paragon and Tuxera.
We also provide a table to help you find the most preferable NTFS driver:
NTFS for macOS | iBoysoft Drive Manager | iBoysoft NTFS for Mac | Mounty for Mac | NTFS-3G | FUSE for macOS | SL-NTFS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
NTFS writing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Auto-mount NTFS in read-write mode | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
Speed | Fast | Fast | Slow | Slow | Slow | Slow |
Supported Mac OS | macOS 10.15/10.14/10.13/10.12 and Mac OS X 10.11 to 10.8. | macOS 10.15/10.14/10.13/10.12 and Mac OS X 10.11 to 10.8. | macOS 10.13/10.12 and Mac OS X 10.11 to 10.6. | macOS 10.13/10.12 and Mac OS X 10.11 to 10.6. | macOS 10.14/10.13/10.12 and Mac OS X 10.11 to 10.6. | macOS 10.12 and Mac OS X 10.11 to 10.6. |
Supported devices | USB drives, SD cards, HDDs, etc. | USB drives, SD cards, HDDs, etc. | USB drives, SD cards, HDDs, etc. (not all) | USB drives, SD cards, HDDs, etc. | USB drives, SD cards, HDDs, etc. | USB drives, SD cards, HDDs, etc. (not all) |
Supported file system | NTFS, APFS, FAT32, exFAT, etc. | NTFS, APFS, FAT32, exFAT, etc. | NTFS | NTFS | NTFS, APFS, FAT32, exFAT, etc. | NTFS |
Tech support | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No |
Simple installation | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
Ease of use | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
Other | 1.Manage external storage media with one click. 2.Map network drive as local drives. | 1. Repair NTFS. 2.Erase NTFS volumes. 3.Reformat other file systems into NTFS. | N/A | N/A | Multiple languages are available. | N/A |
Price | $29.95 | $19.95 | Free | Free | Free | Free |
Free download | Download | Download | Download | Download | Download | Download |
Now, you have a few options in your hands. If you don't care the risks and want to try out the free NTFS for Mac programs, generally speaking, Mounty for NTFS and FUSE for macOS are better ones. However, if you care about the reliability, technical support and NTFS write speed a lot, or you are specifically looking for an NTFS driver for macOS Catalina, Mojave or High Sierra, iBoysoft NTFS for Mac is your best choice.
People also ask
Q: Is NTFS for Mac free
A: There are four NTFS for Mac free software:
- Mounty for NTFS
- NTFS-3G
- FUSE for macOS
- SL-NTFS
Q: How can Mac read NTFS for free?
A: By default, macOS Disk Utility can mount NTFS drive in read-only mode.
Q: What is the best NTFS for Mac?
A: There are three best NTFS for Mac software:
- iBoysoft NTFS for Mac
- Paragon NTFS for Mac
- Tuxera NTFS for Mac
Does NTFS Work on Mac M1
The Newest Mac computer with an M1 chip has been released since Nov. 2020. We all knew that Mac can only enable read access to NTFS drive. However, even worse, some users discussed on the forum that the new M1-based computer cannot see the files or folders. All was blank as the below case shows:
'Just got a new Mac Mini M1, pretty impressed until I connected my old external NTFS USB drive. It's mounted, can see it in Finder, Disk Utility etc but no files or folders are visible, just blank space, connected to Windows PC all the files are there, it worked fine on my old Mini, only read but that's expected......Any ideas???'
To fix such an issue, you need an NTFS for Mac M1 free software which can let you edit or transfer files normally. More than that, two manual methods also read and write to NTFS drive.
How Can I Use NTFS on A Mac for Free
Here are three methods, compatible with M1-chip Mac, enable read-write on NTFS external hard drive.
Option 1. Run Third-party Software - EaseUS NTFS for Mac
If you search Mac NTFS driver, it will show several results that can help you. But not all software can work with an M1-based computer.
EaseUS NTFS for Mac is a reliable NTFS for Mac software that allows M1 mac to read and write external storage devices, like a USB drive. Once it running, you can easily read, write, delete, add, transfer files. It is so convenient that you don't need to fiddle with complex command lines and wait for the result. When you finish software activation, this software will reside in the Mac status bar that can automatically mount the NTFS drive. If you want to eject the drive, the software allows you to safely eject the device without any data loss.
Download EaseUS NTFS for Mac (Available to macOS Big Sur 11 ~ macOS Sierra 10.12):
How to Use EaseUS NTFS for Mac:
Free Ntfs Mac El Capitan
Step 1. Launch and activate EaseUS NTFS for Mac. Click 'I already have a license' to unlock this software.
Step 2. Connect an NTFS drive to Mac, EaseUS NTFS for Mac will automatically detect the device. Select your drive and you'll see it's now marked as 'Read-only'. Click 'Enable Writable' to add read and write rights to the drive.
Step 3. When the state of NTFS drives turns into 'Writable', click 'Open'. NTFS for Mac will open the NTFS drive on Mac.
Step 4. Now, you can check, read, write, and even modify saved data on the NTFS device.
How Much Does NTFS for Mac Cost
$0 order for 7 days. The paid version costs $14.95 for a month. But you can attend a free sale for now. Even though it is not free for a lifetime than other manual methods, this software is more stable than the Terminal and Format options.
Related articles:
All useful solutions are included in this article, explaining each step about how to write to NTFS on Mac.
Option 2. Get Write Access with Terminal
The terminal is a free solution to enable read and write on NTFS drive. You can use it on an M1 mac.
In-depth tutorial to write NTFS drive:
Step 1. Click on the Finder icon > Choose the Application > Locate and click Utilities > Find and open Terminal.
Step 2. When the Terminal window pop up, type the command: sudo nano /etc/fstab
Then teh /etc/fstab file will be listed below.
Step 3. Type command line: LABEL=NAME none ntfs rw,auto,nobrowse (Change the NAME with your drive name.)
Step 4. Press Ctrl+O and press Enter to save the file.
When it has been done, you can choose to see files or folders and editing data on them.
Option 3. Format NTFS Drive in Disk Utility
If third-party tools and terminals are not your first choice, you can choose to reformat the NTFS drive to FAT32 or HFS+ file system. Remember to copy or clone all data from your NTFS drive. Formatting will delete all data.
Step 1. Click on the Finder icon, find Application from the left panel, scroll down to find Utilities, and double-click on Disk Utility.
Step 2. Under the External heading, click on the NTFS external drive.
Step 3. Go to the top section of Disk Utility and click on the Erase button.
Step 4. When the Erase window shows up, rename the NTFS drive and set the new Volume Type.
- Work with Windows and Mac - MS-DOS (FAT), exFAT
- Compatible with macOS - APFS.
After the formatting, you can try to add files to NTFS external devices and see files without worry.
Concluding Thoughts
Do these NTFS for Mac M1 free solutions work for you? As we tested, the Terminal does not always work as users complain about 'Terminal do nothing......'. So if you want to get quick access and saw files and folders. We recommend option 1 - EaseUS NTFS for Mac. For beginners, it is definitely easy to run.
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