Michal Ždanský Perhaps you yourself have ever dealt with a situation where you needed to transfer data between two operating systems, i.e. between OS X and Windows. Each of the systems uses its own proprietary file system. While OS X relies on HFS+, Windows has long used NTFS, and the two file systems don't really understand each other.
OS X can natively read files from NTFS, but not write them. Windows can't handle HFS+ without help at all. For example, if you have a portable external drive that you connect to both systems, a dilemma arises. Fortunately, there are several solutions, but each of them has its own pitfalls. The first option is the FAT32 system, which preceded Windows NTFS and which is used by most flash drives today. Both Windows and OS X can write to and read from this file system. The problem is that the FAT32 architecture does not allow writing files larger than 4 GB, which is an insurmountable obstacle for, for example, graphic artists or professionals working with video. While the limitation may not be a problem for a flash drive, which is usually used for storing smaller files, it is not an ideal solution for an external drive.
exFAT
exFAT, like FAT32, is Microsoft's proprietary file system. It is essentially an evolutionary architecture that does not suffer from the limitations of FAT32. It allows files with a theoretical size of up to 64 ZiB (Zebibyte) to be written. exFAT was licensed by Apple from Microsoft and has been supported since OS X 10.6.5. It is possible to format a disk to the exFAT file system directly in Disk Utility, however, due to a bug, it was not possible to read disks formatted in OS X on Windows and it was necessary to format the disks first in the Microsoft operating system. In OS X 10.8, this bug has been fixed, and external drives and flash drives can be formatted without worry even in Disk Utility.
The exFAT system seems to be an ideal universal solution for transferring files between platforms, the transfer speed is also as fast as FAT 32. However, it is necessary to take into account several disadvantages of this format. First of all, it is not suitable for a drive used with Time Machine, as this function requires strictly HFS+. Another disadvantage is that it is not a journaling system, which means a greater risk of data loss if the drive is ejected incorrectly.
[do action=”infobox-2″]Journaling file system writes the changes to be made to the computer file system in a special record called journal. The journal is usually implemented as a cyclic buffer and its purpose is to protect the data on the hard disk from loss of integrity in case of unexpected accidents (power failure, unexpected interruption of the executed program, system crash, etc.).
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The third disadvantage is the impossibility of creating a software RAID array, while FAT32 has no problem with them. Disks with the exFAT file system cannot be encrypted either.
NTFS on Mac
Another option for moving files between OS X and Windows is using the NTFS file system in combination with an application for OS X that will also allow writing to the given medium. There are currently two vital solutions: Tux NTFS a Paragon NTFS. Both solutions offer roughly the same functions, including cache settings and more. The Paragon solution costs $20, while Texura NTFS costs $XNUMX more.
However, the significant difference is in the speed of reading and writing. Server ArsTechnica performed an extensive test of all solutions and while Paragon NTFS speeds are almost equal to FAT32 and exFAT, Tuxera NTFS lags significantly with a drop of up to 50%. Even considering the lower price, Paragon NTFS is a better solution.
HFS+ on Windows
There is also a similar application for Windows that allows reading and writing to the HFS+ file system. Called MacDrive and is developed by the company Mediafour. In addition to the basic read/write functionality, it also offers more advanced formatting options, and I can confirm from my own experience that this is solid and reliable software. In terms of speed, it is similar to Paragon NTFS, exFAT and FAT32. The only downside is the higher price of less than fifty dollars.
If you work in several operating systems, sooner or later you will have to choose one of the solutions. While most flash drives are pre-formatted to a compatible FAT32, for external drives you'll need to opt for one of the options above. While exFAT seems like the best possible solution with its limitations, if you don't want to format the entire drive, you have the option for both OS X and Windows depending on what file system the drive uses.
I use a combination of MacFuse and NTFS-3G on OS-X.
exactly!
and does your recording work? It used to work for me, but since some time, it reports errors when writing and sometimes also when reading. it's just broken :)
less than 2 years and it still works!
Is this supposed to be an article? or advertising gibberish? …
What did the poet mean by that?
well, the informative value of this article is about the same as entering google mac os x ntfs
Hello, we also have a more detailed and professional article in the system, it will be published in a month.
Hope you enjoy more.
that wasn't meant to be an insult, I just thought this article was too blunt. But thanks for your information anyway.
I have HFS+ on the external 3,5 2TB drive :-) and I have ExFat on the 2,5 inch portable drive :)
The best solution is:
USE ONLY WINDOWS!!
So I don't understand what you are doing on the pages dedicated to Apple products.
Horst is our favorite "contributor" to the discussions... He just gets stuck sometimes.
"OS X can natively read files from HTFS, but not write them." It should probably be NTFS.