M2 Mac Mini: Granting NTFS full access, good or bad?

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Level 1

64 points

M2 Mac Mini: Granting NTFS full access, good or bad?

Whenever I reboot my Mac I get a screen to pop up with the following request:

Honestly, I have no idea what this means! Once, I started to go down the path of granting access, but when asked to put the Mac into recovery mode to grant access, I balked. That seems extreme to me if this is something that is expected to be required. So, what is this all about? If this is critical, why doesn't it already have needed access? What happens if I do, or don't, grant access?

Mac mini, macOS 15.4

Posted on Apr 30, 2025 05:16 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Ian R. Brown

Level 7

23,736 points

Apr 30, 2025 06:51 AM in response to NoBite

Did you buy the Mac used?

It looks as though some previous owner has installed NTFS for Mac which is software to allow the Mac to use Windows formatted hard drives and SSDs.

There should be no problem granting access but it should be a simple matter of just saying yes and putting in your password.

If you don't need to use NTFS formatted drives just ignore it.

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Answer 2

John Galt

Level 10

153,610 points

Apr 30, 2025 03:17 PM in response to NoBite

Do you happen to have any recollection of installing some Microsoft product on that Mac, or perhaps did you connect an external hard disk drive that may have already been formatted for use with Microsoft PCs?

If you don't know, EtreCheck may provide a clue. Instructions are here: How to use the Add Text Feature When Posting Large Amounts of Text, i.e. an Etrecheck Report - Apple Community. Post that report in a reply to this Discussion.

I advise not acquiescing to such a request. The possibility exists that you may have been deceived into installing something malicious. EtreCheck is likely to reveal some actionable information.

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Answer 3

NoBite Author

Level 1

64 points

Apr 30, 2025 07:02 AM in response to Ian R. Brown

That is what is so odd, to me. I bought this new and have never attempted to use a Win formatted HD. The only external HD I have is formatted APFS. I can't recall when this message started appearing, but it was after a MAC OS update within that past year.

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Answer 4

NoBite Author

Level 1

64 points

Apr 30, 2025 05:01 PM in response to John Galt

I did add an external HD to use with TM. It was supposed to have been formatted for a Mac. However, it has never worked well and in fact TM has not been able to access it for months. I need to do something about that, but that is another story! I guess that HD could be the culprit. Passport for Mac is what it was called, I believe. A WD drive.

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Answer 5

May 1, 2025 01:50 AM in response to NoBite

Most drives are NOT formatted for Mac.

It probably said you can format it for a Mac.

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M2 Mac Mini: Granting NTFS full access, good or bad?

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