External Hard Drive is Read Only :(

[RunningTurtle]

Hey,
I've recently started using MacBook Air in addition to the Windows XP I already have. I use a external hard drive to store my files so that I can easily switch between the two, and files created on Windows XP work perfectly on MacBook Air. However my MacBook Air sees the files on the external drive as read-only, so once I edit files or create new ones I cannot save them back onto the external hard drive. I've tried changes the preferences by using "Get Info" as suggested by a quick google search, however all this tells me under "Sharing & Permissions" is "You can only read" yet there is no option to change this preference. Can someone please tell me how to remedy this situation as I need to be able to transfer files with ease.

 

[chscag]

The drive is likely formatted to NTFS which is read only from your Air. You need a third party driver to read and write to NTFS. Paragon NTFS is the best for $19.95 from Paragon Software.