By Juno | Posted to NTFS for Mac, updated on May 29, 2020
- Benjamin Fleischer Software
- Fuse For Macos Catalina Bay
- Brew Install Fuse
- Macfuse
- Macos Catalina Beta
- Fuse For Macos Catalina 2017
Before you are led to the introduction of free NTFS drivers for Mac, here is some background information in case you don't know.
You can read Windows NTFS drives on Mac. But Mac can't write to NTFS drives, including create, edit, copy, paste, delete, or transfer files on NTFS drive on Mac desktops and laptops. Do you know why?
NTFS is a file system developed by Microsoft, the competitor of Apple. NTFS is used by default on Windows platform, especially for system drive. Additionally, if you use Boot Camp to create a Windows partition on your Mac, you will find you can't mount BOOTCAMP Widnows partition with both read-write access either. Up to now, Mac operating systems, including macOS Catalina/Mojave/High Sierra/Sierra and Mac OS X El Capitan, only provide NTFS read support but deny NTFS write support.
May 07, 2020 If you're using one of these computers with OS X Mavericks or later, you can install macOS Catalina.Your Mac also needs at least 4GB of memory and 12.5GB of available storage space, or up to 18.5GB of storage space when upgrading from OS X Yosemite or earlier. Apr 19, 2020 When I click download off of the adobe website it says fuse is not installing, prompts me to open the creative cloud desktop app, but then nothing happens. I am using a 2019 16 inch macbook pro running macOS Catalina 10.15.13 Topic edited by moderator for clarity. Delete macOS Catalina: Apple menu Restart Command + R Disk Utility your startup disk Erase. Fix macOS Catalina Sidecar issues. One of the things Mac users are particularly excited about is the new Sidecar feature. It comes as a handy solution for those wanting to expand their workspaces.
You know the business, but for users, is there any way to let Mac write NTFS drives? Can you make the NTFS drive fully compatible with macOS or Mac OS X? Sure. The easiest method is to use NTFS driver for macOS software.
If you are looking for a totally free NTFS for Mac software, there are four options: Mounty for NTFS, NTFS-3G, FUSE for macOS and SL-NTFS.
NTFS for Mac - free drivers for macOS
Some Mac users may have upgraded to macOS Catalina and are digging around for an NTFS driver for macOS 10.15. But it's hard to find a Free NTFS for Mac that supports macOS 10.15 yet. Fortunately, iBoysoft has upgraded their software iBoysoft NTFS for Mac to be compatible with macOS Catalina.
If you are using a Mac running macOS 10.14 and earlier, you can try the NTFS driver for Mac below and share NTFS drives between Windows and Mac.
1. Mounty for NTFS
Mounty for NTFS is completely free software to enable write ability to NTFS drives on Mac. It has simple design to help users mount NTFS drives with write support on Mac.
As a free utility, Mounty for NTFS does have some highlights:
- Totally free.
- Fast download and installation because it is less than 1MB.
- One-time installation and no additional driver needed.
But Mounty for NTFS dose get complaints because:
- The write speed to NTFS drive is rather slow.
- It can't mount the NTFS formatted drives in read-write mode automatically.
- It can be unstable and fails to mount NTFS drives.
- It can cause data loss problems.
- It doesn't provide tech support.
- The software is not compatible with the latest macOS Catalina or Mojave.
2. NTFS-3G
NTFS-3G is an open-source project from Tuxera, so the public can download this NTFS for Mac free to write to Windows NTFS drives on Mac computers.
Set aside its advantage for being free, NTFS-3G is complained a lot because of its poor performance. Some main drawbacks of this free NTFS driver for Mac are listed below:
- Complicated installation. You have to know how to use Terminal or have already downloaded FUSE for macOS, Homebrew or Xcode.
- Poor usability. Users have to use the software by command lines in Terminal instead of an interface.
- Poor compatibility. NTFS-3G only supports macOS 10.12 or earlier. It doesn't support the latest macOS 10.15 and macOS 10.14.
- Slow write speed. The file transferring is noticeably slow.
- Tuxera stops maintaining this utility.
- No technical support. As freeware, no technical support is available when issues occur.
3. FUSE for macOS
FUSE for macOS (was OSXFUSE) is another open and free NTFS driver for Mac from Tuxera that can enable write support to NTFS drives on Mac. In fact, FUSE is a file system extension that allows user to read and write disks with the formats that are not fully supported by Apple.
Benjamin Fleischer Software
FUSE for macOS is worth trying because:
- It is free of charge.
- It is compatible with Mac operating system from Mac OS X 10.6 to macOS 10.14.
- Multiple languages are available.
As a free NTFS driver for Mac, FUSE for macOS has some obvious limitations:
- It can be unreliable sometimes such as file size being reported as 0 bytes.
- It has no technical support when issues occur.
4. SL-NTFS
SL-NTFS means Snow Leopard NTFS. As a matter of fact, writing to NTFS on Apple is possible since Mac OS 10.6 without any third-party NTFS driver, but the NTFS writing support is disabled by default. Therefore, SL-NTFS is used as an interface on the Apple NTFS driver to enable writing to NTFS drives on Mac.
As a free NTFS for Mac app, SL-NTFS has some pros as followings:
- It is free.
- It is simple to install.
However, SL-NTFS has some cons to prevent people from using it.
- It has limited access to a large number of files and a large volume of data.
- It can't enable NTFS write on some NTFS external hard drives.
- It can cause conflicts if you have another NTFS enabler installed.
- It has no technical support.
Generally speaking, despite of being free, those free NTFS for Mac software have various flaws, making them very risky to use.
If you are afraid of using a risky free NTFS utility for Mac, there are two cost-effective alternatives for you. Even though they are not completely free, they can provide a lot of merits that free NTFS drivers don't have.
Best NTFS drivers for Mac
Free NTFS drivers for Mac can be troublemakers because of their low write speed, poor compatibility, no technical support, etc. Nevertheless, you don't have to pay a fortune to get enough reliability, stability and simplicity from a cost-effective NTFS for Mac - iBoysoft NTFS for Mac or iBoysoft Drive Manager.
iBoysoft NTFS for Mac
Fuse For Macos Catalina Bay
iBoysoft NTFS for Mac is an ultimate NTFS for Mac solution in macOS and Mac OS X that can easily help you mount NTFS volumes on Mac desktops and laptops as regular drives in read-write mode.
iBoysoft NTFS for Mac has quite a few advantages you can take into account:
- It can mount NTFS volumes in read-write mode automatically.
- It can unmount and eject NTFS volumes with one click.
- It can repair NTFS file system errors.
- It can erase NTFS volumes for data cleanup.
- It can reformat other file system (except APFS) into NTFS.
- It is fully compatible with macOS 10.15/10.14/10.13/10.12 and Mac OS X 10.11/10.10/10.9/10.8.
- It is easy to install and use.
- Free technical support is provided.
iBoysoft Drive Manager
Another great alternative to free NTFS driver for Mac is iBoysoft Drive Manager. It is a handy Mac tool that can enable full read-write access to NTFS drives on Mac and help manage multiple external drivers/network drives with one click.
iBoysoft Drive Manager is a great replacement of a free NTFS driver for Mac because:
- It is extremely affordable and offers 7-day free trial.
- It is fully compatible with macOS 10.15/10.14/10.13/10.12 and Mac OS X 10.11/10.10/10.9/10.8.
- It is fast to write to NTFS drives and transfer files between NTFS drives and Mac.
- It is easy to install and use.
- It provides lifetime free upgrades.
- Free technical support is provided.
- Besides powerful NTFS writing support, it can manage external drives and map network drives as local drives in the Finder.
If you want to know any disadvantages that iBoysoft Drive Manager might have, I would say the only one should be - it is not free. But it is really cheap compared with other commercial NTFS for Mac programs, such as Paragon and Tuxera.
We also provide a table to help you find the most preferable NTFS driver:
NTFS driver for macOS | iBoysoft Drive Manager | iBoysoft NTFS for Mac | Mounty for Mac | NTFS-3G | FUSE for macOS | SL-NTFS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
NTFS writing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Auto-mount NTFS in read-write mode | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
Speed | Fast | Fast | Slow | Slow | Slow | Slow |
Supported Mac OS | macOS 10.15/10.14/10.13/10.12 and Mac OS X 10.11 to 10.8. | macOS 10.15/10.14/10.13/10.12 and Mac OS X 10.11 to 10.8. | macOS 10.13/10.12 and Mac OS X 10.11 to 10.6. | macOS 10.13/10.12 and Mac OS X 10.11 to 10.6. | macOS 10.14/10.13/10.12 and Mac OS X 10.11 to 10.6. | macOS 10.12 and Mac OS X 10.11 to 10.6. |
Supported devices | USB drives, SD cards, HDDs, etc. | USB drives, SD cards, HDDs, etc. | USB drives, SD cards, HDDs, etc. (not all) | USB drives, SD cards, HDDs, etc. | USB drives, SD cards, HDDs, etc. | USB drives, SD cards, HDDs, etc. (not all) |
Supported file system | NTFS, APFS, FAT32, exFAT, etc. | NTFS, APFS, FAT32, exFAT, etc. | NTFS | NTFS | NTFS, APFS, FAT32, exFAT, etc. | NTFS |
Tech support | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No |
Simple installation | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
Ease of use | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
Other | 1.Manage external storage media with one click. 2.Map network drive as local drives. | 1. Repair NTFS. 2.Erase NTFS volumes. 3.Reformat other file systems into NTFS. | N/A | N/A | Multiple languages are available. | N/A |
Price | $29.95 | $19.95 | Free | Free | Free | Free |
Free download | Download | Download | Download | Download | Download | Download |
Now, you have a few options in your hands. If you don't care the risks and want to try out the free NTFS for Mac programs, generally speaking, Mounty for NTFS and FUSE for macOS are better ones. However, if you care about the reliability, technical support and NTFS write speed a lot, or you are specifically looking for an NTFS driver for macOS Catalina, Mojave or High Sierra, iBoysoft NTFS for Mac is your best choice.
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Apple this week officially released macOS Catalina (also known as macOS 10.15), the first major update to its Mac operating system since Mojave last year. Because of that, many Mac users are likely eager to upgrade. But there may be a few key reasons to stay away, even more-so than past macOS releases, at least for the time being. Continue reading to learn 5 Reasons Not to Upgrade to macOS Catalina (Yet).
Catalina Doesn’t Support 32-Bit Apps
First off, if you rely on any 32-bit apps, you should stay away from macOS Catalina. At this point, you’re probably familiar with macOS 32-bit compatibility warnings. Those warnings won’t show up in Catalina. Your 32-bit apps simply won’t run on the new software.
Because of that, if you use any “mission-critical” software that’s currently 32-bit or that has 32-bit dependencies, you’ll want to avoid updating.
You can check for 32-bit software by:
- Clicking the Apple logo button in the menu bar.
- Click About This Mac.
- Click System Report.
- Find Legacy Software. Your 32-bit apps should show up here.
Brew Install Fuse
As far as what you should do if you do have critical 32-bit apps, it’s not as clear. You should try contacting the developer of those apps to see if they are planning to update to 64-bit. If they are, try to get a timeline for said update. If not, try to find an alternative app.
Security Features May Cause Trouble
As you might expect, Apple always works to increase the security and privacy of its devices. macOS Catalina, for its part, introduces a slew of new features that should make your Mac more private and secure. But those same features may cause problems for users and developers.
Macfuse
For one, macOS Catalina now runs on a read-only file system, which can break compatibility for backup apps (until they patch it). Apps are now required to request permissions for everything from keystrokes to screenshots — which could break older apps that don’t know how to request or deal with these permissions.
And then there’s the new app notarization requirement for apps distributed outside of the Mac App Store. These requirements won’t prevent you from running un-notarized apps, but they will make it a bit harder and more annoying to do so.
While Apple is hoping to ease the transition, it may be smart to wait until your favorite developers catch up.
Catalina May Be Buggier Than Usual
Search for opinions about macOS Catalina and you’ll find differing reports. Some users indicate that Catalina is fairly stable, while others suggest it’s one of the buggier macOS releases in recent history.
(Your own mileage will likely depend on the Mac model you’re running and the software you use.)
If Apple’s other 2019 software releases are any indication, things may not look up for Catalina. iOS 13, iPadOS and watchOS 6 have all been unusually buggy. And Apple has actually taken to putting out rapid-fire releases to try and fix many of those issues.
Those quick bug fixes are appreciated. But, as an end user, you’ll probably want to wait for more stable releases. You may not run into significant problems on macOS Catalina, but it’s going to be best to err on the side of caution.
None of the Upgrades Are Mission-Critical
Here’s the kicker with the potential problems in macOS Catalina: they may not be worth it. Unlike past versions of macOS, many users report that the upgrades and new features in Catalina aren’t compelling enough reasons to update right away.
Sure, there’s a new Sidecar feature and the new security mechanisms will likely help consumers ward off attacks and malicious apps. But most of the marquee features in Catalina are aimed at entertainment — the addition of Apple Arcade; the new Music, Podcasts, and TV apps; etc.
Unless you use your Mac predominantly for entertainment or to consume media, those features and upgrades are likely not worth the risk. Or, at least, they aren’t worth upgrading immediately for.
Macos Catalina Beta
Your Mac Is Probably Important
If you use a Mac in your day-to-day life, there’s a good chance that whatever you use it for is important. Whether it’s work, creative pursuits or education, the tasks you carry out on your Mac are likely much more important than the ones on your iPhone or iPad.
Fuse For Macos Catalina 2017
Because of that, we generally break away from the usual advice of updating to the latest software as soon as possible. It’s a risk and reward type of scenario. While Mac updates typically carry important security patches and other functionality, it’s simply not worth it if it impairs your ability to work.
Even without Catalina’s specific issues, we’d generally recommend waiting a few months before updating to a new major macOS version. Wait for a point release, particularly a “.2” one. By that time, many of the major issues will have been discovered by early adopters and hopefully addressed by Apple and third-party developers.
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