r/MacOS • u/MotUSkeletor • 13h ago

Help First time using external harddisk with Macbook and it isn't working

I can see it but can't cut copy paste or create a folder. The video plays though.

Can someone tell me what is wrong or how to fix it? Thanks

2 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

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2

u/fowllabs 13h ago

select the drive in finder and press cmd+i to check its format: ntfs is normally read-only, but fat32 is writable on macos. don't reformat without a separate copy of the files, since that erases the drive.

4

u/Floschi123456 13h ago

FAT32 is completely obsolete. It only allows for a max. file size of 4GB, among other restrictions...If Mac and Windows read/write is the priority there is only one choice: ExFat.

1

u/Floschi123456 13h ago

What is the filesystem of the external disk? Is it ExFat or MacOSJournaled or AFS+? If so: great, it should work and the error is somewhere else. Is it NTFS or even FAT32? These Windows filesystems are read only under MacOS and you need to reformat your harddrive.

1

u/MotUSkeletor 13h ago

u/Floschi123456 Thanks a mil. Is there a preferred one if I want to use the external for Mac and Win?

3

u/Floschi123456 13h ago

For read and write on both MacOS and Windows there is only one possibility: ExFat.

1

u/MotUSkeletor 13h ago

When you know, it's quick and painless. Thanks again.

1

u/bmocc 8h ago

As noted NTFS is read only in macOS.

There is nothing wrong with using FAT 32 but not the best option long term due to file/partition restrictions.

There are two utilities that will allow macOS to write to NTFS, Tuxera and Paragon. Tuxera is less costly but can have problems with large files and a few other glitches that forced me to switch to Paragon.

Due to the way macOS writes files using those utilities slows down write speeds considerably for SSDs, write speeds on spinning rust are already pretty slow so its not as noticeable.

It can be impractical, and with today's costs, prohibitively expensive, to copy the contents of a large mechanical drive to another that is formatted for macOS. I've accumulated several large mechanical drives over the years formatted in NTFS, a better file system I think than what Apple uses, and its way easier just to use Paragon when I need to access those drives.

If you want to use your drive for Time Machine it has to be formatted for Apple, but TM is kind of a relic from 20 years ago. You are better off with cloud based backup for vital files and/or a local copy. Time Machine expands exponentially with multiple not needed versions of files and has a habit of adhering to Murphy's Law.

1

u/MrWritersCramp 2h ago

Paragon makes and supports NTFS drivers for Macs. I’ve been using their product for quite awhile. I allows me to move files between our Macs and our PCs rather seamlessly.