external hd pc/mac

[pmac]

im not clued up at all regarding pc/mac compatability, so just want to know if
i can use a seagate external hd which was used on a windows laptop, with a i mac and macbook as ive just made the switch to apple but have a 3 month old 2tb external drive

cheers
peter

 

[Buck]

Yes you will be able to but the format of the drive To FAT32 as this is the only compatible format.

Mac uses HFS+, which isn't visible in Windows (without a special program, like MacDrive). Windows uses NTFS, which Macs can read BUT not write (without a program like Paragon NTFS for Mac) Both read and write FAT32, which has limitations like file size (4GB), but that will be your best bet, so long as you aren't backing up stuff like Disk ISO's.

I have an external drive and have it formatted to FAT32 so both my Windows PC and MBP can read/write to it.

 

[PSILVERMAN]

Yes you will be able to but the format of the drive To FAT32 as this is the only compatible format.

Mac uses HFS+, which isn't visible in Windows (without a special program, like MacDrive). Windows uses NTFS, which Macs can read BUT not write (without a program like Paragon NTFS for Mac) Both read and write FAT32, which has limitations like file size (4GB), but that will be your best bet, so long as you aren't backing up stuff like Disk ISO's.

I have an external drive and have it formatted to FAT32 so both my Windows PC and MBP can read/write to it.

+1

 

[neil_g]

sorry thats wrong. as was pointed out to me..

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showpost.php?p=3127131&postcount=6

personally i wouldnt use FAT32 these days, its less secure and reliable. stick to a journalled file system like HFS+ or NTFS. if it means copying off all data and formatting then i'd suggest doing that.

 

[TriggerHappy]

I agree with neil regarding fat32. I've not actually heard of the method he links to but the 4gb file limit has been a problem for me in the past so I picked one of the other 2 format types and an accompanying program to allow me to use it on the OS it's not natively supported on.

 

[Buck]

^^ thanks re the link - I'd missed that - will look at changing mine over from FAT32.

Thanks Neil.

 

[pmac]

okay thanks, will try it when my mac arrives tmr or the day after.
the Hd currently has all my photos from the past year or so on it so i need to get them off

 

[pmac]

mac arrived today and the hd must be formatted in the right way already as I've moved all my pics to the mac with no problems
cheers

 

[neil_g]

its probably formatted as fat32 yes, personally id reformat it to NTFS and do the steps in the link above.

 

[dejongj]

Just use ExFat instead of FAT32, can be used by both PC and Mac and you don't have the file size limits