How To Leverage Parallels To Write Files to NTFS File System Drive

When running a Windows Virtual Machine on your Mac using Parallels, you may have encountered limitations when trying to write files to an NTFS file system drive. By default, Mac OS X does not support writing files to NTFS drives, and this has been the case for many years. However, there is a way to overcome this limitation using Parallels and Windows VM/Bootcamp as a bridge.

To start, you need to add a new hard disk under the Hardware tab in Parallels. Before starting up your Windows Virtual Machine, go to Configure > Devices (tab) and make sure you are selecting 'Ask me what to do' when a new external device is detected. This will allow you to choose which OS to point to when you plug in your USB drive.

Firstly, ensure that Parallels' preference is set to allow you to pick and choose which OS to point to when you plugin your USB drive. Once this is done, you can use Parallels to write files to NTFS file format drives straight from your Mac.

In addition to leveraging Parallels, there are other ways to overcome this limitation if what you need is not only to read files from NTFS, which Mac OS X supports natively out of the box. While some of these limitations may be due to technical reasons, majority of them are bounded by business decisions not supporting the most popular Windows file system format, NTFS.

With Parallels, you can finally write files to NTFS file format drives using your Windows Virtual Machine on your Mac.

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