External hard drive for my Mac and PC

I recently bought a 15in MBP. I have been using an external hard drive to store my music using a PC's itunes. When I connected it to my MBP it didnt recognize it. So i put everything back on to my PC, and used the now empty hard drive as the device for my Time Machine. No when I connect the external hard drive to the PC, it doesnt recognize it. So now I cant transfer my music back onto my external hard drive and use it with my MBP. I need help!!!
Will I have to buy an all new external hard drive to put my music on and then use it for my MBP? Do I have to buy a specific brand and will it have to be formateed for Mac initially. If so, will it work on a PC? I just need advice.

For both the PC and Mac to recognise the hard drive, it has to be formatted as FAT or FAT32. Macs can read, but not write NTFS drives (which is the standard format for PC/Windows Vista/7); Windows can't read or write Mac OS formatted drives (which is what Time Machine requires)
Empty the drive, and reformat it in Windows as FAT32. There are some limitations: FAT32 won't allow an individual file large than 2GB, which may a problem if you store full movies in iTunes. But it will work.
If you're not happy to do that, there is software such as Macdrive for Windows that illl allow Win machines to deal with Mac formatted drives. I guess there are equivalents for the Mac to write to NTFS too

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One Format External Hard Drive for Your Mac and PC...

I have Formatted my External HD Passport 500GB = (465.8) and split it in two partition Mac OS Extended (Journal = 232GB) and FAT32 (Ms-Dos-FAT = 232GB) and reformat to NTFS using Windows...
How to use one External HUD for your Mac and PC you have a PC and how to have two Partition in Mac OS Extended (Journal) and FAT (Ms-Dos-FAT)as you desire the size of your partition under application, Utilities and Disk Utility and covert the (FAT32) to (NTFS)using Windows Control Panel or just search by Start, search Computer Management or just right my Computer and format the second partition to (NTFS)
Tips for Mac OS Extended (Journaled) FAT32 vs NTFS, what works and don't work...
(1)Mac OS Extended (Journaled) Partition can't be use in Windows to transfer files but NTFS Partition can be use in Mac by transferring file from Windows to Mac and NTFS support for files over 4G in size...
(2)FAT32 can be use in Mac and Windows but with a limitation that a file cannot be transferred to a FAT32 partition if the file is larger than 4GB such as a video file and FAT32 file system performs more slowly than NTFS...
(2)Mac OS Extended (Journaled) can be use in Windows when you Reformat your HD to HFS+ by third-party app such as http://www.macdrive.com/ MacDrive for $50.or http://www.paragon-software.com/home/ntfs-mac/ NTFS For Mac 6.0 for $30...
Reference link 1 External Hard Drive for Your Mac and PC...
http://www.myfirstmac.com/index.php/mac/articles/1-external-hard-drive-for-your- mac-and-pc
Best regards...
JamesUFOs...
http://www.youtube.com/user/JamesEBEs

I have many external drives I use between my MacBook Pro and my Windows PC's. I use a free NTFS driver for Mac OS-X to give me full read/write access to any NTFS formatted partitions when running Mac OS. I also use MediaFour's MacDrive v8 on some of my Windows PC's to access any HFS+ formatted partitions.
Most of my drives are formatted NTFS because I have more Windows machines than I have MacDrive licenses, and with the driver for Mac OS, they are fully accessible. I have a few drives I do keep formatted as HFS+ because I have encountered an app or two that don't work quite right when they don't get to write to files on an HFS+ partition (one of my backup programs is picky about this).
As said before, FAT32 is fully accessible between the two OS'es but it also has it's own limitations.

Can i use time capsule as external hard drive for both mac and windows

I have a mac book pro, ipad and iphone and ipod and a windows pc
Can i use time capsule as a external hard disk only for all of the above ( including windows ) without the back up activity for mac ?

You cannot access the TC from iOS devices without a browser. eg filebrowser.
Can i use time capsule as a external hard disk only for all of the above ( including windows ) without the back up activity for mac ?
Yes, with the following proviso.. the TC is not able to back itself up.. so if you store files on the TC without backups one day you will discover all your files are gone because of a hard drive failure of the TC. TM also cannot backup TC.. so you will need to buy a proper backup software.
It is also much slower than a real NAS..
And windows can be a bit painful.. especially windows 8.. other versions should work if you spend the time getting everything set right.

What is the best external hard drive for the MAC Book Pro with Retina?

What is the best external hard drive for the MAC Book Pro with Retina?
I was looking at WD MY PASSPORT FOR MAC and Toshiba. I want something that will work best with time capsule! Suggestions on the best external hard drive would be greatly appreciated!!!

A Time Machine backup drive should be substantially larger than the system drive. If you have a 128 or 256 GB SSD then a 1 TB drive will suffice. If you have a 512 GB SSD then a 2 TB drive will suffice. As leroydouglas indicated any brand other than WD will do.
For 1 TB drives PlotinusVeritas gives some great suggestions here:
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5602141?tstart=0
A 2 TB drive sold by Apple:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/H9378ZM/A/lacie-2tb-usb-30-porsche-design-p923 3-desktop-hard-drive
$130
A 2 TB drive just as good for only $92.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Toshiba-Canvio-Basics-3-0-USB-2-TB-Portable-Hard-Drive-M odel-HDTB220XK3CA-/231162655273

Want to partition a new External Hard drive for both pc and mac

Hello!
I am going to partition a new Seagate external hard drive for both my pc and mac. What format do I choose for the PC partition? MS-DOS (FAT), ExFAT, or Free Space.
Thank you!
Nikki

If I may suggest:
Drive Preparation
1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
7. After formatting has completed select the main entry for the new drive (mfgr.'s ID) then click on the Partition tab in the DU main window. Click on the large partition rectangle then click on the Add [+] button. The partition should divide into two equal volumes. Resize as you prefer. Select the second or bottom volume to use on the PC. Set the format type to ExFat, then click on the Apply button. Wait for the two volumes to finish mounting on the Desktop.

I have a 2007 macbook and I am wondering what is the best external hard drive for my Mac?

What is the best external hard drive for a 2007 Macbook?

The Apple USB superdrive would be a great choice for you, ( http://store.apple.com/ca/product/MD564ZM/A/apple-usb-superdrive?fnode=5f ) I am not certain but I am pretty sure that it has the same form factor as the MacMini (Not thickness but all the other dimenetions) so it fits just under and looks like an extension of your mac.

How can I use my external hard drive on my mac and a windows computer?

Hello,
Can anyone help...I have recently purchased a new external hard drive for my macbook pro, it is a 1TB hard drive. I use it for time machine back ups which only takes up about 250gb of space so obviously I have a lot more to use. I'm at University and the computers there are Windows so I'm hoping to be able to drag my uni work to my external HD and connect it to the windows computers at my university so that I have my work there as well - however I'm not sure how I should format my HD???
Thanks

You will eventually use all of that 1TB external for the Time Machine backups, that is if you do regular Time Machine backups (It is NOT a One Time thing). So using that same external for anything else is not a good idea.
You would be much better off buying a large USB thumb drive, like 64GBs in size, and format that to one of the Windows formates that both Mac OS X and Windows can read from and write to. Those would be FAT32 and exFAT. If you are moving file less than 4GBs in size then format it FAT32. You can then copy files to it from your Mac and Read those files on the Windows PCs the school has and just stick that Thumb drive in your pocket.

External Hard Drive Compatible with Mac and Windows?

So my old laptop is a Dell Latitude and I bought a Western Digital external hard drive and put all my files/pics/music on it. The information the WD came with said its compatible with Mac and Windows, but when I plug it into my brand spankin new Macbook, it doesn't register with the computer and won't show up. What's going on?
Message was edited by: philliesphan

I recently ran into that problem. In order to have the hard drive compatible for both PC and Mac it must be in a FAT32 format. In order to do this though all your files will be deleted (in order to reformat). You can do this by plugging in the hard drive into you mac and going under disk utility and there you will find your hard drive and under erase change the format to FAT32 and then you press erase (all will be deleted off the external drive though)

Hello, how would I go about using my time capsule as an external hard drive for my Mac book pro?

Anybody know if I can use my time capsule as an external hard drive for Mac book pro?

Just recognise the following.
Store files on the TC.
https://discussions.apple.com/message/24380694#24380694
This is asked several times a day.. obviously people are struggling with their latest SSD being too small.
The TC is not suitable for network file server.. but many people having no choice press it into service as such.
It cannot be partitioned. It was and is and ever shall be a backup device for Time Machine.
Major issues.
1. No backup.. no way Time Machine can backup a network drive. No place to backup to.. So all your files will be at risk. And you will need to buy a third party like CCC to do backup.
2. The TC cannot be partitioned and mixing TM backups and data is not great.
3. The drive is slow to spin up and quick to spin down.. there is no controls.
4. iPhoto in particular can easily corrupt its entire library with wireless networking causing a disconnection to one photo. Even if you do this;;; do not move your photo library... you have been warned!!
5. iTunes will constantly lose connection to the library. The disk is too slow to respond.. itunes on the computer will constantly spit out errors. Even in the midst of streaming the TC can spin down the disk due to caching.
6. Do not use any live files on the TC no matter what else you do.. if you edit files in whatever program the file must be on the local hard disk.
7. The only suitable location for most libraries is a computer. You can plug in an external hard disk.
Read pondini for some work arounds.
Q3 here. http://pondini.org/TM/Time_Capsule.html

Best external hard drive for Macbook pro and Aperture

Hi, any recomendations for an external hard drive for the macbook pro and aperture. I was looking for approx 300Gb !
Many thanks
macphi

Personally I have had poor luck with LaCie Big Disk peformance and support and don't recommend LaCie. However I do recognize that my sample of one is statistically insignificant.
The eSATA concept is interesting, but bleeding tech edge at the moment. For a solid solution that works now I recommend FW800 (forget USB) and RAID 0 technology. I have had great success with OWC and just bought their least expensive (in $ per GB) 640 GB FW800 US$370 RAID O drive setup: <http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/ME8R7640GB16/>.
Just this week OWC introduced RAID 0 +1 drives that have RAID 0 speeds but also provide mirror backups. Perhaps the very best solution but pricey.
EDIT: If you bought a 15" MBP instead of the 17" you forever lack FW 800. Go for a FW 800 or an eSATA Express Card solution when available. You could buy an OWC drive now and jusr run it FW 400 until you get an Express Card FW800 port. The OWC drive came with ports and cables for both FW 800 and FW 400.
-Allen Wicks

External hard drive for both windows and mac

hello, all - just bought a western digital 500gb my book premium edition external hard drive. will be using for both pc and macbook, not necessarily to share files (though i may on occasion), but rather as a backup. been researching the discussion boards and concluded that i should use it as pre-formatted fat32. few questions...
1) if i do use to share files, from what i understand i will be able to read windows files with my mac but i can't read mac files with windows (unless i have macdrive installed). is this correct?
2) since mac can read/write to fat 32, is it necessary to partition the drives and keep the files separated? i talked to a "computer guy" earlier today and he said i should consider having two completely separate external hard drives as having files from two different operating systems on the same drive could cause major problems for both... i didn't really believe him.
3) i have seen different posts stating using fat32 format for mac limits file size to 4gb. another post said 32gb. which is right? i have os is 10.4.7 if that makes a difference.
thanks in advance for any insight.

2 - i don't mind partitioning at all. but he strongly suggested not even partitioning but using two completely separate hard drives. yeah, the 500gb was a bit overkill, so if i can use it for both as opposed to one and buying an additional, i'd rather.
2/3 - if i partition, is it best to divide it into ntfs and hfs+? or should i keep the pc portion fat32? if the mac portion is hfs+, can i store any size file? i have videos that are anywhere from 10-20gb, and i'd like to get them off my computer and into the external drive.
thanks.

I have used a Seagate external hard drive for my Mac desktop. It is malfunctioning. Can I disconnect and depend on iCloud to keep my documents, music, and photos backed up safe and secure? I use the Cloud for phone, pad and desktop.

Can I expect iCloud to safely back up and secure my documents, music and pictures? I am using Cloud on phone, pad, and desktop. Have depended on external hard drive in the past. It is malfunctioning. Will the Cloud replace it for storage and safety?

Time Machine in itself, without an external drive may well be good for instances where you accidentally delete documents that you later require. However in the event of a hard drive failure, if Time Machine backup is kept on the same drive as the original items, it will not be much use to you.
In my opinion, it is vitally important that you have an external drive for backup, whether you use Time Machine or a another backup solution is entirely up to you.
My situation is slightly unusual, I have four hard drives in my computer and multiple arrays of hard drive enclosures with multiple hard drives within them (in total I have 40 TB of storage). As a result of this I tend to employ more than one backup procedure, I use Time Machine to backup some items and a utility called tri-backup to backup other items. I also keep two backups of everything.
Time Machine is free, it's included with your operating system, I wonder if you mean time capsule.

Can I use the same external hard drive for time machine and storing other files

I have a 640GB external hard drive that I have been using for over a year for time machine backups. My mac hard drive is now starting to fill up and I am looking to move audio, video and picture files to my external hard drive. How do I do this without messing up my time machine backups? Can I do both on the same external hard drive? Do I just make new folders on the external hard drive to move the files I want? Thanks for the help.

If you move the files you will need to get another disk to back the files up to. You don't want to have only one copy of certain files (personal, professional etc.).

Using an external hard drive with a Mac and a PC?

I have an external hard drive that I've used with my Windows PC/ itunes / music that I've copied to the PC. Can I use the external hard drive that I use with my Windows PC on my Mac/ itunes / music I've downloaded to my Mac?

wendybird wrote:
I also have a lot of pictures stored on the external hard drive that I can't lose.
(1) Any hard drive may fail at any moment. If you don't have a backup for this external hard drive, your pictures are half-gone already.
(2) If you're trying to make this drive a repository for your music and pics, then its best to format it as FAT32. That's the file system with the widest compatibility, and you'll be able to use the drive with Mac, Win, media players, even TVs with built-in media players. For practicality, it's probably best to keep it attached to a desktop machine and share it on your home LAN for all other devices.

Using an external hard drive for an apple and a pc

I recently bought a Seagate 250g external hard drive to store files from both an apple and a pc. What is the best way to format the drive (or partitions) so that i can reliably back up files from both the mac and the pc? I am using OS 10.4.2 on the mac, and windows xp professional on the pc.

I presume you want to access all the 250 GB from both systems. There are two solutions for it.
The problem in the background is, that both systems have their own special file system, which can't be written by the other system.
solution a)
If you are a rather unexperienced user you should format it FAT32. Don't use Windows to do so, because it will limit your partition size to 32 GB. Rather use the Mac OS X Disk Utility instead. Apple calls the FAT32-format the "MS-DOS" format.
Downside is here that you waste a lot of space on the drive because FAT32 is rather outdated and not meant for a partition that big.
But it is easy to setup!
solution b)
Windows can't even read Apple's HFS+ neither write to it natively. You would need commercial software to enable that. Therefore I would use Microsoft's NTFS. Mac OS X can read this at least. If you want to write to it you have to install the open source freeware MacFUSE and the NTFS-3G "extension" for it as suggested by The Mark above (see his link).
Use Windows to format the drive as NTFS.
The downside is you have to install MacFUSE and NTFS-3G - which is not too complicated. But you can make better use of the space on your drive.
I would say: try to install MacFUSE and NTFS-3G on your Mac. If this seems to work, format the drive with Windows as NTFS. If something doesn't work choose FAT32 as fallback solution.

External hard drive for my Mac and PC

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