External Drive For Windows And OSX

Hello!
I'm using an external USB/FW drive for back up. It's formatted as "OSX Extended".
1) If I copy the data off this drive, what format would I need to re-format it in, so as to be able to back up from both OSX and Windows?
2) Will I be able to reload the first set of data, once I re-format it in the other format?
Thanx!

I don't recall either of those being mentioned in the OP's question, Niel. Only "backup" which does not necessarily mean Time Machine.
You might mention how much it will cost to buy MacDrive: Standard is $50 and Pro is $70.00.
BTW, I know you can't use FAT for Time Machine nor bootable backups. But FAT is not limited for use as a backup drive using other utilities that haven't the limitations or reliability issues of Time Machine.

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Use external drive for windows and mac

Hello,
I just bought a external 320Gb Western Digital Drive. I would like to use
the drive for windows and mac.I will not like to make partation on the drive
to use it on both operating systems. Is there any formating system with which i can use in both operating systems? I would like to use time machine feature on that drive also.
Thanx.

If you want to use a disk for both PC/Mac file storage and Time Machine, you will have to create two partitions. Partitioning is sort of like creating multiple virtual disks on the same physical disk. One partition should be formatted for PC (which the Mac can also use) and the other should be formatted for HFS+ (Mac only) which is what Time Machine requires. The Disk Utility application makes partitioning and formatting very easy.

Would I be able to use the same external hard drive for Windows and OSX?

I plan to get an external HD to put a lot of my multimedia files on and for backups but I don't know if I'll need an individual one for each operating system. I am going to be running a MacBook Pro with both Windows and OSX through Boot Camp.

jengwall,
No, you won't need more than a single drive. There are several options to meet your needs.
OS X can partition your external, and the formats for the various volumes can be HFS+ (the native Mac format) or FAT-32 (Windows format). While OS X cannot create NTFS volumes, and it cannot write to them, it can read them. Any FAT-32 volumes created in OS X can be converted to NTFS by Windows, if and when you like.
Windows cannot natively read HFS+ volumes, and only the FAT-32 format will be both read and write for both Windows and OS X. However, there are some third-party solutions.
"Macdrive" is a Windows utility that allows it to access HFS+ volumes as read/write. On the Mac side, there is "MacFuse," which gives OS X the ability to not just read, but write to NTFS volumes.
Scott

How to use an external drive for windows and mac

I recently got an external hard drive (2 TB seagate expansion) and I need to be able to use it with both my mac and my windows computer. I have read numerous forums and tried downloading various third party programs but nothing seems to work! One of the things i have read was to create a partition on the drive, this is easy enough and i did try it so i do have one side i can add stuff from from windows and one side i can add stuff to from my mac but then i cant access the other side. So say i need to get a file from my mac to my windows. I add a file to the mac side of the partition from my mac but then when i plug it into windows i cant retrieve that because its on the mac side of the partition (and vis versa). Is there some sort of easy way around this? or some way in which i can format the drive where i can move files back and forth from windows to mac without any expensive third party programs?
Thanks!
Bryan
PS. I did notice when i originally got the hard drive i had a bunch of files on it that were added from windows. When i plugged it into my mac i could see and copy these files but i could not add new files. Is there anyway to get around this "read only" type formate if i were to reset my drive back to its factory settings?

Three ways to go;
Repartiton the drive (1 partition) as MBR and with FAT32 file system. This is readable and writable by both Mac and Windows, but has a file size limit (which I think is 4GB).
The alternative is to leave the drive formatted as NTFS for Windows (this is not normally writeable from Mac) and employ a third-party software application which can write to NTFS. NTFS-3G, Paragons NTFS for Mac and Tuxera NTFS have all been recommended elsewhere.
Or you can repartition as GUID with HFS+ (Mac OS Extended Journalled) file system. This would not normally be accesible to the Windows machine, but once again there is 3rd-party softwsre available to enable Windows to read and write to it. MacDrive is the only one I'm aware of, but there are probably others.

Using external drive with windows and osx 10.5

I have formated an external drive using disk utility as Fat 32. Mac osx sees it fine but windows does not. I used partition magic to format it as fat 32 and windows sees it fine, but osx still sees it by the old name and doesn't see the files I loaded on it. I did it twice from partition magic with the same result. the mac knows the right amount of free space but doesn't see the directory, it sees the old directory from the mac formatting? Why is partition magic not overwriting the mac formatting, and why won't windows see the mac formatting. HHHEEEELLLPP Please

I solved the problem by formatting the drive in OSX using mac extended which cleared the ms dos partition the mac created, then I used Partition Magic and created a fat 32 volume. Windows and Leopard see it fine now. Why the Fat 32 formatting from Leopard did not work I can not tell you. A bug maybe or maybe my install has a bug.

New external drive for mac and windows

Hello,
I am looking to buy a 500gb maxtor external drive. Partition it 250gb for winxp and 250gb for my imac. I am really looking to make these drives as backup drives. I currently have an old 250gb (not all used) formatted as os x entended. I use it for all my itunes, photos, movies... photoshop, you get the picture... I just want to drag and drop to that drive. The same for my windows.
Does this sound correct? Has anyone done it this way?
Another way, would be to have it formatted for windows and drop and drag into two different folders : win and imac. But then I will be losing the naming conventions from the os x? isn't that why and want to use os x extended?
Thanks for all ideas,
Charlie

Piece of cake!
For those who want to know:
usb connection to imac first. I started disk utility. Split the partition to two parts and formated only one partition as OS X extended. After done, copied my directories as a bkup.
usb connection to windows. I started computer management and saw that the usb disk had two partitions: the first was healthy but unknown. That was ok, I wanted the second partition to be NTFS and formated. Then copied my directories to that drive as well.
Connected back the imac and saw both partitions, imacbkup and winbkup. I forgot, just like what I do with the imac and winxp, I can see the c: drive via the mac.
Very cool and easy. Maxtor drives are very reliable and easy to use.
Thanks,
Charlie Cooperman
If anyone wants more detail info, you can email me at [email protected]

How to format an external drive for mac AND pc use

i want to format my external drive so i can use it on my mac and on pc's as well. i've gathered that the MS-DOS format is the way to go. my question is this: would this create any problems for my mac then?
can i partion one part for ms-dos and part for macos extended?
cheers
-j-

MS-DOS format (or FAT32) will be fine for both Mac and PC. However there is a 4GB file size limit with FAT32.
You could use a dual partition, however the HFS+ partition would not be readable by the PC unless you installed the third party MacDrive.
Look at this page for more information on a dual partition drive for Mac and Windows.
http://macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20030613121738812
iFelix

Can i use my external drive for TM and files i don't want on my mac HD

my hard drive has a total of 232.57g which is not nearly enough space to save all my pictures, movies, etc. i've been using a 300g external drive to save my pictures, movies, etc. which is now full so i bought a maxtor one touch 4 750g to hopefully back up my computer using time machine, my 300g external drive, and whatever new pictures, movies, etc.
if i set up my new external drive for time machine can i still put the pictures, movies from my 300g external drive and whatever new pictures, movies, etc. on my new 750g external drive?
do i need to make a partition? if so can you tell me how?
should i not use time machine?
any information is appreciated

mac HD
capacity: 232.57g
available: 170.29g
iomega
capacity: 298.02g
available: 14.29g
one touch 4
capacity: 698.51g
available: 698.36g
thanks for the quick reply but i need to explain it better or ask, once all is backed up from my mac HD and my iomega external drive to my new one touch 4 i want to stop using the iomega since there isn't much room left on it
will i be able to add files directly to the one touch 4 without having those files saved to my mac HD like i do now?
or will TM remove my files the next time it backs up my mac HD since i won't have the iomega on anymore?

How to format external drive for mac AND pc use

hi
i want to format my external drive so i can use it on my mac and on pc's as well. i've gathered that the MS-DOS format is the way to go. my question is this: would this create any problems for my mac then?
can i partion one part for ms-dos and part for macos extended?
cheers
-j-

There are a couple of disadvantages with formatting a
disk as FAT32. Firstly, there is a limit on the file
size for FAT32. I think it like 2 GB so if you
capturing video the results will probably not fit
into this file limit. Secondly FAT32 will not be
bootable. I alway clone my system to a backup disk as
bootable. That way if anything goes wrong with my
system, I can just boot from my backup disk and fix
it.
The problem with doing this though is that the drive will not be usable with Windows (which was in the original posting) unless you use the third party MacDrive software on the PC.
iFelix

Use a partition on external drive for windows support software

Hello
I am trying to install Windows 7 on my MacBook AIR 13" 8GB. I have an external drive that i created a partition for the Windows Support software but when I choose to proceed in Boot Camp Assistant to download the windows support software it says the entire drive has to be one partition formatted to MS DOS.
Any way around this..I have the Windows disc and would like to avoid having to buy another 8 GB or greater size external disc drive
Thanks

I do not want to install Windows on the external drive.
An external drive is needed to download the windows support software as stated in Boot Camp. It seems I cannot use a partition on the external drive to download the support software.. Wondering if there is a work around this..

Format external drive for Mac and PC?

Can I format an external Drive to have 1 partition for OS X and another for my wife to use with her PC?
thanks!
ray

Yes, just use Disk Utility under OS X to create two volumes on it, one Mac OS Ext, the other FAT. Use a Master Boot Record partition scheme (also known as “fdisk”).

External Drive for ITunes and IPhoto

I'm out of space on hard drive and would like to use an external hd for all Itunes and Iphotos. Can someone help me in moving these to the external and to make this external the default drive for all things new to both ITunes and IPhoto? I'm a novice!

You post in a workstation forum, Mac Pro has 4 internal drive bays and easy to expand and upgrade.
But yes you can have any media library and folder on add'l drives.
How to open an alternate iTunes Library file or create a new one
Transferring iTunes Library
Moving your iTunes Music folder
Transferring your iTunes Library iLounge

External drive for MAC and PC?

My client wants to be able to view all the .mov files I've shot for them and due to file sizes, I need to deliver them all on a hard drive.
Is there any easy fix on my end or their end to facilitate this?
Thanks!

I was assuming that with Quicktime they'd be able to view full size .mov files
QuickTime .mov is a container, the video inside could have been made with any one of a number of codecs. If they do not have that particular codec, they won't be able to play the video. Not even all Macs have the same codecs, many are installed by FCP and unavailable elsewhere.
Also - do you know someone that has had success with MacDrive 8 on a PC?
It goes exactly what it says on the tin. Another alternative is for you to install the MacFuse/NTFS 3G package, which will enable your Mac to write files to a Windows NTFS formatted drive.

Same external drive for iTunes and Zune?

Hi all,
I have an external drive that holds all of my music, which is for iTunes and my iPods. I used to have Zune players, and recently found them in a box. I tried to set up Zune on my brothers PC, but it doesn't read my external drive. I just saw that my external is formatted as Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Is there a format I can use that would work on both a Mac an a PC?
If not, I can format another drive I have so it would work on the PC. I would then like to transfer my music from my Mac OS Extended (Journaled ) to the other drive. Will it work, or will the music files also still be M OE E (Journaled)?
Thanks for any help...

Figured it out. I just formated a seperate external drive to DOS Fat and copied the music from the Mac OS Extened external drive. I was able to put the music on my Zunes and it worked, even as MP4's.

Best External Drive for MacPro and iMovie

In using iMovie, I find my existing main drives filling up, and need to get a fast external drive which works well with the Mac Pro and the snow leopard operating system. I note that there is a new usb 3.0 standard, but my understanding is that it does not work with os10.6 without additional third party hardware. Any suggestions on best mass storage (external) for iMovie which is fast enough so that the video is not negatively impacted when preparing a movie?

geo.adi wrote:
Are you saying that MacBook Pro 15" has slot that is not good for eSATA connection?
on this site (http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/apple-macbook-pro-2007/4507-3121_7-32465635.html ?tag=mncolBtm;rnav)
it says "*Expansion Slots Total (Free) 1.0 ( 1.0 ) x ExpressCard/34 - SO DIMM 200-pin*"
and looks like you've said that what one need for eSATA is ExpressCard/34 slot.
I'm confused...
Perhaps you should ask your question in the Computing Hardware > Macbook Pro section of this forum.
Type 'Express Card' in the search box and you will find plenty of reading material.
Useful links?:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=12671141&#12671141
http://firmtek.stores.yahoo.net/seritek2sm2e.html

External Drive For Windows And OSX

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