Developer Forum

I've recently purchased a 20" imac and its the first time i've ever
used a mac. I have an extenal hard drive that used to be used on
windows, i can use the files but can't change the names of them or even
delete them. How to i change the permissions to use it if they are
locked to ??

In article <472cfe07$0$5213$ XXXX@XXXXX.COM >, Joe



the drive is formatted in ntfs, which on a mac is read only because
microsoft doesn't fully document the format.

your options include: reformat the drive in fat32 (and erase all the
data), reformat it with a mac filesystem and install a utility on
windows to read that format, try 'experimental' support for writable
ntfs with macfuse, or simply accept that ntfs is read only.

In article <472cfe07$0$5213$ XXXX@XXXXX.COM >,



If the drive is formatted as NTFS, you can't. It's read-only on the
Mac. You would need to install Windows on the Macintosh to be able to
write to that disk. Changing a file's name or deleting a file requires
that the disk be writable.

--
Support the troops: Bring them home ASAP.

How is your external hard disk drive formatted? If is NTFS, Mac OSX
can read files on the external hard disk but Mac OSX can not write to
a NTFS formatted hard disk. If it is FAT Mac OSX can read and write
files on an external hard disk. However, the maximum size partition
you can have with FAT is 32 gigabytes.

Howard

I don't know when this change took place, but Mac OSX has been able to
read NTFS files at least as long as boot cmp has been around.

Howard.

In article < XXXX@XXXXX.COM >,



that's absolutely false. the 32 gig limit is due to windows, and not a
limitation of fat32.

os x will glady format larger fat32 volumes.

The NTFS read support isn't 100%, though. I've had folders that disappear
under certain circumstances. I therefore run HFS+ on all my drvies I share
between Mac and Windows. I have MacDrive installed on my Windows 2000 system.

In article <472cfe07$0$5213$ XXXX@XXXXX.COM >,



Try selecting "ignore ownership on this volume" in the volume's get info
window. However, I don't see how a permission issue could be affecting a
volume just brought to OS X but maybe the drive is somehow locked or
marked read-only. Worth a try ...

In article < XXXX@XXXXX.COM >,




Pardon my ignorance ... I didn't know that OS X could read NTFS. When
did this change?

You may be right but Boot Camp comes with conflicting information. On
page 13 of the instructions for installing Boot Camp in the section
labeled, "To Format the partition for Windows XP", the following
information is provided.
Select an NTFS or FAT format.
* NTFS-- provides better reliability and security but you will not be
able to save files to the Windows volume from Mac OSX.

* FAT--Provides better compatibility, allowing you to read and write
files on the Windows volume from Mac OSX. This option is available
only if the Windows partition you created in Step 2 is 32 GB or
smaller.

In article < XXXX@XXXXX.COM >,



then that's a boot camp issue.

this is what microsoft has to say:

< http://www.yqcomputer.com/ ;

The maximum disk size is approximately 8 terabytes when you take into
account the following variables: The maximum possible number of
clusters on a FAT32 volume is 268,435,445, and there is a maximum of
32 KB per cluster, along with the space required for the file
allocation table (FAT).

You cannot format a volume larger than 32 gigabytes (GB) in size
using the FAT32 file system during the Windows XP installation
process. Windows XP can mount and support FAT32 volumes larger than
32 GB (subject to the other limits), but you cannot create a FAT32
volume larger than 32 GB by using the Format tool during Setup. If
you need to format a volume that is larger than 32 GB, use the NTFS
file system to format it. Another option is to start from a Microsoft
Windows 98 or Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me) Startup disk
and use the Format tool included on the disk.

and the same limitation exists for windows 2000:

< http://www.yqcomputer.com/ ;

In article < XXXX@XXXXX.COM >,



I don't know; all I know is that it can.

--
Support the troops: Bring them home ASAP.

In article < XXXX@XXXXX.COM >,



Y'all might want to take a look at this:

http://www.yqcomputer.com/
--
W. Oates

In article <472e3d09$0$3107$ XXXX@XXXXX.COM >,



Interesting, but I don't have any NTFS drives. Mark may cream in his
jeans about it, though.

--
Support the troops: Bring them home ASAP.

In article <472e3d09$0$3107$ XXXX@XXXXX.COM >,




I looked very quickly -- is that command-line only?