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November 15, 2007

software

NTFS = Not Terribly Feasible System? Not with Paragon’s help.

Posted Nov. 15, ’07, 9:38 AM PT by Dan Moren
Category | Software

Paragon NTFSI find it kind of silly that I still have this Boot Camp partition on my computer: I mean, 10GB of precious hard drive space being used just to store an operating system that I rarely ever boot up. But I just can’t get rid of it, because the thought haunts me that someday, somehow it might be useful. In the meantime, there’s another minor annoyance: with my partition formatted as NTFS, I can’t drop any files onto my Windows installation, without resorting to the annoyance of rebooting and transferring information using a thumb drive. Why not FAT32, you ask? Who wants a file system with the word “fat” in it? Really.

To deal with that minor annoyance, hard disk utility maker Paragon today released Paragon NTFS, a driver that allows full read/write access to NTFS partitions. Paragon NTFS supports all versions of NTFS, dating all the way from to Windows NT 3.1 to our friend Vista. That’s a heck of a lot of NTFS partitions—more than I need anyway.

At the moment, Paragon’s offering Paragon NTFS at a special introductory price of $30. Sounds pretty promising for those not willing to muck about with something like MacFuse. Meanwhile, I think I’ll continue getting myself acclimated to the idea of ditching my Windows partition for good.


4 Comments

DBL said:

So you'd rather install a hack into Mac OS, rather than use a file system with the word 'FAT' in it for a Boot Camp partition you never use?

Are you aware that Microsoft hasn't published (and refuses to publish, citing trade secrets), the write format specifications for NTFS, and that people like Paragon are essentially reverse engineering it to find out how it works? How much do you trust that approach to compatibility?

There's nothing wrong with FAT32 -- in fact, the only limitation of it that really gets in anyone's way is the 4GB filesize limit -- which, considering your partition is only 10GB, is something you really don't have to worry about. You are the perfect candidate for a plain old FAT32 installation.

If you had just done the sensible thing and used FAT32 for your Boot Camp and left your Mac OS file system options as is, I would have more respect for you. Isn't that worth anything? 87

November 15, 2007 11:02 AM
Felipe said:

They are now releasing the specs for NTFS since EU is demanding it. There are some w/r appz in linux that will do the trick like NTFS-3G.
I am not very sure, but I think that you can't install XP on FAT anymore. But I have to agree that FAT is not a work you want to use.
Any how, I am happy to say that I got rid of my XP annoying partition, and life is goooood.

November 15, 2007 12:16 PM
Dan Moren Author Profile Page said:

@DBL: Whew, don't hold back there! How do you really feel?

Actually, the explanation is far more pedantic. I chose NTFS when I first partitioned, because that's what I always used when formatting PCs at my old job (the humor of the "FAT" joke apparently got lost in the ether). Didn't realize at the time that OS X had the NTFS writing limitation. And honestly, I don't use Windows enough to make it worth my time to go, reformat, and reinstall.

Nor have I, in the interest of full disclosure, tried this product to see how well it works. But for those who want (or need) to have write access to NTFS volumes, if it does work, it works. Sorry to have lost your respect due to my disk format choices, but well, we can't all be perfect, I suppose.

November 15, 2007 12:35 PM
A.L. said:

you guys are all lame. Except for the MacBook and the Mini, the Macs are freaking sweet gaming machines. I can play all the sweetest games on my MBP. And all those sweet games are on and only on Windows. Not to mention that except for Photoshop partly MATLAB and literally like one other program, any relevant software is only for Windows. I don't know and maybe don't want to know what you're doing with your Mac for if you never need to use Windows. I would have never got this Mac if I couldn't put Windows on it.

November 15, 2007 6:36 PM

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