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How do I get the NTFS for Mac update without a Paragon account?

C

Carter6197

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 2, 2023
5
0
Hi everyone,

I’m sorry if this isn’t the correct place for this question, I’m new to this site.

So I got an external HD a long time ago and it must have come with a copy of Paragon’s NTFS for Mac so I could use the hard drive. I recently updated my Mac to Ventura 13.3 and my copy of NTFS is now out of date.

I’ve seen a solution in which you log in with the Paragon account linked to the copy of NTFS for Mac and download the update, but because my copy came with a hard drive, I don’t believe I have any such account.

Is there a work around for this? And if not, what should my next steps be (preferably not anything too expensive)?

Thanks!
 
Carter6197 said:
Hi everyone,

I’m sorry if this isn’t the correct place for this question, I’m new to this site.

So I got an external HD a long time ago and it must have come with a copy of Paragon’s NTFS for Mac so I could use the hard drive. I recently updated my Mac to Ventura 13.3 and my copy of NTFS is now out of date.

I’ve seen a solution in which you log in with the Paragon account linked to the copy of NTFS for Mac and download the update, but because my copy came with a hard drive, I don’t believe I have any such account.

Is there a work around for this? And if not, what should my next steps be (preferably not anything too expensive)?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

simple solution: if you need it, buy it.

complicated solution: email them and they may be able to help you find your serial based on machine id, or hidden debug menu, etc. It does not show up in the dropdown menu [about].

I use it to access my bootcamp partition and its worth the $$.
 
Carter6197 said:
Hi everyone,

I’m sorry if this isn’t the correct place for this question, I’m new to this site.

So I got an external HD a long time ago and it must have come with a copy of Paragon’s NTFS for Mac so I could use the hard drive. I recently updated my Mac to Ventura 13.3 and my copy of NTFS is now out of date.

I’ve seen a solution in which you log in with the Paragon account linked to the copy of NTFS for Mac and download the update, but because my copy came with a hard drive, I don’t believe I have any such account.

Is there a work around for this? And if not, what should my next steps be (preferably not anything too expensive)?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
If you have sufficient additional space elsewhere, copy everything off, reformat in a Mac format (ADFS etc) and copy back. If you need to use the external drive on a PC as well, then format as ExFAT, and you can use it on both Mac and PC without the need for the Paragon NTFS or any other software.
 
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chabig said:
This is a great point. OP...do you really need NTFS?
Click to expand...
I guess I’m not sure (I’m sorry, turns out I’m kinda clueless when it comes to this). It’s a Western Digital EasyStore 2TB. Should I just try deleting NTFS For Mac?
 

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Carter6197 said:
I guess I’m not sure (I’m sorry, turns out I’m kinda clueless when it comes to this). It’s a Western Digital EasyStore 2TB. Should I just try deleting NTFS For Mac?
Click to expand...
What is its intended use? If you do not intend to hook the drive up to a Windows computer, you won't need NTFS.
 
Carter6197 said:
Oh shoot okay. So just delete/uninstall NTFS For Mac and I should be good to go?
Click to expand...
If the hard drive is in NTFS format, the. MacOS can still read it, just not write to it. As I said if you have space elsewhere, copy data off, reformat in Mac format and copy data back. Happy to help if you are local to me (Nottingham) or can do remotely for you with pleasure.
 
davegoody said:
Yes, but making sure that any data on the drive the OP wants to keep is copied elsewhere first :)
Click to expand...
Is there a way to change it from NTFS to APFS without formatting the drive? I’m not sure I have enough space to copy the HD somewhere else (unfortunately I don’t know exactly how much is on it because it won’t mount so I can’t check it).
 
Carter6197 said:
Is there a way to change it from NTFS to APFS without formatting the drive? I’m not sure I have enough space to copy the HD somewhere else (unfortunately I don’t know exactly how much is on it because it won’t mount so I can’t check it).
Click to expand...
Nope.
 
Carter6197 said:
Ah. Well dang it. Seems like I’ll have to wait for Paragon to email me the update so I can at least mount my hard drive
Click to expand...
macOS can mount NTFS as read-only. You don't need Paragon to read/copy the files.
The app mentioned in post #6 can mount NTFS in read-write mode. It's free.
 
airtas said:
what is the drawback to exfat instead of NTFS?
Click to expand...
Most of the time, nothing. You need NTFS if you want to actually be able to boot Windows from it, but most of the other NTFS-only features are things that the vast majority of people will never consciously use.
 
airtas said:
what is the drawback to exfat instead of NTFS?
Click to expand...
NTFS has file system integrity features which are entirely absent in exFAT.

For example: If you unplug an exFAT drive in mid operation, you are quite likely not to be able to remount it. If you unplug an NTFS (or APFS) drive in mid operation, the file system will recover when you next mount the drive. You might lose some data from the file operation in progress, but the file system itself will recover.

I would only use exFAT for file transfer between macOS and Windows (or Linux).
 
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gilby101 said:
NTFS has file system integrity features which are entirely absent in exFAT.

For example: If you unplug an exFAT drive in mid operation, you are quite likely not to be able to remount it. If you unplug an NTFS (or APFS) drive in mid operation, the file system will recover when you next mount the drive. You might lose some data from the file operation in progress, but the file system itself will recover.

I would only use exFAT for file transfer between macOS and Windows (or Linux).
Click to expand...
Are you saying the exFat Drive unplugged without ejecting will break easier than an NTFS?
 
airtas said:
Are you saying the exFat Drive unplugged without ejecting will break easier than an NTFS?
Click to expand...
Yes. And doubly "yes" if the disk is active when unplugged. I would never use exFAT for permanent storage of files, rather just as means of transferring data to and from Windows.
 
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gilby101 said:
You might lose some data from the file operation in progress, but the file system itself will recover.
Click to expand...
Unless the drive lies too much about when it has committed data to persistent storage, which is quite common in consumer drives.
 
airtas said:
Are you saying the exFat Drive unplugged without ejecting will break easier than an NTFS?
Click to expand...
Define "break". If "break" as in physically damaged, no. If break as in the file system will be corrupted, or files will disappear, then yes.
 
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