Safe FileSystem for ext. RAID on Windows

Hi everyone,
I'm switching to Windows after many years on Mac/Hackintosh machines for Davinci. This switch brings me a lot of anxiety and rises up many doubts.
One of these refers to my external RAIDs. I own two G-Speed 8-bays 48TB raid-5 Thunderbolt-2 units (an old Studio and a Shuttle) and they contain mainly large MLV files (Magic Lantern RAW videos). Both are HFS+ since they have worked with an Hackintosh up to now, but switching to a Windows machine implies some problems:

1. I'd format the raids with NTFS but I wonder if it's a “safe”/reliable filesystem (in comparison with HFS+), or there are better options for Windows? As another option, what if I maintain HFS+ and use MacDrive app on Windows to read/write the files? Would it be a reliable/heavy-duty solution?

2. If I choose to format the raids, I have firstly to transfer the raids files to a third empty new raid, but which filesystem for it? One option could be ExFAT (in order to transfer the files from the HFS+ raid to the ExFAT raid with a Macbook, then format HFS+ to NTFS with a Win machine and finally transfer the files back from the ExFAT raid to the NTFS raid). BUT THIS article says that ExFAT is NOT a reliable filesystem for this task and could run into data corruption. So another option could be use a Windows machine to format the new empty raid in NTFS, then use MacDrive app to transfer the files from the HFS+ to the new NTFS raid directly within Windows. But again, can I trust MacDrive for a 48TB transferring? Perhaps a third option could be using Clonezilla to backup files-only from an HFS+ raid to a NTFS raid (HERE)?

3. Could be useful to use some specific transfer app to safely transfer the files? And which app do you recommend? (Any free reliable option?) ROBOCOPY? TeraCopy? Ultracopier?

4. When I bought my two raids, they seemed to be the best “Mac oriented” option (thanks to the thunderbolt), but what about now on a Windows tower? Is a thunderbolt raid still the way to go for that storage amount, or there is other more “Windows suitable” options?

Many thanks in advance.

I can't answer all your questions, since we went the other way. But as a pragmatic solution, there is a software by Paragon that can reliably read HFS+ under Windows.

Dear Uli, thank you for your quick reply.
So, you are basically saying «Leave the RAIDs' filesystem as it is, and simply use Paragon».
Well - aside the fact that I saw various HFS+ archives corrupted by Paragon (that's the reason I'd possibly go for MacDrive) - I remains doubtful on using an archive's filesystem that is not native to my main (soon) operative system. It sounds to me as a non-long-term solution.
On the other hand, I still wonder how to safely transfer all that 48TB amount of files from an HFS+ raid to a NTFS one (and which operative system should do the job...)
If someone solved a similar task, please give me some advice

Hi everyone,
I'm switching to Windows after many years on Mac/Hackintosh machines for Davinci. This switch brings me a lot of anxiety and rises up many doubts.
One of these refers to my external RAIDs. I own two G-Speed 8-bays 48TB raid-5 Thunderbolt-2 units (an old Studio and a Shuttle) and they contain mainly large MLV files (Magic Lantern RAW videos). Both are HFS+ since they have worked with an Hackintosh up to now, but switching to a Windows machine implies some problems:

1. I'd format the raids with NTFS but I wonder if it's a “safe”/reliable filesystem (in comparison with HFS+), or there are better options for Windows? As another option, what if I maintain HFS+ and use MacDrive app on Windows to read/write the files? Would it be a reliable/heavy-duty solution?

2. If I choose to format the raids, I have firstly to transfer the raids files to a third empty new raid, but which filesystem for it? One option could be ExFAT (in order to transfer the files from the HFS+ raid to the ExFAT raid with a Macbook, then format HFS+ to NTFS with a Win machine and finally transfer the files back from the ExFAT raid to the NTFS raid). BUT THIS article says that ExFAT is NOT a reliable filesystem for this task and could run into data corruption. So another option could be use a Windows machine to format the new empty raid in NTFS, then use MacDrive app to transfer the files from the HFS+ to the new NTFS raid directly within Windows. But again, can I trust MacDrive for a 48TB transferring? Perhaps a third option could be using Clonezilla to backup files-only from an HFS+ raid to a NTFS raid (HERE)?

3. Could be useful to use some specific transfer app to safely transfer the files? And which app do you recommend? (Any free reliable option?) ROBOCOPY? TeraCopy? Ultracopier?

4. When I bought my two raids, they seemed to be the best “Mac oriented” option (thanks to the thunderbolt), but what about now on a Windows tower? Is a thunderbolt raid still the way to go for that storage amount, or there is other more “Windows suitable” options?

Many thanks in advance.

1. NTFS is as reliable as HFS+ and APFS. Switch to NTFS since using maintaining it as HFS via MacDrive is less dependable and has lower performance.

2. Stay away from EXFAT. Use EXFAT is a much less durable file system compared to NTFS and HFS.

3. There are dozens of apps out there. Hedge, Teracopy, even the old Windows RichCopy is awesome.

4. TB is still the best protocol for external desktop drives. It is fast and simple.

3. There are dozens of apps out there. Hedge, Teracopy, even the old Windows RichCopy is awesome.

4. TB is still the best protocol for external desktop drives. It is fast and simple.

Thanks Dom for your kind reply.
Just to confirm:
3. You say (for example) RichCopy, so to copy a HFS+ raid to a new NTFS raid you recommend to do the copy via Windows + MacDrive (not via Mac), right?
4. I assume that this applies to Windows machines too, right?

Thanks in advance.

3. There are dozens of apps out there. Hedge, Teracopy, even the old Windows RichCopy is awesome.

4. TB is still the best protocol for external desktop drives. It is fast and simple.

Thanks Dom for your kind reply.
Just to confirm:
3. You say (for example) RichCopy, so to copy a HFS+ raid to a new NTFS raid you recommend to do the copy via Windows + MacDrive (not via Mac), right?
4. I assume that this applies to Windows machines too, right?

Thanks in advance.

4. Either using a Mac or Windows, it will be the same. Copy utility + file system software. Windows has MacDrive, OSX has NTFS for Mac (https://www.paragon-software.com/us/home/ntfs-mac/#).
Windows + MacDrive might be slightly faster.

5. Correct, though Windows TB compatibility is not as robust compared to OSX. Drivers are often native to Mac OS.

Windows TB compatibility is not as robust compared to OSX. Drivers are often native to Mac OS.

Does it mean I could lose/corrupt data?

Windows TB compatibility is not as robust compared to OSX. Drivers are often native to Mac OS.

Does it mean I could lose/corrupt data?

No. It just means you have to make sure the drive is Windows compatible and may need to install drivers. In OSX, it is often plug-and-play.

My experience on the Mac side is that things slow down when you connect an NTFS drive and try to write to it with Paragon NTFS Mac. My guess is that if you tried to use an HFS+formatted drive on Windows, you'd run into the same kind of thing.

If you're going Windows, I'd say go all the way and format all the drives as NTFS. I would be more worried about getting Thunderbolt connected via Windows, which was a problem in the past. I think USB-C has been pretty solid, but I haven't checked disk speed.

You should definitely try the Blackmagic Disk Speed Utility and see how the system responds.