I came across this site while looking for solutions to my problem and thought I should post it here:
I don't have that much experience with OS X or macs in general, but I know enough to find my way around the OS quite well. Normally I work on a Windows machine using HDDs formatted as NTFS. I wanted to bring my data with me on my vacation so I did a bit of research on compatibility. I read from various sites that OS X supports NTFS read-only, which is enough for me. So I packed up my HDDs in USB cases and left.
After arriving, I plugged in one of the drives. I saw volumes pop up on the desktop for each partition, I opened one up and saw all my files neatly listed, but missing icons. So I clicked on one to open it and poof! the file just disappeared. I tried it again with the same results. I could navigate the folder structure, but the files were disappearing on me. So I unmount the volume and remount it. All the files are there again but still with blank icons and still disappearing on click.
I've never seen anything like this. Does anybody know a solution for this problem?

*edit*
Oh, and I'm using Panther 10.3.9 and updated pretty much everything yesterday if that's any help.

Hello,

Mac OS files have either a resource fork, or some other attribute attached to them to tell the OS what parent application works with the files. For example, the windows people assume that .doc is a Word file... you do not see the extensions often on Macintosh materials, altough with OS X, they are being introduced due to the Unix underpinnings.

If you ahve a two button mouse, you can try to right-click on the file, and choose "Open With" and select the parent application. If not, hold down the CTRL key and click on it, and you will see the little context menu form. That should help.

You can also try copying the files from the NTFS volume to your Mac's hard drive, and open the file from there.

As you use the files, and if you can save them, you will see the generic icons replaced with the properly designed ones you are used to.

Christian

Thanks for the help. Copying the volume works as long as I only copy one partition, but there is a problem: I have about 75 GB of raw data that I need to work with and the iMac I am using only has an 80GB HDD which has around 60GB free.
The files disappear as soon as I click on them. It looks like this:
[img]http://img374.imageshack.us/img374/5084/screen016rd.jpg[/img]
Whenever I try to highlight a file or multiple files, the highlighted files disappear, which is why the files left and right are missing. "Open with" doesn't work either, although the control+click menu opens. Copying single files is also a no-go.

*edit again*
While copying the volume, I got a kernel panic about two minutes in to the process. Here's what the system log says:

Aug 19 13:17:29 localhost kernel: ntfs_ntrele: rele ntnode 5: 0x1b7ba04, usecount: 3
Aug 19 13:17:29 localhost kernel: ntfs_ntput: rele ntnode 5: 0x1b7ba04, usecount: 2
Aug 19 13:17:29 localhost kernel: ntfs_ntlookupfile: returned 7
Aug 19 13:18:34 localhost syslogd: restart
Aug 19 13:18:34 localhost syslogd: kernel boot file is /mach_kernel

I wish MS wouldn't make their file systems so funky...

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