Arch Linux and HFS+ (Mac OSX) partion and Samba

Jahova · 2008-12-25 07:16:04

I will be replacing a hard drive in my sisters MacBook. Don't worry I'm CompTIA A+ certified and have done Mac/Apple laptops in the past.

The goal is to install this new hard drive, then copy her files from the old hdd to the new hdd. Obviously, it's a laptop and only supports a single hdd. I can plug the old hdd into my Arch box that has a configured Samba server running on my home network. This will allow me to transfer files directly from Samba to her MacBook. I want to check if maybe there is any compatibility issues using Samba and the HFS+ file system. Notably, in the past, I've server up files on this machine from NTFS partitions via Samba.

Other than the Samba concern... I know HFS+ read/write is supported in Fedora and Ubuntu, but I'm not sure if Arch has an easy package available. I don't feel like compiling for this Arch x86_64 machine. Is there a compatible Arch x86_64 package available for HFS+ read support? Will it work with Samba?

punkmikey · 2008-12-27 12:31:22

The kernel Arch uses does seem to include the HFS+ module. You can load it with

#  modprobe hfsplus

You should then be able to create your mount point (e.g. /mnt/hfs) and mount it. Once the share is mounted, you will able to share via Samba. At this point the FS should be pretty much irrelevant as the client OS doesn't need to know the FS type on the sever, only how to communicate and send it data. (think Windows boxes accessing Linux boxes that are Ext3 or XFS formatted).

The bigger problem may be plugging the laptop hard drive into your server. You may need some kind of 2.5" -> 3.5" conversion kit or a 2.5" usb sata caddy.

Edit: spelling.

Last edited by punkmikey (2008-12-27 12:32:14)

Jahova · 2008-12-30 00:38:45

Thank you for your response.

The laptop SATA and Desktop SATA is the same, thankfully. IDE connectors are different between the two though.

I read somewhere that Samba and HFS+ have an issue but am not certain if it is solved. The issue is only present when copying files with a certain char-set in their file name. It has to do with the odd HFS+ naming conventions and a layer in the TCP/IP model. I'll type that again. This is not always a problem, but only a problem with special characters in filenames.

That is all my researching has turned up. After all is finished, I will post my rate of success.

Arch Linux

#1 2008-12-25 07:16:04

Arch Linux and HFS+ (Mac OSX) partion and Samba

#2 2008-12-27 12:31:22

Re: Arch Linux and HFS+ (Mac OSX) partion and Samba

#3 2008-12-30 00:38:45

Re: Arch Linux and HFS+ (Mac OSX) partion and Samba

Board footer