NTFS drives will not mount - PLEASE HELP

I spent over $4000 this month converting my family's computers from PC to Mac, and I am finding it to be one of the biggest mistakes of my life. I have had nothing but problems.

My latest and greatest problem is getting my Mac(s) to mount and read some NTFS drives. I know that NTFS does not write on MAC without external software, but I am not trying to write NTFS with my Macs. I only need to read the NTFS on my Mac.

I bought a Glyph 8TB external hard drive that is formatted for Mac. I am simply trying to take five different NTFS external hard drives, and drag their data onto my new 8TB Glyph drive that is formatted to Mac. Here is where it gets weird. I have 2 Samsung 500GB drives (NTFS) that mounted automatically, read and data transferred to my new Mac formatted drive (HTP+) without any problems. But I have 2 Glyph 6TB (NTFS) drives, and a Toshiba 2TB (NTFS) drive - none of which will mount. They didn't mount automatically, like the Samsung drives. They do all show up in disk utility, but when you click "mount" is gives you the "mount failed" error (with the "repair" option grayed out, and unavailable). When plugged back into a PC, all three of the drives function perfectly - so clearly the drives are fine. I would greatly appreciate it if anyone can help. I have spent an entire day of my life searching forums for resolutions on this one simple issue. I see a ton of people are having similar issues. Unlike PC forums that have always been easily able to resolve my major issues with a quick search, it seems that these NTFS mounting issues have Apple, and the entire Apple community, stumped.

To anyone considering the Mac vs. PC conversion, think long and hard before you convert to Mac. The Macs are more fun for video, music and photo editing. But for every other practical application I find that PC was much better. I am regretting giving Apple over $4000 of business. I wish that I could return all 4 Macs that I purchased. They seem to have unsolvable bugs. I've never run into that with PC.

My relevant system info:

Macbook Pro 13"
Intel i7, 8GB memory, 750GB HD
OS X 10.9.4

JShane said:

I am simply trying to take five different NTFS external hard drives, and drag their data onto my new 8TB Glyph drive that is formatted to Mac.

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After reading your entire post...it doesn't sound that simple to me.

JShane said:

To anyone considering the Mac vs. PC conversion, think long and hard before you convert to Mac. The Macs are more fun for video, music and photo editing. But for every other practical application I find that PC was much better. I am regretting giving Apple over $4000 of business. I wish that I could return all 4 Macs that I purchased. They seem to have unsolvable bugs.

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Sounds like you're giving up too soon...too fast!

JShane said:

I've never run into that with PC.

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Of course you haven't...you most likely only worked with Windows systems before. You understood Windows computers very well...so why would you run into this problem with computers you understood??

Mac's are a different platform...running a different OS. What even gave you the idea that all of your info on these NTFS drives was even transferable to a Mac system??

Finally. Since you spent all this money on Macintosh/Apple hardware...have you contacted your local Apple store for help...or signed up for any classes??

- Nick

I have a few questions that might push us in the direction of a solution. No answers yet though.

@OP I know the drives can be read on the PC. Have you checked the drives for any file/directory structure problems that might be complicating things?

Also, are any of the files in question making use of security features which control who has access to the files?

@Forum brain trust is it possible that the stock ntfs implementation employed by OS X does not support reading volumes that large?

@Forum brain trust Would either of the following likely solve this problem:
1. Assuming that the OP has access to a Windows box would connecting it to the Mac via network resolve the problem? Transfer might be a little slower than we would like but that's a different issue.
2. Would the Paragon NTFS driver help in any way?

Just spitballing a few ideas here.

Slydude said:

Assuming that the OP has access to a Windows box would connecting it to the Mac via network resolve the problem? Transfer might be a little slower than we would like but that's a different issue.

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Yes, that would work. It would indeed be slower but it would do the job.

JShane, do you get any more specific error messages (or even better, an error code)? Do you notice any more details in the Console application (/Applications/Utilities)?

After reading your entire post...it doesn't sound that simple to me.

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In my desire to give all relevant information, I am probably being too wordy. In reality, all I am trying to do is copy some data from NTFS drives onto my HTP+ Mac formatted drive.

Of course you haven't...you most likely only worked with Windows systems before. You understood Windows computers very well...so why would you run into this problem with computers you understood?

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At one time I was new to Windows systems as well. I have had many problems with Windows based PC over the years (and even with Linux). But with a few online searches most problems were resolved easily. I can't same the same for my Mac experiences thus far.

What even gave you the idea that all of your info on these NTFS drives was even transferable to a Mac system?

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Everything I have ever read on MAC says that they can read NTFS, which is all I am trying to do. And conversely, I never had a problem reading MAC format with my PC's.

Finally. Since you spent all this money on Macintosh/Apple hardware...have you contacted your local Apple store for help...or signed up for any classes?

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My local Apple store had no idea how to resolve this issue. I don't need classes, I need the ability to troubleshoot basic problems without major production. Otherwise my Apple products are not practical.

vansmith said:

JShane, do you get any more specific error messages (or even better, an error code)? Do you notice any more details in the Console application (/Applications/Utilities)?

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Thank you to you, and everyone that is trying to help. It is greatly appreciated.

Here is the one development. When I click on the specific partition that I want to open, and I attempt to "mount" (on the NTFS drives) I get the response that "mount failed" (with disk repair greyed out, unavailable). When I click on the drive itself, then the "mount" option is greyed out and unavailable - but "repair" is available. When I click repair, I get the following message:

"error: this disc doesn't contain an epi system partition. if you want to start your computer or include it in a raid set, back up your data and partition this disk"


??????

JShane said:

I don't need classes...

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You're never too old to learn…or to take classes.

When you don't know something…sometimes classes can help. As you've already admitted…you are new to Mac computers…thus trying to fall-back on your Windows computer knowledge may not be a good idea (hasn't helped so far).

Of course Apple may not have a class that fits this situation. But you can sign up for some "One on One" training/help…which if you get the right Apple person…may get the problem solved.

- Nick

Slydude said:

I have a few questions that might push us in the direction of a solution. No answers yet though.

@OP I know the drives can be read on the PC. Have you checked the drives for any file/directory structure problems that might be complicating things?

Also, are any of the files in question making use of security features which control who has access to the files? .

Click to expand...

There are no security features on the drives. See my previous post, re: file/directory problems.

Using a network to transfer would really be a bummer. I have 7TB's of important data to transfer, making a network transfer speed really impractical. In addition, my understanding is that data transfer has a much higher chance of being corrupted when it isn't a hardwire transfer (I could be misinformed there).

Thank you so much for your efforts, it is greatly appreciated.

JShane said:

I have 7TB's of important data to transfer...

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Can you give us an idea of what sort of data this is…and what apps this data is used with? I don't think that all data from NTFS drives is transferable.

Another idea. You might have more luck importing this data if you set up Windows on one or more of your Mac's via bootcamp. Then this part of your Mac/Mac's will be just like a Windows computer.

- Nick

JShane said:

"error: this disc doesn't contain an epi system partition. if you want to start your computer or include it in a raid set, back up your data and partition this disk"

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Are you sure that's not EFI? If so, how did you initially format this drive? Was it a system drive at some point?

pigoo3 said:

You're never too old to learn…or to take classes.

When you don't know something…sometimes classes can help. As you've already admitted…you are new to Mac computers…thus trying to fall-back on your Windows computer knowledge may not be a good idea (hasn't helped so far).

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If I bond with these machines, then I would have no problem taking classes and learning more. But, at this point I have serious work demands. It's those work demands that enabled me to buy the computers in the first place.

But, it is simply not possible for me to sit through class after class, hoping that my specific issues are addressed. If I am going to be able to use our Mac's practically, I am going to have to be able to troubleshoot basic problems without investing major time and money. Most of the time I need solutions to my computer issues yesterday. If problems like this are stumping experienced Mac users, then classes are unlikely to provide me with a timely solution.

JShane said:

If I bond with these machines, then I would have no problem taking classes and learning more. But, at this point I have serious work demands. It's those work demands that enabled me to buy the computers in the first place.

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I'm not talking "serious" college like classes…I'm taking classes at the Apple Store. Of course you would want to review what the class covers before signing up. That's why I suggested the "one on one" training. So you could directly address the problem at hand…and not waste a lot of time.

- Nick

vansmith said:

Are you sure that's not EFI? If so, how did you initially format this drive? Was it a system drive at some point?

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It might be EFI, I'll check ASAP and get back to you.

The Toshiba external hard drive came factory pre-formatted for PC. I didn't nothing but open it and plug it in - and it was good to go with my PC.

The two external Glyph drives were factory pre-formatted for Mac. I followed Glyph's detailed instructions for NTFS formatting. I don't have a full working understanding of partitioning and whatnot, so I just followed their direction.

None of the drives were ever system drives, and all drives were purchased new, by me.

pigoo3 said:

I'm not talking "serious" college like classes…I'm taking classes at the Apple Store. Of course you would want to review what the class covers before signing up. That's why I suggested the "one on one" training. So you could directly address the problem at hand…and not waste a lot of time.

- Nick

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Thanks, Nick. If I am not able to find an online solution, then that may be my only option.

Unless,..........you wanna buy 4 brand new Macs? I'll give them to you for $600 less than I paid just a few weeks ago.

pigoo3 said:

Can you give us an idea of what sort of data this is…and what apps this data is used with? I don't think that all data from NTFS drives is transferable.

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It's everything you can think of,....video, pic, music, documents, etc...

But, I don't think it's related to the data - because the drives aren't even being mounted. One drive has nothing but Apple Lossless music files - no luck. One has all different video files - no luck. One is pics and documents - no luck.

Another idea. You might have more luck importing this data if you set up Windows on one or more of your Mac's via bootcamp. Then this part of your Mac/Mac's will be just like a Windows computer.

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I would hate to go this way. The only thing I need windows for is to get this data transferred to a Mac formatted drive. After that the goal was to become "Windows Free".

This could be something as simple as a bad cable. Have you tried a different one? (EDIT: and what kind of connector is it). Let's get back to some basics... which exact model drives are these? Did they come in an external enclosure, or are they internal drives that you put in an external enclosure? If the latter, what enclosure?

JShane said:

There are no security features on the drives. See my previous post, re: file/directory problems.

Using a network to transfer would really be a bummer. I have 7TB's of important data to transfer, making a network transfer speed really impractical. In addition, my understanding is that data transfer has a much higher chance of being corrupted when it isn't a hardwire transfer (I could be misinformed there).

Thank you so much for your efforts, it is greatly appreciated.

Click to expand...

I realize that transferring that much data is going to be a pain no matter how fast the network transfers things. I was just shooting for an idea that would get the data to where you need it. I'll have to leave the possibility of data corruption to others. I haven't had much problem with that though I don't transfer large amounts of data between Mac and PC in one go anymore,

BTW If you get this worked out before we do please let us know. I haven't encountered this type of problem since the OS 9 days when it was much more difficult to read non-Mac disks.

While waiting on a response to my other questions, I want to throw out some other suggestions. Since the data was successfully pulled off a couple of the drives, perhaps those could be wiped and the data on the unreadable drives copied to those.

I'm looking over Glyph's website and I see they sell RAID arrays. Of course that suddenly makes sense. You don't have a 6TB hard drive. You have a RAID enclosure with multiple hard drives. I don't believe a RAID enclosure using a "foreign" file system will mount. I suspect the same would go if it was formatted in HFS+ and you wanted to read it on a Windows PC even with a 3rd party driver. If I'm right, then blaming Apple for this is just silly.

lifeisabeach said:

This could be something as simple as a bad cable. Have you tried a different one? (EDIT: and what kind of connector is it). Let's get back to some basics... which exact model drives are these? Did they come in an external enclosure, or are they internal drives that you put in an external enclosure? If the latter, what enclosure?

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I have tried different cables, and different ports, and different connector types with the Glyphs (USB and Thunderbolt).

The two 6TB drives that won't mount are Glyph GT-062E drives. The 2 TB drive that won't mount is a Toshiba PH3200U-1E3S. The Glyph's can be mounted USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt. The Toshiba is only USB 3.0 connection. They were all sold in a factory enclosures. The Glyph's are one of the most well respected drives available to the consumer market. They are actually tailored to run best with Mac. They arrive Mac formatted, and I reformatted them to NTFS prior to their first use (per Glyph's detailed instruction). The Toshiba drive came "plug and play", pre-formatted NTFS for Windows.

The two NTFS drives that did automatically play and mount without issue were: Samsung S2 500GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drives HXMU050DA/G22

Thanks for trying to help!

Slydude said:

I realize that transferring that much data is going to be a pain no matter how fast the network transfers things. I was just shooting for an idea that would get the data to where you need it. I'll have to leave the possibility of data corruption to others. I haven't had much problem with that though I don't transfer large amounts of data between Mac and PC in one go anymore,

BTW If you get this worked out before we do please let us know. I haven't encountered this type of problem since the OS 9 days when it was much more difficult to read non-Mac disks.

Click to expand...

I don't think it's data corruption, because the drives never mounted. And if they didn't mount the computer wouldn't even encounter the potentially corrupted data. But, I am far from an expert, so maybe there is more to that that I realize.

I will definitely let you know if I get it worked out. In my countless internet research I have encountered many others experiencing similar problems - with a real lack of solution. Most of us experiencing it seem to be cursing ourselves for switching to Apple, lol.

This won't be the last time I will need to read NTFS data on my Mac. So if 3 out of 5 of my NTFS drives are having this problem, it's imperative that I find a working solution.