WinXP PC can't write on exFat external HDD - Huh Why?

[cheez]

Ok, finally got my 3TB external HDD to work with my MacBook as you know I had mounting error before. I have tinkered with the partitioning settings in disk utilities and the drive is now in exFat format and I can access it.

I can read /write to the drive fine when connected to my Macbook.

I can read fine when hooked up to Windows XP PC (I installed the exFat driver). BUT it won't let me write. It says something about write permission isn't allowed. Well, what am I missing?^_^ No clue.


Here are the screenshots of my drive status.

You can't write to the exFat drive from WinXP? Is this normal?

plz help

 

[TheStu]

You may need to, and this is a bad thing to tell you... Reformat it..

Go to the partition tab, and towards the bottom is Options. Change it to MBR and then format it exFAT. Or, get rid of XP because it is old and crummy.

I thought there was some sort of limit in XP and 3TB, not sure what, but those two things are sticking out in my head. Maybe it is MBR that doesn't support 3TB+ and since XP cannot write to non-MBR... I don't know.

 

[KeithP]

Is the exFat driver installed?
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/955704

-KeithP

 

[cheez]

Stu, I tried it but that option is greyed out.

It looks like the partition for MBR is already on the drive from WinXP management console under disk utility.

Well so I tried repartitioning and formatted as exFat from WinXP PC. I can write to the drive now from WinXP. I also tested by hooking up to MBP and it reads and writes. I'm good now thanks

 

[Tyranicus]

The problem is that it is formatted with the GUID partition scheme. XP requires MBR. You will need to reformat it as TheStu details.

 

[dawks]

Well so I tried repartitioning and formatted as exFat from WinXP PC. I can write to the drive now from WinXP. I also tested by hooking up to MBP and it reads and writes. I'm good now thanks

I think I mentioned in my previous post that you need to format the drive in Windows. I had the same problem when I formatted a partition with exFAT in OSX, but Windows wouldn't even mount the partition, much less give me a read only error.
I also had to format it. Via the cmd line ad the Win7 GUI doesn't give the option to format internal drives with exFAT. Just external.

 

[TheStu]

I think I mentioned in my previous post that you need to format the drive in Windows. I had the same problem when I formatted a partition with exFAT in OSX, but Windows wouldn't even mount the partition, much less give me a read only error.
I also had to format it. Via the cmd line ad the Win7 GUI doesn't give the option to format internal drives with exFAT. Just external.

In this case it was an external, but otherwise you were spot on. I formatted some drives to share between OS X and Win7/8, internals in this case, had to do it from OS X, but both sides see the drives and can read/write to them just fine. I wonder if it was the 3TB aspect?

 

[Nothinman]

You may need to, and this is a bad thing to tell you... Reformat it..

Go to the partition tab, and towards the bottom is Options. Change it to MBR and then format it exFAT. Or, get rid of XP because it is old and crummy.

I thought there was some sort of limit in XP and 3TB, not sure what, but those two things are sticking out in my head. Maybe it is MBR that doesn't support 3TB+ and since XP cannot write to non-MBR... I don't know.

Except that would mean he would lose 1TB of space as MBR can only address 2TB total.

 

[TheStu]

Except that would mean he would lose 1TB of space as MBR can only address 2TB total.

OK, but WinXP cannot read GUID partitions can it?

 

[Nothinman]

OK, but WinXP cannot read GUID partitions can it?

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/hardware/gg463525

Q. Can Windows XP x64 read, write, and boot from GPT disks?

A. Windows XP x64 Edition can use GPT disks for data only.

Q. Can the 32-bit version of Windows XP read, write, and boot from GPT disks?

A. No. The 32-bit version will see only the Protective MBR. The EE partition will not be mounted or otherwise exposed to application software.

 

[cheez]

^ Yep in win2003 Server is showing me 2TB partition and 1TB partition for MBR.



HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM.

As I said, WinXP PC and Macbook can write files to the same drive.

BUT, when I took it to my home, it could not be read by Win 2003 Server, LOL. This shucks.:wub:



I am getting fed up with this crap.

TOO MANY VARIATIONS or COMPLICATIONS.

Like I said before, the drive (NTFS format) can be fully accessed by ANY computer (PC, Mac, or anything) *via* network.

SO, this is what I did and decided to stick with.

- Hooked up the drive to Windows Server 2003 PC.
- Deleted the partitions from Windows Server 2003.
- Created One partition and formatted in good'ol awesome NTFS format from Server 2003.

NOW it's back to 3TB storage space.

Now all PC's and Mac's can access (read & write) this drive VIA network.


I am copying files over now.....

And *don't* connect the drive to Mac via USB. I keep getting stupid mounting error. It's worthless.

PROBLEM SOLVED.

^_^

 

[Tyranicus]

The easy answer to this problem is not to use current technology with 10-year-old software. If you were running Vista or 7 on the XP machine and Server 2008 on the Server 2003 machine, you could do exFAT with a GUID partitioning scheme.

 

[cheez]

The easy answer to this problem is not to use current technology with 10-year-old software. If you were running Vista or 7 on the XP machine and Server 2008 on the Server 2003 machine, you could do exFAT with a GUID partitioning scheme.

Well, server 2003 is what... 9 years old, not 10.:|

.... but yeah it's pretty old. But still, Server 2003 is the king of kings.

Vista is lame.

Using Windows 7 on a PC maybe easy answer for some of you folks. But I can't have Windows 7 on my server PC. It's my main PC that doesn't work well with Windows 7 for particular applications I rely on. Long story, don't ask.

For me to jump on to Server 2008 means I have to go through all the mess, such as testing and troubleshooting. For now I have to stick with the famous Server 2003.


I can see that OS X is picky. It's not a good thing. But I am willing to stick with it.

My solution is fine. Use the network connection for file transfer.

 

[Tyranicus]

Well, server 2003 is what... 9 years old, not 10.:|

And XP is 11 years old. I was averaging.

I can see that OS X is picky. It's not a good thing. But I am willing to stick with it.

It is my understanding that OS X does not include support for writing to NTFS drives due to licensing issues. I would say that the fact that it supports exFAT makes it inherently unpicky.

 

[Nothinman]

.... but yeah it's pretty old. But still, Server 2003 is the king of kings.

Server 2003 is just as lame as XP is now. Whenever I have to use one I have to pause and think back to the old ways of doing things because I can't just type what I want and have the icon appear. I even had a MS engineer ask how to start cmd in admin mode on a Win2K8 server because the client forced it to use the old-style start menu with no search box. It was mildly entertaining, but also says to me that they don't see that much Win2K3 support anymore either, which I consider a good thing.

 

[Anteaus]

Using Windows 7 on a PC maybe easy answer for some of you folks. But I can't have Windows 7 on my server PC. It's my main PC that doesn't work well with Windows 7 for particular applications I rely on. Long story, don't ask.

This isn't a permenant fix nor is it the most efficient, but in the interim you can keep a cheap Windows 7 laptop on hand to use as a access point. Obviously it's a crutch, but since your options are limited given your current requirements it would be worth the money. Besides, I find that having an extra machine around helps more often than you would think.

 

[umrigar]

it's also very easy to enable NTFS writing in OS X.

http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/23729/macfuse

 

[Eug]

it's also very easy to enable NTFS writing in OS X.

http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/23729/macfuse

Note from the Developer: "This project is no longer being maintained. We cannot currently help with any Mac OS X 10.7 (or any large feline) related bugs or issues. The MacFuse Google group is a decent resource for finding forks/replacement projects."

 

[ViRGE]

Note from the Developer: "This project is no longer being maintained. We cannot currently help with any Mac OS X 10.7 (or any large feline) related bugs or issues. The MacFuse Google group is a decent resource for finding forks/replacement projects."

The state of FUSE on the Mac right now is a disaster.:|

 

[TheStu]

There is also Paragon NTFS, but that costs money. If I am not mistaken, Paragon gives you NTFS R/W on OS X and includes an HFS+ driver to use in Windows. Conversely, MacDrive gives you HFS+ support in Windows, but includes an NTFS driver for OS X.

I like Paragon for OS X, it gives you native speeds whereas MacFUSE was always half speed (though admittedly free).

 

[Eug]

I liked MacDrive when I used it way back when (but that was strictly for HFS+ on Windows). Never tried Paragon.

FUSE always scared me so I never tried it.

 

[Nothinman]

I liked MacDrive when I used it way back when (but that was strictly for HFS+ on Windows). Never tried Paragon.

FUSE always scared me so I never tried it.

In theory FUSE should be less dangerous because the majority of the code is run in userspace instead of the kernel. As for a specific filesystem driver, that can still scribble all over your drive regardless of where the code runs.

 

[Eug]

Are Windows XP installs usually exFAT compatible now? ie. Is the exFAT driver a standard Windows Update component? Is it part of SP2 or SP3? I'm just wondering because I'm finding FAT32 more and more limiting on my USB flash drive, but the only format that seems to have some level of write cross-compatibility for Mac OS and Windows is exFAT.

In the meantime I think I'm going to format one of my flash drives as exFAT and go around my workplace to see if it works in the various XP machines.

 

[TheStu]

Are Windows XP installs usually exFAT compatible now? ie. Is the exFAT driver a standard Windows Update component? Is it part of SP2 or SP3? I'm just wondering because I'm finding FAT32 more and more limiting on my USB flash drive, but the only format that seems to have some level of write cross-compatibility for Mac OS and Windows is exFAT.

In the meantime I think I'm going to format one of my flash drives as exFAT and go around my workplace to see if it works in the various XP machines.

I think that you still need to install a driver to get exFAT to work in XP.

Also, holy thread necro batman!!

 

[Eug]

Nope, it doesn't seen to be a normal component of Windows update. We have SP3 installed and the computers are still not exFat compatible unless as Stu mentioned, I specifically install the exFAT driver. Annoying.