Sharing Files between Mac OS X and Linux Can Cause File Corruption

We know that dual-booting between Mac OS X and Linux is fascinating for users requiring high performance and reliability of the two operating systems on a single computer. In addition, different Linux versions include a specific driver to allow read/write data access to HFS+ partitions being used in Mac OS X. But to facilitate the option for write mode, you need to first turn off the journalisation feature in HFS+ partition as Linux doesn't support writing to HFS+ partition with journaling enabled.

Irrespective of the high-end abilities the Linux kernel driver has, there are several bugs that can prove this configuration useless. Mac OS X HFS+ partitions being accessed in write mode by Linux kernel can unexpectedly get corrupt beyond repair and might require HFS+ Recovery solutions.

This is not a trustworthy setup and you should always implement a proper backup plan if require to use it. For better understanding, consider a situation when you as a user uses Mac OS X and Linux in dual-boot configuration. The Linux kernel version is 2.6.16.1 and you use it to copy or move various files to a non-journaled Mac OS X HFS+ partition.

All seem to run fine when the number of files is small in number, but when you work with a large directory, the HFS+ partition gets corrupted. It cannot be longer recognized by Mac OS X as a valid partition, consequently rendering your data inaccessible by all means. Your data is extremely important. Thus, to prevent such probable problems, always use a small HFS+ partition for sharing files with Linux.

If required, use a FAT32 partition, which is comparatively a reliable file system supported by both Mac OS X and Linux. Applying a regular data backup procedure will be more beneficial with respect to Mac Recovery after data loss. Try repairing the corrupted partition using Mac OS X tools like, 'Disk Utility' and 'fsck'. If this doesn't help, recreate the partition and restore the data from last data backup or use a HFS+ Recovery software to scan and recover lost data from corrupted HFS+ partition.