Reading and Writing NTFS external USB drive

[VinegarTasters]

I had some NTFS formatted external USB drives.

cd /sbin
sudo mv mount_ntfs mount_ntfs_orig

Edit a file called mount_ntfs and put in these contents...
#!/bin/sh
/sbin/mount_ntfs_orig -o rw,nobrowse "$@"

Then make it executable...
sudo chmod a+x mount_ntfs

Plug in your USB drive now.
cd /Volumes
ls

Remember the name of your volume as listed.

Make a shortcut on your desktop to any application.
Right click on the shortcut and Get Info.
Point the shortcut to your USB drive by going into /Volumes/NAMEOFYOURUSBDRIVE

Now, you can double click on the shortcut and use the Finder to navigate and do stuff to your USB drive (reading AND writing).


Ok. The above worked until patch 12C43 or 12C50. So if you are not using the developer patches above, and are on 10.8.1, 10.8.0, or a patch earlier than 12C43, you can read AND write to NTFS. Lost a lot of files in USB drive after upgrading to 12C43 or 12C50.

/sbin/mount_ntfs

supports reading and writing NTFS drives.

 

[GGJstudios]

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 ($19.95) (Best Choice for Lion and Mountain Lion)
  • For Mac OS X 10.5 and later, including Lion, FUSE for OS X
  • 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), which is an enhanced version of NTFS-3G with faster performance.
  • Native NTFS support can be enabled in Snow Leopard and later versions, 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.

 

[VinegarTasters]

Actually something changed in 12A43 or 12A50. Preventing writing to the drive from applications. It also removed the ability to look up hidden drives like /Volumes when modifying a shortcut's destination location.

Basically it was a surgical strike against people using native NTFS in Mountain Lion. (especially from GUI side).