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I want to activate the NTFS support. But I can't find the /etc/fstab on my mac. osx 10.11.5 El Capitan

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  • you mean you can't find /etc/ or you can't find fstab inside it? fstab may not exist at all; you can simply create it, it's a text file
    – Tetsujin
    Jul 2, 2016 at 19:46
  • I can't find the file fstab. But will it work, if it does not exist anymore?
    – Matthias M
    Jul 2, 2016 at 19:47
  • It only exists if something needed one before, otherwise you need to create it yourself
    – Tetsujin
    Jul 2, 2016 at 19:48
  • You're right. That's all. If you write your comment as an answer, I'll accept it.
    – Matthias M
    Jul 2, 2016 at 20:43

1 Answer 1

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/etc/fstab doesn't exist by default, only if anything has previously needed it. fstab itself is merely a text file. If nothing has previously needed one, you can make it yourself.

The standard header appears to be a comment with vague instructions as to how the syntax works...

# fstab
#
# Identifier  mount point  fs type  options1
#

below that is your mount or ignore instruction, e.g.

UUID=C126C736-1585-3D12-9CF1-F95EFF0CF744 none hfs rw,noauto  

or

LABEL=[drivename] none ntfs rw,auto,nobrowse

There is far more information on fstab at https://developer.apple.com/legacy/library/documentation/Darwin/Reference/ManPages/man5/fstab.5.html than I could possibly précis here, or type man fstab in Terminal.

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  • 2
    The manual page for fstab is included in OS X, in a Terminal type man fstab, or directly from Apple FSTAB(5). There is no need to link to a Linux OS Wiki which contains some information that is not at all applicable to OS X. Jul 2, 2016 at 21:24
  • @user3439894 Unfortunately Apple has apparently decided to scrub all its command line documentation from its site. So that link no longer works. Jul 3, 2020 at 16:53
  • @Konrad Rudolph, Which is exactly why it says "or type man fstab in Terminal." Jul 3, 2020 at 17:00
  • @user3439894 Sure, and that’s great. But having a working link would also be good. Unfortunately Apple absolutely hates documentation. Jul 3, 2020 at 17:04
  • All the dev links moved after WWDC2020. They're stil there, you'll just have to find them again. When you find it, you could always link it back from here for future users.
    – Tetsujin
    Jul 3, 2020 at 17:05

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