Compatible External Harddrive

I recently purchased a Macbook and I need to be able to transfer files between my old Windows XP computer and the new Macbook. Due to the number of files I think the best approach would be an external hard drive. I also want to be able to store files from both computers on the same drive.
Which brands of external hard drives allow me to use both a windows and mac computer?

Any brand should do, as hard drives are platform independent.

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Compatible External Harddrives

I had trouble finding a good place to ask this question, and so I thought this might be the most appropriate place.
I have the older version of the MacBook Pro, which has 80GB and I have recently been downloading t.v. shows and music, and would like to get an external harddrive to free up the space on my laptop.
So my question is, what is a good reliable brand for external harddrives that are compatible with MACs? I know that Western Digitals are, but I've read mixed reviews about them, and I'm a bit unsure of what's good and what is not.
I would greatly appreciate any advice or input that anyone is willing to offer. Thank you.

The Travelstar 7K200 200GB 7200rpm is a hot drive right now.
http://www.barefeats.com/rosa06.html
You can get a 250G Western Digital, but it's only 5400RPM.
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/hard-drives/2.5-Notebook/
-Bmer
Mac Owners Support Group
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I need an external harddrive for my ipad

My ipad is running out of harddrive space for my music. I need an compatible external harddrive to store my music. I want to have my music stored on an external harddrive and be able to play it wirelessly on my ipad as needed. I was looking at Seagate Blutooth harddrive, however, I an not sure it will work.

I have a friend that told me he is using a Seagate external drive and it is working. I did not see any that stating it's compatible with the ipad. My friend he is using Seagate 1TB Backup Plus Slim

External HardDrive Compatible? help!

Hi guys i intend to get an external enclosure and a normal harddrive and convert it to an external harddrive myself. I want to know what harddrive should i get and what would i need to do to make it compatible with both mac and pc? how should i format it to be able to use freely on both windows and mac? thanks!!

Hello,
Hi thanks for the fantastic replies !! that is all
the info that i will be needing.
You're welcome. Glad you found our answers helpful.
One last question
mates ! i purchased my Imac G5 just weeks before they
introduced the intel duo processor Imac G5
(Grrrrrrrr) and i was wondering if it is possible to
change the processer to the intel processor?
Unfortunately, no.
The processor is not the only part that is different. Basically, they are two entirely different computers. The processor you use, determines the rest of the components used in a computer.
So, to use an Intel processor, you also need supporting hardware that recognizes that processor and can work with it. The supporting hardware must be familiar with, and know how to handle, that processors method of moving information around. And, the supporting hardware has to deliver information in a method that is expected by that processor. So, there are a lot of custom chips inside the computer that are specific to the processor being used.
The same is true even in the PC world. If you use an Intel processor, then you pick a chipset and other support chips that work with the Intel processor. If you use an AMD processor, then you pick a chipset and other supporting hardware that will work with the AMD processor.
So, even there you cannot usually swap processors of different brands.
Now, there have been exceptions among 3rd-party main board manufacturers. Some have specifically chosen components that will support any processor in previous years. So, there have been main boards that would support using your choice of AMD, Intel, IBM, Cyrix, etc. processors.
But, those processors all used the same socket style at the time, and were of similar technology.
These days each processor manufacturer is using their own socket type, and their designs are significantly different.
And, in your particular case, the difference between a PowerPC processor and an Intel processor is so significant that you simply cannot make that substitution. The rest of the supporting hardware would have to be changed as well. And, that just isn't possible on your system without starting at the beginning and redesigning the whole logic board again.
So, in your case, you do need to purchase a new computer if you want to move to the Intel processor.
My work requires me to use both windows and Mac so i
intend to upgrade to intel core and install bootcamp.
Any advises for me? will it be extremely expensive??
You could use Virtual PC on your current Mac. But, because it works through emulating the entire PC (including emulating an Intel processor) it works very slowly. It's still quite usable. But, more intensive tasks can take a while to complete. Simple tasks are executed almost as fast as a real PC.
But, if you want to run Windows at full speed, then you'll want a real Intel processor. In that case, it's not necessarily going to be too expensive. It all depends on your budget.
At the base-line, you can get a Mac Mini CoreSolo for around $600 (before upgrades are accounted for). And, the CoreDuo model starts around $800.
But, those will probably "feel" slower than your current system. So, you'll probably want either an iMac CoreDuo or a Mac Pro.
If you want a iMac CoreDuo, I'd wait a little bit for the upcoming improvement in processors and possibly other specs. Apple tends to keep the price pretty consistent. So, you can usually get them starting around $1300 before upgrades (such as memory).
And, if you are on a really tight budget, watch Apple's refurbished site. You can get refurbished Macs a lot cheaper than the new ones. They come with the same warranty, and you can save several hundred dollars.
I saved about $600 on my last refurb purchase. Of course, actual savings will depend on the model you choose, the timing of the purchase, and the specs you need.
I timed my refurb purchase with the introduction of a new model, so I got it a bit cheaper because it was a refurb version of a prior model instead of a refurb of a current model. That will affect the price a little bit.
You can find the refurb site by going to Apple's online store. Then, once it loads, you'll see a red tag in the lower-right of the page that says "Save".
You can also try this link:
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/6294000/wo/7C4xZ 73Fpc983ZulJQOjoQ5aF0F/3.0.0.19.1.0.8.7.1.0.1.1
The machines available change by the hour (or minute sometimes). So, if the machine you want isn't there when you look, check back frequently and watch for it to become available. Remember, these are limited to actual supply, so the models available will change as they are sold.
I hope this helps.
Let us know if you have other questions.
P.S., if you'd like, go ahead and click the "Helpful" or "Solved" buttons on any of the posts / replies above if you feel they were helpful or adequately answered your question.

Using Mac OS X and external harddrives

I was wondering if there is anyway to allow Mac OS X to copy/edit files on a Windows-Formatted external harddrive because I want to use the harddrive with both Windows and Mac OS X on my MacBook Pro and use Mac OS X for Itunes, Movies, etc., and Windows as well. If there is no way to do this, is there a way to format the drive so it can be compatible with both Mac OS X and Windows XP/Vista?

You need to format the drive as FAT in order to use it with Windows and Mac. On the Mac side, you can use Disk Utility to format the drive as MS-Dos File System (this is FAT).
Hope this helps =)

I can't Access my External Harddrive.. Please Help

OS = Vista on a PC
I have a WD External Harddrive, that I Can't access. It is a plug in Harddrive (self Powered)
If i open "Airport Utility" on the left side it will show the unit. I double click on it. It brings up a secondary window that allows me to select
Airport
Internet
Printers
Disks
Advanced
I select Disks, and it shows the harddrive in the list. However....
I can't click on the harddrive to access it
Unless I'm doing it wrong (very possible) I can't map a network drive to it.
It's not showing up under the network tab
It's not showing up under "My Computer"
Please help I have called Apple Support and they can't figure this out. Infact they are sending me a new Unit for no reason.

It may be possible that this particular My Book model is not compatible with the AirPorts as an AirPort Disk. (ref: The iFelix unofficial 802.11n Airport Extreme Hard Drive Compatibility List) Have you contacted WD support to see if they have a newer driver or specifically call out that they are compatible? I did a quick Google-search on the terms: "AirPort My Book" and found dozens of references where folks were having hit/miss success with the My Books.

Transferring home videos on DVD to external harddrive through macbook

I want to transfer all our old home movies which are all on DVD to an external harddrive. I try dragging but that didn't work. I made a copy of the video and dragged to hard drive but that also didn't work. What do I do?

Hi - The movies were from several different video cameras all 8mm tapes originally. My husband burned the tapes onto DVD-Rs. I tried just dragging the video onto the external hard drive and I got an error message that says" The DVDVRF430 can not be moved because the OneTouch 4 (name of hard drive) can not be modified". I tried dragging it to a folder within the harddrive and got same message but said the folder could not be modified.
I then went into Imovie and played around. There is a way to copy the video through Imovie but the only option it gives me is to copy it to my mac harddrive. I thought I would be able to direct it to the external harddrive because It has a pull down bar but the only option is the mac internal drive.I have 19 years of videos and do not want them on my MAC harddrive but if I have to load them to the Mac then take them off to put on external I will - just seems like a long process of extra work.
I originally had a PC and all of the documents on the harddrive were from my PC which died. Is it possible that I need to do somehting to the the harddrive to recognize the mac? I have opened files on the external harddrive and edited them on the Mac and then saved them with no problem. I have had to change the programs a bit to make them compatible since many are older Word or Microsoft Works files but that is all.

My external harddrive is not showing any files after a mac partition

I transfered my files from my pc to the external harddrive. The instructions for the external harddrive said I needed to partition the drive to make it mac-compatible. After partitioning, I couldn't find any of the files that I transferred.
Can anyone help me find the files on the external hard drive?

abbey road wrote:
I transfered my files from my pc to the external harddrive. The instructions for the external harddrive said I needed to partition the drive to make it mac-compatible. After partitioning, I couldn't find any of the files that I transferred.
Can anyone help me find the files on the external hard drive?
Hi and welcome to Discussions,
did you do the partitioning after you have copied the files to the external harddisk ?
If so, then they are gone.
A repartitioning of a harddisk deletes everything that is on that harddisk at that moment.
If the files are still on your PC, then just reconnect the external HD to your PC and copy the files again.
Regards
Stefan

Time Machine formatted my external harddrive to apple specific file system

I agreed to delete all files on my external harddrive to use it for Time Machine
I didnt count on the process to exclude the harddrive from being used on my windows machine
Is there any way I can reformat the harddrive to FAT 32 or NTFS?
I dont want to buy a third party program at almost the same price as a new external hard drive
Preferably I get two partitions on the external harddrive: one compatible with Time Machine and one that I can use to move files between my mac and PC
Is that possible within Mac OS X Leopard?
Thanks
Rasmus

TM drive must be formatted mac os extended. what you can do is split the external in two partitions , format one for TM and format the other FAT. you can also format the other partition NTFS (has to be done from windows or with 3rd party software) but then you'll need to install NTFS-3g which makes NTFS drives writable from OS X. there is also NTFS for Mac by paragon but unlike NTFS-3g it's not free and you say you don't want to pay.
also, you need to repartition your drive with GUID partition scheme.
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1964018#5
this will wipe it again so you'll have to restart your TM backups after that.

WD External HardDrive Compatibility Question

Alright, So I bought a 1TB Western Digital External HardDrive Passport. I re-formated it for mac, so it works with my 15" macbook pro. Everything works fine. I'm using the hard drive as a music storage device, since I am a DJ and have a lot of music. I don't want to bog down my computer with it.
A friend, who has the exact same device, uses it for his windows. When he plugs it in the computer will ask him what he wants to do with the device, and to play his music with his specific program is one of his options. i.e. open to view in folder, run with windows media player etc etc etc
That is also something that happens with Mac depending on the device you plug in. A window will pop up and ask, what do you want to do. Open with itunes, open with finder, etc etc.
What I want to do is use this external hard drive either with itunes or DJAY. By just plugging it into my laptop, and having that box come up and ask if i want to play the music with DJAY or itunes. When I open DJAY and itunes currently it doesnt show my external harddrive as a device. I can certainly drag music from the device to either program, but then that puts it on the computer, and defeats the purpose of having this 100$ harddrive. If someone can help me figure out how to get my macbook pro to view the harddrive as a device, and play the music on it with itunes or DJAY I would GREATLY appreciate it. Thanks!

The iPad does not support a USB host port, so no external hard drive will be recognized. Seagate has a new wireless portable hard drive that creates a hotspot for up to 3 devices and is fully compatible with the iPad as external storeage:
Video of drive in actions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRaVAeYhONc
Review: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-18/portable-wi-fi-drive-turns-ipad-into-cineplex-rich-jaroslov...
Not sure when these will be available in Best Buy.
If you find my post useful or informative, please click the icon below with the plus sign and star to give kudos. Thank you!

When transferring to new Mac using external harddrive

I'm trying to transfer my information using migration assistant. However, my external harddrive can not be located?

Migration assistant is designed to transfer data from one Mac to another Mac.
Since you are using an external HDD, you will have to connect it to your MBP and manually transfer the data via drag and drop. I am assuming that the HDD is in a format compatible with a Mac.
Ciao.

WD External Harddrive Backups

I have a problem with Lion, it is not compatible with the WD Anywhere Backup Software that I use for backing up multiple harddrives. Now I can't create a new backup-plan. However, when I migrated to Lion, it maintained my old previously made back-up plans. So my thought is, if I can create a backup plan with the software on my old mac running Leopard, I might be able to bring the file for the backup plan over to my Lion based mac. However, I don't know where to find the backup plan files, I'm guessing they are a plist file, but what I found doesn't work.
Can anyone help me find the backup plan files? Again, I'm not looking for the actual backed up files, I want the WD Anywhere Software Backup Plan file that is a setting of some kind for how things are backed up. Anybody?

Montes wrote:
I'm not worried about backing up my computer, I use Time Machine for that, but I need a solution for making copies of my external harddrive photos.
Time Machine can back up external HDs (if they're formatted for a Mac) along with your internal HD. See Time Machine - Frequently Asked Question #32 for info.
You might also want to review Time Machine vs. Clones and Archives for an overview of the different types of backups, and the addvantages and disadvantages of each.

Have airport extreme, square model, have a external harddrive to use as back up(formated for mac)hooked it up to the usb port in back. can't find it on my computer. what am i doing wrong

have the airport extreme, square model. have a external harddrive formated for mac hooked up to the usb port in back.
i can't find the harddrive on the computer for back up in timemachine. what am i doing wrong?

First, if you are not aware, you need to know that Apple does not officially support Time Machine backups to a drive at the USB port of the AirPort Extreme.
That may be part of the problem here, so if you want to continue to try this, you need to understand that there are no guarantees of success.
Some users do seem to be able to make this work, but most have some problems and some....like me....have nothing but problems when they try this.
If you want to continue to try this, the first thing to verify is that the drive is formatted specifically in Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Have you verified that the drive is formatted correctly by connecting it directly to your Mac and using Disk Utility to check?
Some drives that are advertised as being "compatible for Mac" are not formatted correctly in Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Time Machine has no chance of success unless the drive is first formatted correctly.
I would also ask that you consider leaving the drive connected to your Mac for Time Machine backups. That will be supported, and is a far more reliable way to keep backups if your data is important to you.
Next, we need to know what operating system you are running on your Mac. If you do not know, click the Apple icon in the upper left corner of the screen and then click About This Mac. Post back with the OS X Version number that you see there.

Unable to boot Windows 7 Premium from an external harddrive

I recently gained an interest in playing microsoft based games, and just recently got my late 2013 macbook pro retina 15". I have been trying for several hours for the last two days to get bootcamp to boot Windows 7 Premium from a 500GB external harddrive without re-partiitioning my internal harddrive. I can get to the first screen of the Windows 7 Install asking about language, but neither my keyboard or mousepad respond with the windows installer. I assume this is because Windows 7 premium does not have USB 3.0 capability. Is there a workaround for this that doesn't involve partitioning my internal drive?

That's all fine and good, but I would strongly prefer not to have to use internal drive space for Windows. Even If I were to use the internal drive to install it, I would still run into the same problems of not having a keyboard or trackpad as I've seen other users having issues with. It stands to reason that if I had a working keyboard and mouse that I would be able to install it to an external hard drive, using a workaround method found here:
http://bleeptobleep.blogspot.fr/2013/02/mac-install-windows-7-or-8-on-external.h tml
If I had to partition my internal drive, what would be the absolute minimum amount of space I would need?

Keyboard, trackpad & external harddrive suddenly stopped responding but external mouse will work?

I have a 2007 MacBook, but the harddrive was replace begining on 2011. Ealier today mid-email my keyboard suddenly froze and my cursor dissappeared. The power button still worked so I was able to turn off my computer. When I restarted I had about 3 hours of normal functioning before the same thing happened again. The entire keyboard becomes unresponsive (including the caps lock light that does not light up) and the mouse is no longer visible. I tried connecting an external mouse and this seems to work fine, but I still can't type anything in.
I connected my external harddrive to copy over all my files (incase this was the begining of the end). About two minutes in the light started blinking on the harddrive and i was given the message from the computer saying the harddrive was unplugged... which it was not!
I have restarted the computer a few times, the keyboard and trackpad never come back on, the computer can no longer recongnize any external harddrive or thumbdrive but works fine with the external mouse.
Does anyone have any idea what is going on?
Thank you! I really appreciate your time and any advice you may have.

Make sure it's not something as simple as the battery bulging up and exerting upward pressure on the trackpad, keyboard, and USB / FW ports.
That's what happened to my Macbook and it showed similar symptoms.
I simply took out the battery and let the MacBook rest for a 48 hours. Then I ran it strictly on the power supply and it ran fine.
At that point I bought a replacement generic battery through Amazon for about $40 including shipping and taxes. I figured why waste money on the Apple original part if it was that very Apple original battery that went bad and bulged up like a toad?
MacBook has been running just fine for months now, maybe a year.

Compatible External Harddrive

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