Download NTFS-3G for Mac - Read-write NTFS filesystem driver. MacUpdate Mac Storage Software Downloads

NTFS-3G for Mac OS X is a read-write (finally) NTFS file-system driver. This means we can finally write to memory sticks larger than 4GB (formatted with NTFS).

I have created a package similar to shadowofged's original NTFS-3G package, providing better integration with OS X such as automatic mounting of volumes. It is loosely based on the old shadowofged package, but the binary-only components have been replaced by my own GPL replacements.

Version 2009.4.4:

Simplified install procedure: NTFS-3G now installs MacFUSE (2.0.2/2.0.3) with it, so that users don't have to download two different packages to get read/write NTFS support working.
New preference pane version, 0.9.8: The user can now choose to always mount (recover) uncleanly unmounted volumes without user confirmation. (Some minor bugfixes also included.)
The NTFS-3G system preferences are now retained between installs, and limited support for automatically repairing damaged NTFS-3G settings has been added.
When asking for confirmation before mounting a volume with an unclean log file or a hibernated volume, the dialog informing the user that the mount succeeded has been removed.
The 'stable' and 'ublio' labels are dropped. We now have a 'standard' build, and a 'legacy' build in case anyone is still interested in the limited feature set of the old 'stable' build. The 'legacy' build will probably be removed in the future, unless anyone has a good reason that it should be kept maintained.

OTHER PEOPLE SUGGEST

MacFUSE (votes: 12 )
NTFS for Mac (votes: 8 )
NTFS for Mac OS X (votes: 8 )
NTFS Mounter (votes: 2 )

Suggest something else:

DOUG S. You can no longer format a Boot Camp partition to NTFS with version 4.4 in Snow Leopard (10.6) with Disk Utility. Not sure why, looking into it more.
(Version 2009.4.4)

MATOO I installed the latest NTFS-3G 2009.4.4 and immediately one partition of my external HD connected to my Aiport Extreme (formatted with Mac OS Extended (Journaled)) disappeared. Upon connecting the HD directly to my MBP and running Disk Utility, I found these errors:

Invalid node structure

Invalid B-tree node size

Volume check failed.

Error: Filesystem verify or repair failed.

What is going on here and how can I fix it??? I should note that I've already uninstalled NTFS-3G but the problem persists. I should also note that it's not a physical problem with external HD, since 2 other partitions on the disk (one in FAT32 and the other also Mac OS Extended Journaled) are fine.
(Version 2009.4.4)

Replies:

May 10 2009

UNSOUND I don't really understand what this has to do with NTFS-3G. You can't install NTFS-3G on an Airport Extreme, and the problematic hard disk is formatted as HFS+, isn't it?

Just because two things happen in sequence doesn't mean that they are related. NTFS-3G can not in any way affect what happens on your Airport Extreme, and it doesn't touch non-NTFS file systems.

It seems that you should contact Apple about file system corruption when using Airport Extreme.
(Version 2009.4.4)

May 24 2009

MARSOFEARTH It is difficult to say that NTFS-3G caused the file structure problem but rather after installation called a "Search" for drives connected to your Mac and in doing so your drive was found faulty.

The good news is that it is likely a "fairly" simple fix.

There is the free way or the "Paid" way. TechTool Pro and DiskWarrior are two very capable tools and in my opinion well worth the price to have on hand.

The other way is to use FSCK which is freely available in your Mac OS X UNIX underpinnings. However if you have never used a Terminal command this can be a bit overwhelming for some.

http://www.osxfaq.com/Tutorials/fsck/index.ws is a good resource if you wish to learn how to use these free tools in Mac OS X.

http://www.macosxhints.com is another fine community resource filled with knowledgeable people.

NOTE: IF after fixing the file structure on your Drive, you find the problem happening again, you will want to find out if it is something within your connection or use that is causing the problem or perhaps there is a "Bad Sector" on your drive, OR in a worse case scenario a sign that your disk is beginning to fail.
(Version 2009.4.4)

May 24 2009

The good news is that it is likely a "fairly" simple fix.

There is the free way or the "Paid" way. TechTool Pro and DiskWarrior are two very capable tools and in my opinion well worth the price to have on hand.

The other way is to use FSCK which is freely available in your Mac OS X UNIX underpinnings. However if you have never used a Terminal command this can be a bit overwhelming for some.

http://www.osxfaq.com/Tutorials/fsck/index.ws is a good resource if you wish to learn how to use these free tools in Mac OS X.

http://www.macosxhints.com is another fine community resource filled with knowledgeable people.

GYNNY Works perfectly with my MacBookPro (10.5.6) and my old PPC (Dual G5 also with 10.5.6).

As Ronald Price writes: be a little patient during mounting and unmounting. Sometimes I have to unmount twice because the finder says the drive would be still in use. (I don't know whether this is caused by NTFS-3G or the finder. This occurres also with fire wire drives.)

The velocity during writing is o.k. (Seems to me as having increased since the last version?) Reading is more than fast enough for directly playing mpg files with vlc or quicktime!

Thanks to all developers!
(Version 2009.2.1u1)

RONALD PRICE Functionally this build of NTFS-3G does all I need. I tried both the stable and ulibio versions and both allow me to mount ntfs volumes as read/write. I was able to copy files from my Sawtooth G4 to all 3 ntfs drives I tried and read and delete them when I connected the drives to my Vista 64 bit system and vice-versa.

While it does work it takes a while to mount ntfs volumes - an 8GB thumb drive took 8-10 seconds while a 1TB USB hard drive took 30-45 seconds. A 27GB USB HD was somewhere in the middle. Not a major problem but something to be aware of - if you are trying to use a large ntfs volume don't assume there is something wrong just because it doesn't mount immediately.

Another time/nuisance eliminating tip - when un-mounting volumes from the Windows system try to remember to use the Windows "Remove Safely" command, rather then just unplugging the drive. This will save the hassle of having to deal with the warning and "Force/Abort" dialog from NTFS-3G. So pretty much just deal with removable drives on Windows as we already deal with them on the Mac and things will work a little smoother.
(Version 2009.2.1u1)

LORRE After updating to the latest version, my external NTFS-drive no longer mount using the NTFS-3G driver, but with the standard NTFS driver!

I used the ublio build... any help would be appreciated! NTFS-3G is still available from the formatting options for drives in Disk Utility...
(Version 2009.2.1u1)

Replies:

Feb 15 2009

LORRE Reverting to the previous version didn't help :s
(Version 2009.2.1u1)

May 10 2009

UNSOUND For problem reports, please use the official forum:

http://forum.ntfs-3g.org/viewforum.php?f=4
(Version 2009.4.4)

GMAX NTFS-3G is incredibly unreliable when it comes to writing to data to NTFS volumes. The nags and convoluted process of mounting "unverified" NTFS drives is also frustrating. Paragon's NTFS for OS X is a much more dependable (though not free) solution for those who take NTFS compatibility seriously.

Not worth it for a free extension.
(Version 2009.1.1)

Replies:

Jan 30 2009

UNSOUND GMAX:

Would you mind telling the NTFS-3G team what kind of unreliable behaviour you have experienced? A proper problem report is always more constructive.

Visit the NTFS-3G forum ( http://forum.ntfs-3g.org/viewforum.php?f=4 ) for communicating directly with the developers and submitting problem reports.
(Version 2009.1.1u1)

MARKOH I tried NTFS-3G about a year ago and it's a nice thingy for it to be free but I ended up splashing out $39 for NTFS for Mac OS X 6.5.x which is more stable and copies files a lot faster to my external NTFS-Formatted HDD.
(Version 1.5130u1)

Replies:

Dec 10 2008

XYPHER Would agree with you, the Paragon software is superior in many ways.
(Version 1.5130u1)

Dec 22 2008

HOLYPOLY Well - you gets what you pays for
(Version 1.5130u2)

-1

Dec 22 2008

FARDILHA NTFS-3G has 2 versions.

I would say that the ublio build has similar speed to the Paragon software.
(Version 1.5130u2)

Jan 30 2009

UNSOUND I'm curious, what about ntfs-3g made you consider it "unstable".

We haven't been getting any reproducable reports of data loss or crashes under normal circumstances for some time now.
(Version 2009.1.1u1)

UGEORGE This should be a bugfix mainly for Tiger, but it requires MacFuse 2 which is not available for Tiger ... is here anything I'm missing ?
(Version 1.5130u1)

Replies:

Jan 30 2009

UNSOUND MacFUSE 2 is indeed available for Tiger.
(Version 2009.1.1u1)

MEEGO Still great and working like a charm.
(Version 1.5130)

MACMAT Installed MacFuse 1.7 & NTFS-3G 1.5012 today 08/10/15 but external ntfs volume doesn´t mount. Shows up in Disc Utility with most options shadowed. How do I get this to work without reformatting etc.

Mac Mini running 10.5.5
(Version 1.5012)

Replies:

Oct 15 2008

MACUPDATE ADMIN http://hem.bredband.net/catacombae/ntfs-3g/macntfs-3g_userguide.pdf

that is the user guide available via the developer site
(Version 1.5012)