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How do I unlock my external hard drive?

prince11bon said:
I need to write to my external HD (My Passport, in NTFS format)... need help...
Click to expand...

NTFS (Windows NT File System)
  • Read/Write NTFS from native Windows.
  • Read only NTFS from native Mac OS X
    [*]To Read/Write/Format NTFS from Mac OS X, here are some alternatives:
    • For Mac OS X 10.4 or later (32 or 64-bit), install Paragon (approx $20) (Best Choice for Lion)
    • For 32-bit Mac OS X, install NTFS-3G for Mac OS X (free) (does not work in 64-bit mode)
    • For 64-bit Snow Leopard, read this: MacFUSE for 64-bit Snow Leopard
    • Some have reported problems using Tuxera (approx $36).
    • Native NTFS support can be enabled in Snow Leopard and Lion, but is not advisable, due to instability.
  • AirPort Extreme (802.11n) and Time Capsule do not support NTFS
  • Maximum file size: 16 TB
  • Maximum volume size: 256TB
  • You can use this format if you routinely share a drive with multiple Windows systems.
 
thanks GGJstudios....

GGJstudios said:
NTFS (Windows NT File System)
  • Read/Write NTFS from native Windows.
  • Read only NTFS from native Mac OS X
    [*]To Read/Write/Format NTFS from Mac OS X, here are some alternatives:
    • For Mac OS X 10.4 or later (32 or 64-bit), install Paragon (approx $20) (Best Choice for Lion)
    • For 32-bit Mac OS X, install NTFS-3G for Mac OS X (free) (does not work in 64-bit mode)
    • For 64-bit Snow Leopard, read this: MacFUSE for 64-bit Snow Leopard
    • Some have reported problems using Tuxera (approx $36).
    • Native NTFS support can be enabled in Snow Leopard and Lion, but is not advisable, due to instability.
  • AirPort Extreme (802.11n) and Time Capsule do not support NTFS
  • Maximum file size: 16 TB
  • Maximum volume size: 256TB
  • You can use this format if you routinely share a drive with multiple Windows systems.
Click to expand...



NTFS-3G for Mac OS X worked... thanks a lot...
 
spinnerlys said:
Image
Click to expand...

Hello, this may sound silly but please bear with me. I'm not a techie person. I want to use a FreeAgent GoFlex Drive that was used by a fellow coworker that no longer works for the company. He used it on a PC and it still has important stuff saved there but has a whole lot of space still available. I want to use it on an Apple computer. I tried saving stuff on to it and it won't let me. It says it's "Read Only." I tried looking for the spotlight window like the one displayed here (the one with the padlock and the little gear).I clicked command + i but the window looks completely different. Is there anyway to unlock this drive? Am I looking in the wrong place? Do drives like these lock themselves just like that for no apparent reason? :confused:
 
Pepilopiu said:
Hello, this may sound silly but please bear with me. I'm not a techie person. I want to use a FreeAgent GoFlex Drive that was used by a fellow coworker that no longer works for the company. He used it on a PC and it still has important stuff saved there but has a whole lot of space still available. I want to use it on an Apple computer. I tried saving stuff on to it and it won't let me. It says it's "Read Only." I tried looking for the spotlight window like the one displayed here (the one with the padlock and the little gear).I clicked command + i but the window looks completely different. Is there anyway to unlock this drive? Am I looking in the wrong place? Do drives like these lock themselves just like that for no apparent reason? :confused:
Click to expand...
Read post #151, just two before yours. The drive is most likely formatted as NTFS.
 
Won't let me type password in Terminal

I see I'm having the same issues as most here. I've followed the commands in Terminal but when I use the sudo commands it requires me to enter my PW but when I go to type in the PW nothing happens. It won't let me type in the PW. Any solutions?
 
hard drive line

drwxr-xr-x 1 4096 Sep 5 11:21 Elements
What do I do next to be able to unlock my hard drive?
Its a 2TB hard drive with only 1 wire connecting it to a computer and etc.
 
Similar problems. PLEASE HELP

Have a lot of my old files ona hard drive that i used on an old mac. That mac was destroyed in a flood but luckily I still have the hard drive. Only problem is that it won't let me write anything onto the new mac. I can read and take things off of it. But can't copy any new information onto it. I've read a lot of posts on here and tried downloading NTFS 3G. When I did that it gives me an error saying "NTFS 3g could not mount the drive because the following problems occured. Library not loaded. Images not found "
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
 
angelwatt said:
In Finder if you select the external HD then do a Get Info (cmd+I) it'll bring up a window. Under the General section at the bottom there's a check box for Locked. Make sure this is not checked. Do the same on some of the folders on the external HD.

Another check:

  • Open Terminal (/Applications/Utilities/Terminal)
  • type: cd /Volumes
  • type: ls -go
  • Copy and paste the line that refers to your external hard drive to this thread so we can see if any settings here are wrong. It may have permissions wrong or locked.
Click to expand...

Hi! Thank you for offering your help! Here's what mine says. Is there anything I can do?
drwxr-xr-x@ 1 16384 Jul 7 2013 FreeAgent Drive
 
angelwatt said:
In Finder if you select the external HD then do a Get Info (cmd+I) it'll bring up a window. Under the General section at the bottom there's a check box for Locked. Make sure this is not checked. Do the same on some of the folders on the external HD.

Another check:

  • Open Terminal (/Applications/Utilities/Terminal)
  • type: cd /Volumes
  • type: ls -go
  • Copy and paste the line that refers to your external hard drive to this thread so we can see if any settings here are wrong. It may have permissions wrong or locked.
Click to expand...
drw----r--+ 53 1870 Nov 27 2012 My Passport

what does this mean?
 
Same problem: cannot write on external HD. I am Terminal allergic but tried. Here is what I got:

MyMac:~ MyOldName$ sudo chflags 0 /Volumes/-HDexternal
chflags: /Volumes/-HDexternal: Read-only file system
MyMac:~ MyOldName$ sudo chown 0:80 /Volumes/-HDexternal
chown: /Volumes/-HDexternal: Read-only file system
MyMac:~ MyOldName$ sudo chmod 775 /Volumes/-HDexternal
chmod: Unable to change file mode on /Volumes/-HDexternal: Read-only file system
MyMac:~ MyOldName$ sudo chmod -N /Volumes/-HDexternal
chmod: Failed to clear ACL on file /Volumes/-HDexternal: Read-only file system

The only thing I can see that may be strange is "MyOldName": A couple of years ago I changed my very old mac for a somewhat younger mac and changed my name. Kept the external HD. Everything went well until today when I found the external HD locked. In the Info window, I can unlock the lock at the bottom right but the permissions remain grey and I cannot do anything. The last time I wrote on the external was about ten days ago.

Possibly relevant? Yesterday, the grid lost power and had a hard time returning it. So, my system got shut down several times. But the computer has no issue.
 
Last edited:
IEatApples said:
I called Apple and they gave me the solution :):

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=9035132&#9035132



but if your hard drives name includes a [space] like this: "My HD", then you must write the command like this:



or like in my example:



It saved both my drives! THANK YOU APPLE!!! :)
Click to expand...


chmod: Unable to change file mode on /Volumes/B-kup drive: Read-only file system
***
chmod: Failed to clear ACL on file /Volumes/B-kup drive: Read-only file system

I go the following error when executing the above given, how can I resolve
 
angelwatt said:
In Finder if you select the external HD then do a Get Info (cmd+I) it'll bring up a window. Under the General section at the bottom there's a check box for Locked. Make sure this is not checked. Do the same on some of the folders on the external HD.

Another check:

  • Open Terminal (/Applications/Utilities/Terminal)
  • type: cd /Volumes
  • type: ls -go
  • Copy and paste the line that refers to your external hard drive to this thread so we can see if any settings here are wrong. It may have permissions wrong or locked.
Click to expand...
micheles-MacBook-Air:Volumes michelegrimaldi$
[doublepost=1547718714][/doublepost]Hello I need to unlock my external hard disk (the brand is WD) for at the moment is read-only! Please help thanks!
 

angelwatt. Thank you. Your solution, #8 above, fixed my permission issue. It only took me 2 months to find the answer, your post. I am grateful!!!​

 
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