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Cannot Copy Certain Files from an NTFS Drive on Mac, What to Do?

I'm using a 2017 MacBook Pro and I try to move some files from a Windows 7 laptop using an NTFS external hard drive. But I can't copy certain files because I get the error that claims 'I don't have permission to access some of the files.' I have narrowed it down to two .wav audio samples and two corresponding .asd files which don't seem to be different from loads of other .wav and .asd files. Although I have copied everything but the affected files, I need to access those files. Any ideas? I can copy to the Mac but the NTFS drive is still read-only.

Best Answered by

iBoysoft author Eudora Liu

Eudora Liu

Answered on Tuesday, August 5, 2025

Due to various reasons, you don't have permission to access some of your files or copy certain files from an NTFS drive. According to your description, some of your files might be encrypted by the Encrypted File System (EFS), which provides an additional level of security for files and directories.

You can follow the below steps to try to decrypt them first and then you can access those files.

  1. Connect your NTFS drive to a Windows PC.
  2. Right-click the encrypted files and then choose 'Properties.'
  3. Click on 'Advanced' under the General tab to open the 'Advanced Attributes' window.
  4. Uncheck the 'Encrypt contents to secure data' option under the 'Compress or Encrypt Attributes' section.

What's more, macOS can only allow you to read files on NTFS but write on it as you said. If you want to write or copy to an NTFS drive without formatting your external hard drive, you need to use third-party software to mount your drive in read-write mode. iBoysoft NTFS for Mac is a professional NTFS reader that allows you to mount your drives in read-write mode so that you can write, copy, delete, or rename files on it without formatting.

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