Problem using ExtFS for Mac OS X

Discussion in 'NTFS for Mac & ExtFS for Mac' started by Serif, Nov 29, 2010.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Serif

    Serif Registered Member

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2010
    Posts:
    4
    I'm looking at using ExtFS for Mac OS X 8.0 as a possible solution for accessing an ext3 filesystem on an external USB drive. I've downloaded the trial version of the software, installed it and rebooted my iMac (running OS X 10.6.5), but when I connect the drive it still isn't recognised.

    The external drive works fine when connected to a Linux machine and I can successfully do an fsck on the drive using the Macports version of e2fsprogs. The drive shows up in Disk Utility but the single partition on the drive is greyed out. The drive was partitioned using an MBR scheme which is detected by Disk Utility.

    I'm pretty sure the the ExtFS software is installed because if I select the partition within Disk Utility and click on the Erase tab, one of the options under the Format pulldown is Extended Filesystem. I'm wondering if I've hit a limitation on the size of partitions as this is a single partition on a 2TB drive.

    Confirmation that this isn't going to work with the current version of ExtFS would be useful, but I'm also happy to provide additional information, test out any suggestions and report back results if that would help anyone.
     
  2. Mech_An

    Mech_An Registered Member

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2010
    Posts:
    855
    Could you please type "mount" in Terminal and post results here?
     
  3. Serif

    Serif Registered Member

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2010
    Posts:
    4
    Sure. This is what I see:

    /dev/disk0s2 on / (hfs, local, journaled)
    devfs on /dev (devfs, local, nobrowse)
    map -hosts on /net (autofs, nosuid, automounted, nobrowse)
    map auto_home on /home (autofs, automounted, nobrowse)
    /dev/disk1s2 on /Volumes/Bootable (hfs, local, nodev, nosuid, journaled)
    /dev/disk1s3 on /Volumes/Backups (hfs, local, nodev, nosuid, journaled)

    In disk utility the partition on the external drive shows as disk2s1 (greyed out).

    I just confirmed that the drive shows up on my iMac when running Ubuntu under Parallels desktop and that I can successfully access it from there.

    Also, in case it's useful, the drive describes itself in Disk Utility as '2 TB Freecom Hard Drive XS Media'.
     
  4. Mech_An

    Mech_An Registered Member

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2010
    Posts:
    855
    Try to mount ExtFS manually:
    (1)
    * open Disk Utility
    * right-click ExtFS partition and select Information
    * you will see Disk Identifier: diskXsY, where X & Y are numbers. Remember this value
    (2) Open 'Terminal' and type:
    diskutil mount /dev/diskXsY
    (replace X, Y with appropriate numbers)
    Is ExtFS partition mounted?

    If no, please go to point 3
    (3) In 'Terminal' type:
    mkdir /Volumes/TEST
    And press Enter. Then type:
    sudo mount_ufsd_EXTFS /dev/diskXsY /Volumes/TEST/ And press Enter.

    Is the partition mounted? If it still fails, please post results from Terminal here.

    By the way, what exact ExtFS version exists on the removable drive?
    Ext2, Ext3, Ext4 ?
     
  5. Serif

    Serif Registered Member

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2010
    Posts:
    4
    Thanks very much for the suggestions. Here goes:

    $ diskutil mount /dev/disk2s1
    Volume on disk2s1 failed to mount

    So simple mount fails, but continuing on and using mount_ufsd_EXTFS is more interesting:

    $ mkdir /Volumes/TEST
    $ sudo mount_ufsd_EXTFS /dev/disk2s1 /Volumes/TEST
    $ mount
    /dev/disk0s2 on / (hfs, local, journaled)
    devfs on /dev (devfs, local, nobrowse)
    map -hosts on /net (autofs, nosuid, automounted, nobrowse)
    map auto_home on /home (autofs, automounted, nobrowse)
    /dev/disk1s2 on /Volumes/Bootable (hfs, local, nodev, nosuid, journaled)
    /dev/disk1s3 on /Volumes/Backups (hfs, local, nodev, nosuid, journaled)
    /dev/disk2s1 on /Volumes/TEST (ufsd_ExtFS, local)
    $ df -h
    Filesystem Size Used Avail Capacity Mounted on
    /dev/disk0s2 596Gi 101Gi 494Gi 17% /
    devfs 134Ki 134Ki 0Bi 100% /dev
    map -hosts 0Bi 0Bi 0Bi 100% /net
    map auto_home 0Bi 0Bi 0Bi 100% /home
    /dev/disk1s2 596Gi 99Gi 497Gi 17% /Volumes/Bootable
    /dev/disk1s3 801Gi 445Gi 356Gi 56% /Volumes/Backups
    /dev/disk2s1 1.8Ti 239Gi 1.6Ti 13% /Volumes/TEST

    The first time I issued the df command there was a long pause of about a minute. Subsequently it works as I would expect. I can then look through the files on the mounted partition and things look good. A subsequent umount also took several minutes to complete but eventually did so.

    I've double checked under Linux and the filesystem type is definitely ext3.

    So, some progress in that I can now successfully mount the partition from the command line (thanks again), but it would be nice for the ExtFS to be able to detect and mount the drive automatically.

    Is anyone else using ExtFS for OS X to successfully mount a partition >= 2TB automatically? I'm still wondering if that's the cause of the problem I'm seeing.
     
  6. Mech_An

    Mech_An Registered Member

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2010
    Posts:
    855
    I suppose, the issue is related to extra-large ExtFS partition you have.

    I would recommend you to contact Paragon Support team (http://www.paragon-software.com/webform) and describe the issue you have.
     
  7. Serif

    Serif Registered Member

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2010
    Posts:
    4
    Will do. Thanks for all your help!
     
  8. Mech_An

    Mech_An Registered Member

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2010
    Posts:
    855
    you are welcome :)
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.