External hard drive for quick access to photos/music

Hi! I have a 13" Macbook Pro circa 2009. I want to purchase a large and fast external hard drive that I can actively use. Meaning this external hard drive would become my storage for all photos and music, NOT just a backup drive. I want to be able to sync my iPhone to my Macbook Pro, and have iTunes read off of the external drive. And the same for photos and videos. By doing this, I free up about 90% of the space on my Mac, and I'd imagine it would run a lot faster. Firstly, is this even possible? Secondly, which drives can do this? This is the reason I want it to be fast, so that I can seamlessly use the external hard drive as if it's right in my computer. What do you suggest? Can wireless drives do this? I'm more than open to any manufacturer including non-Apple. THANKS.

Yes, you can use an external drive for primary storage. As to which type would be fastest, it's limited to the fastest port on your MacBook Pro (which, in your case, would be FireWire 800, if you've a mid-2009 MacBook Pro).
There are many good drives out there with various degrees of size, but you'll want to look at one with a 'quad' interface, which would include a FireWire 800 port. I've had very good luck with LaCie (now owned by Seagate), LaCie, etc. OWC also has a number of external, quad-interfaced drives.
Good luck,
Clinton

Similar Messages

Can i use the time capsule as just an external hard drive for music or does it have to be used soley as a backe up?? im thinking for music and photos

Can I use the time capsule as just an external hard drive for music or does it have to be used soley as a back up? I'm thinking for music and photos

Nickles96 wrote:
Hello friends.. I have a similar question, in that I would like to purchase the 2TB TC for use as a NAS device, in addition to taking advantage of the Air Port extreme.. Then I could dump my Linksys router.
I was originally looking at a Synology NAS solution, but the TC seems like it can meet my needs.
I have a Synology NAS as well as the Time Capsule. If you look at the 3.2 beta program, the Synology actually attempts to replicate TC functionality in that you can use it with Time Machine on your Mac.
I must say, Airport on the TC is definitely a nice feature!
Nickles96 wrote:
In addition to the obvious feature of the backup, can I indeed also use the TC as a NAS drive to access from remote locations (example from the office)?
I'm surprised more people aren't using the TC as a dedicated NAS deviced.. I've searched high and low on forums around the web, and don't seem to see many people trying to use it as I've outlined.
I can't see why this wouldn't fufill my needs, and take the place of a separate NAS solution (like the Synology, or iOmega, Seagate, etc....)
Has anyone used this TC as such?
Yes, you can do this and it's something I've been trying to do, but I'm currently having issues. I have another thread stating I consistently get "connection failed" messages. I'm basically storing my music/photo/video files on the TC and keeping my Mac hard drive fairly lean. In terms of NAS functionality, the TC is very basic. Synology/QNAP and others have a lot more features so don't rule them out.

I have been using my newly purchased Iphone for Iphonagraphy (Iphone photography). I would like to sync my Iphone to my external hard drive so I can move photos in and out of my Iphone, to make use of the apps I have exclusively on my phone.

I want to sync my Iphone with the external hard drive so I can move photos from my phone to the hard drive AND BACK! I'm using a Windows OS

You have several options:
Connect the phone using a cable to your computer. Use the camera and scanner wizard to import the photos from the Camera Roll, then organize them and sync them back to the Photos app (see: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4083). the Camera Roll is intended for temporary storage only.
Save the images to your Dropbox account. It's free, http://www.dropbox.com. There's a Dropbox app for the iPhone, and also for Windows, Mac and Linux. Dropbox can also be accessed using a web browser. Dropbox (and similar services) provide cloud-based storage that can be accessed from anywhere.
Use Photo Stream
Email or text (MMS) the images to yourself
Create a Picasa or Shutterfly account, save the images to it, then download to your computer
I'm sure there are others.

Migrating music to an external hard drive for access by Windows & Mac

Hey folks
I recently migrated my collection of music to an external hard drive by:
1) changing the iTunes music folder location from the default (Music/iTunes/iTunes Music) to my external hard drive through iTunes Preferences.
2) Selecting "Consolidate library" from the Advanced drop-down menu.
Afterwards, I moved my library file to the same parent directory I put my iTunes music folder in on the external (in fact, I moved my entire iTunes folder excl the music folder which was obviously already on the hard drive). When I restarted iTunes I held down OPTION and then chose the library file on my external as the iTunes library file to be used. This was all done on a Mac.
No problems - all swell. But... I moved the library file to the external because I want to be able to use the external with multiple computers from which I can import music that will automatically be copied to the same folder (the music folder on my external) and managed accordingly. When I tried to open the library from my Windows laptop at home nothing happened. The library file I copied from my Mac had no extension, so I renamed it .itl so the Windows version of iTunes would pick it up, but selecting it as the new library did nothing.
Q1: Are iTunes library files (I assume always .itl's?) interchangeable between Mac and Windows? If not this might explain why the library didn't load up.
Q2: Is my method wrong? Is there a different procedure for getting multiple copies of iTunes on different computers and operating systems to all use the same library, saved on an external hard drive, which itself references music from the same external hard drive? Is this goal even possible?
Q3: Is it possible to have 2 or more libraries for a given installation of iTunes?
Bonus Q4: How is the album artwork saved? When I consolidated my music on the external, did this move the artwork across with it (integrated with each music file?) or was it still sitting on my Mac hard drive in the Album Artwork directory? I have since moved this folder to my external as well, when I moved the entire directory including library file across, and album artwork is visible when the library is open on my Mac, but I don't know whether its getting the images from the hard drive or the external hard drive.
Okay last one - I swear! Q5: When I couldn't get the laptop version of Itunes to open my Mac library file, I imported all my music into the default laptop library which references the music files still all located on the external. Considering the 130GB of music I'm dealing with, this took a while, but what took even longer was "Processing album artwork", which dragged on for ages. What is actually happening during this procedure - is iTunes accessing an online database to find the artwork, or is it working with the artwork already processed and saved in the album on the external?
Thanks very much in advance! Sorry for all the questions but I'd like to crack this thing once and for all.

The procedure for sharing a library between a Mac and Wintel PC on an external drive is quite simple. I did this myself so that I would have my music available to me when I worked in my lab.
First before you transfer anything to your external hard drive, the music library on your Mac should already be consolidated. Once that is done, transfer the iTunes folder (./Music/iTunes) to the external drive. Unless your music files are in a folder outside the iTunes folder—for instance, my music files are on a separate, larger volume on my Mac from the iTunes folder that is on the boot volume—copying your iTunes folder will put everything that iTunes needs onto the external drive.
Now you have two options for using your library on two machines. The first, which I prefer, is to leave your Mac’s iTunes library in place and use the external strictly for the Wintel PC. In this instance, you would need to add the .itl extension to the iTunes Library database file. When you attach your external to the Wintel PC at work and choose the library, your should be taken into iTunes with your music library intact.
In this instance, your external drive can also serve as a backup of your iTunes library because it is highly improbable that both your external drive and Mac Pro’s iTunes folders will go bad simultaneously. For backup purposes, you will need to place another copy of your iTunes Library database file on the external drive, without the extension, for your Mac; I have had issues with Macs recognizing .itl files. Of note, the content of your library on the external drive will be the same if you need to recover from the external drive, but as the Wintel PC will not update the database file without the .itl extension, any settings you change or playlists you add in Windows will not be transferred to the Mac unless you recover the Mac’s library from the iTunes Music Library.xml file that the PC would have kept current.
In the second instance, if you wish to run your library off of the external drive for both your Mac and Wintel PC, you would follow the same procedure described above, but you would need to have both an iTunes Library (Mac) and iTunes Library.itl (Windows) database files. Effectively, this would mean that once a change is made on either system, it will not be reflected on the other. As you are most likely to add new songs via your home computer, you will need to replace the .itl file with a copy of the Mac database file whenever you add music, playlists, etc.
Given the storage capacity of my Power Mac G5 and the logistics involved in managing a library stored solely on an external volume going between a Mac and PC, I find the second option to be more trouble than it is worth. For me, it is easier to maintain my Mac’s iTunes library then copy the iTunes folder over to the external drive overnight when I wish to make any updates (e.g., new content, playlists, etc.) available to my work computer. In the morning, I just add the .itl extension to database file before disconnecting the external drive and taking it to work.
Now that your first two questions are answered, yes you can have more than one library, but doing so is poor database management. You should have all of your content in a single database and use iTunes to separate content. iTunes already separates music, movies, podcasts, audiobooks, etc., but further division of content is up to the user. iTunes has had playlists and folders for a few versions now, so it is quite easy to organize your library’s content in as simple or complex a folder/playlist structure as you please.
How album artwork is saved depends on how you acquired your music. Music you purchase from the iTunes Store has its artwork placed into a separate artwork database built in the Album Artwork folder in your iTunes folder. I believe that the same occurs if you allow iTunes to find and import album covers. If you rip CDs or acquire music from other sources, you manually add the artwork, in which case the images are stored in the music files.
Lastly, when iTunes has to build a library it can take a while. Your library is twice as large as mine and on a slow(er) laptop drive the time to built a library will be excessive. Unless iTunes is crashing or freezing, let it runs its course until the library build is completed. Also, if you have copied your music files to your laptop’s internal hard drive, you should not leave iTunes referencing the external drive. In the worst case, you would want to copy your iTunes folder from the external to the laptop’s internal drive’s default iTunes folder location. Remove the iTunes Library file and allow iTunes on your laptop to rebuild the library from the XML file.

I have a 250GB western digital external hard drive for my time machine backups. if i just want to backup and recover my photos and movies how do i do that with time machine?

I have a 250GB western digital external hard drive for my time machine backups. I did not download the software that came with the external HD. If I only want to backup my photos and movies from my Macbook how do I do that in Tme Machine with my external HD?

Format the HDD in Disk Utility>Erase to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and the open System Preferences>Time Machine and set up the external disk as the Time Machine HDD. Then look at the Options, and exclude what you do not want backed up.
Ciao.

I have an external hard drive which has my i-photo on it & some movies from i-movie that I have on disk now. But for some reason my ehd has a caution symbol on it & I can't move my event to free up space on my hd so that I can export i-movie events. Help!

I have an external hard drive which has my i-photo on it & some movies from i-movie that I have on disk now. But for some reason my ehd has a caution symbol on it & I can't move my event to free up space on my hd so that I can export i-movie events. Help!

Usually the caution symbol means that it's formatted as a PC compatible format like NTFS or most likely FAT32. For iMovie to use it the ehd must be formatted Mac OS Extended. Then iMovie will show it without the caution symbol and you can drag/drop open any Event/Project from that hard drive.
To find out if it's formatted as PC:
Go to the desktop, holding down the Control key click on that ehd and in the pop-menu choose 'Get Info'
Under Format: It will say whether or not it's Mac OS Extended (Journaled). The only way to undo a PC formatted ehd would be to copy everything off of it first, Erase/Format the drive using Disk Utility in the Applications>Utilities folder on your Mac, choosing the Mac OS Extended (Journaled) format in the pull-down menu there.

OS is Mountain Lion, upgraded no problems, used an external Hard drive for my time machine, now my iPhoto will not show any of my photo's or ay new ones I import! Help please!!

OS is Mountain Lion, upgraded no problems, used an external Hard drive for my time machine, now my iPhoto will not show any of my photo's or ay new ones I import! Help please!!

Do you get this window when you hold down the Command+Option keys and launch iPhoto?
If not then you're not holding down both keys long enough.
OT

Migrating music to an external hard drive for access by Windows

Existing discussion thread link: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/1715002?start=0&tstart=0
Hi,
I have a large (~212GB) iTunes music library that was created using iTunes on Windows. All music files, etc are held on an external drive. Now I want to be able to access my existing music library from my MacBook Pro running iTunes on OS X. When I launch iTunes I hit the key so I can select which library file it should use. I'm not currently able to select my iTunes library on the external hard disk.
I've tried following the steps covered in an existing discussion thread that I have found, Migrating music to an external hard drive for access by Windows & Mac, but that hasn't worked for me unfortunately. The linked post suggests renaming the library file (.itl) to remove its extension but the library is read-only. I've also tried doing the same when the external hard disk is connnected to my windows laptop and then switching back over to my MacBook Pro. But this has also not worked yet.
Any suggestions? Thanks.

Existing discussion thread link: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/1715002?start=0&tstart=0
Hi,
I have a large (~212GB) iTunes music library that was created using iTunes on Windows. All music files, etc are held on an external drive. Now I want to be able to access my existing music library from my MacBook Pro running iTunes on OS X. When I launch iTunes I hit the key so I can select which library file it should use. I'm not currently able to select my iTunes library on the external hard disk.
I've tried following the steps covered in an existing discussion thread that I have found, Migrating music to an external hard drive for access by Windows & Mac, but that hasn't worked for me unfortunately. The linked post suggests renaming the library file (.itl) to remove its extension but the library is read-only. I've also tried doing the same when the external hard disk is connnected to my windows laptop and then switching back over to my MacBook Pro. But this has also not worked yet.
Any suggestions? Thanks.

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

How can I use one external hard drive for both Time Machine and iPhoto Library?

I have been using a 1 TG LaCie external hard drive for Time Machine backups. My (older) Mac has 160 GB and is almost full. I would like to move my iPhoto Library to the external hard drive, but I've heard Time Machine doesn't share one space well. Should I
1. create another partition (but will this erase what I've already saved) with Disk Utility? *I am running Snow Leopard*
2. create another volume to use for iPhoto, and if so, should the two volumes be of equal size?
3. leave it with one partition and move the iPhoto Library to the same partition with Time Machine back ups?
I know I don't need the entire 1 TG for back up of 160 GBs. Please advise the best path to take. Thank you!

You are getting incorrect information from your ASP. If you look at drive specifications the heat generated is no different for high vs low capacity drives.
I have upgraded the internal drive in my iMac 2007 with a 3TB Hitachi drive without any heat issues or other problems.
Larger hard drives have higher density platters so to access any given amount data the drives travel a shorter distance. Higher capacity drives should therefore run cooler than lower density drives because the drive spends less time spinning to access data.

HP SimpleSave External Hard Drive - Can't Access Files, Says to Re-Format

I have had a SimpleSave External Hard Drive for over a year now, and have never had any problems with it.
Recently, I am unable to access my files on the hard drive when it is attached to my computer. It tries to load, and then gives me the error message "You need to format the disk in drive H: before you can use it. Do you want to format it?". I don't want to format it because I don't want to lose all of the files that I have stored. When I press "Cancel" i also get the error message "H:\ is not accessible. Data error (cyclic redundancy check).
I have not changed anything recently so I do not understand why it has all of a sudden stopped working.
I am using an HP notebook (G62 Notebook PC) and Windows 7 Home Premium operating system.
I am connected to the hard drive via USB. I have tried turning off my computer and turning it back on, and unplugging the drive. I have tried using other USB outlets.
My SimpleSave information: model no hp md1000h
P/N HPBAAD0010HBK-00
The blue light is still blinking on the front of the hard drive.
I would like to access my files and get the external hard drive working properly again. Please help!
Thanks in advance!

I too have the exact same problem on my HP SimpleSave (sd500a) external hard drive. I got through to WDC, and they apparently support these devices now. They asked me to send them a copy of my purchase receipt in order to extend my warranty in their system in order to help me (ridiculous!!). I sent the scanned copy of the receipt to [email protected], and got an auto-reply that they will get back to me within 1 day. I also went on their website, and they refer to the device in their system as 'ED Caviar Blue EIDE Hard Drive'. It has the same serial number as my product from HP, so I guess they have acquired these products or at least support of them (?). In any case, I'm freaking out because I have tons of family pictures, video and my entire iTunes library on the device. If any one is able to get help for this, please respond. I am desperate to get this resolved.

Choosing an external hard drive for back up

This is more for general advice than a specific question. Right now I have my hard drive partitioned and use the second as a backup with Time Machine. It will work for most situations but not all, such as a home fire or break-in (all my photos and music, lost forever!).
What I want to do is buy an external hard drive for backup and keep it at work. I would then bring it home every few weeks to update, but otherwise not store it in the same place as my computer. That way I would never lose more than a few weeks worth of stuff. So, a few questions, the nature of which will let you know how much of a novice I am at this.
1) Right now, Time Machine automatically updates once per hour. When I am using the external drive will I be able to set Time Machine up to only update my back up files when I connect the external drive. Is this difficult.
2) Any suggestions on what kind of external hard drive I should buy, or what features I should look for would be appreciated. I live in a remote area, so something I can get from futureshop.ca would be preferable.
3) My hard drive is about 280 GB. What size should I buy.
Advice on any of the above would be appreciated. Also feel free to toss in anything else you think I should know or consider.
Rgds
PF

Snowfog wrote:
This is more for general advice than a specific question. Right now I have my hard drive partitioned and use the second as a backup with Time Machine. It will work for most situations but not all, such as a home fire or break-in (all my photos and music, lost forever!).
What I want to do is buy an external hard drive for backup and keep it at work. I would then bring it home every few weeks to update, but otherwise not store it in the same place as my computer. That way I would never lose more than a few weeks worth of stuff. So, a few questions, the nature of which will let you know how much of a novice I am at this.
1) Right now, Time Machine automatically updates once per hour. When I am using the external drive will I be able to set Time Machine up to only update my back up files when I connect the external drive.
This is what I am currently doing among 3 different backup disks (1 Time Capsule, a WD500GB, and a Lacie 160GB). You won't have to "set" anything up other than attach the new drive and select it in the TM prefs. Then when your done, reselect your normal TM disk.
2) Any suggestions on what kind of external hard drive I should buy, or what features I should look for would be appreciated. I live in a remote area, so something I can get from futureshop.ca would be preferable.
Most any drive will do, as you partition it correctly to begin with.
*_How Should a Time Machine Hard Disk be Prepared?_*
For Time Machine to work properly, the hard disk must be formatted “Mac OS Extended (Journaled)” and its’ Partition Scheme should be either GUID or Apple Partition Map.
Time Machine is incompatible with disks partitioned as Master Boot Record (MBR). Unfortunately, this describes nearly every hard drive you can buy because MBR is a Windows partition scheme. (Naturally, this DOES NOT apply to Apples’ Time Capsule.)
For some, Time Machine begins to perform as expected with a new external hard disk. But then the initial full backup or subsequent incremental backups fail. The user only later discovers the hard disk was still partitioned as Master Boot Record (MBR).
One article on Time Machine made this observation: “Virtually everybody will have to open Disk Utility and repartition the disk as APM or GUID. It doesn't really matter which one because the Time Machine disk will not be bootable anyway. APM allows a disk to boot a PowerPC, GUID allows the disk to boot an Intel processor but both are easily digestible by Time Machine on either kind of processor.” [http://www.girr.org/mac_stuff/backups.html]
It’s been recommended by many here that your reserve +at least+ double the size of your primary hard disk, that way Time Machine backups have room to grow as the size of your data grows. Additionally, the more space you give Time Machine the more history it can preserve. The less space you reserve for Time Machine the sooner older backups & deleted items will disappear.
One poster recommended this regarding multiple partitions: “If you do create multiple partitions (half and half would be a good place to start), make sure you use the first partition for Time Machine, and the second for your own stuff (the first one will be on top in the graphical representation shown in Disk Utility; you'll understand when you see the partition tab). This way, you can expand the Time Machine volume at any later time by deleting the second partition. Disk Utility allows this dynamic re-sizing of volumes, but volumes can only be expanded toward the end of the drive, when a volume that comes after is deleted to create the room.” [http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1712437&tstart=0]
Procedure
Connect the hard disk you wish to use for Time Machine backups.
Launch Disk Utility.
It will appear twice in the pane on the left. (Make sure you recognize that it is different from the 2 icons that represent your Macs' internal drive.) The upper entry represent the device as a whole, including the controller inside. The lower entry represents the hard disk contained within the device.
Click on the upper icon of the external hard disk.
Select the "Partition" tab.
For "Volume Scheme" choose "1 partition". (Choose 2 partitions if you intend on storing other data on the disk besides your Time Machine backups. Ensure that the two partitions have different names.)
Name the disk.
Format should be "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)".
Click "Options".
Select either GUID or Apple Partition Map. (See above for significance)
Click "OK".
Click "Apply". Then click “Partition”.
Once the external hard disk is repartitioned, select it again in Time Machine preferences and use it for your backups. If you chose to create 2 partitions, then select the first partition for Time Machine backups, and the second for additional files/folders.
3) My hard drive is about 280 GB. What size should I buy.
Any TM backup drive should be +at least+ twice as large as your Macs internal hard disk.
Let us know if this resolves your issue.
Cheers!

I have an external hard drive set up as a Time Machine backup on my IMac. I want to add a second external hard drive and put my Aperture Photo Library on it. Is there a way to have the photos on this second hard drive automatically back up to the Time Mac

I have an IMac with an external hard drive set up as a Time Machine for automatic backups. I want to add a second external hard drive and load my Aperture Photo Library on to it so that the library can be shared by both me and my wife. Is there a way to automatically backup the photo library that will be on the second hard drive to the Time Machine hard drive?

Open System Preference > Time Machine
Click Options....
Ckick on external disk in list and hit the - button below the list to remove from the Exclusion list
Allan

Using an external hard drive for some media while leaving the rest on the desktop

How can I access ripped DVDs on an external hard drive through iTunes while leaving our music and downloaded media on the desktop hard drive?
I'm in the process of ripping all of our DVDs so we can watch them using our Apple TV. I can't figure out how to access the DVDs on an external hard drive while leaving all of our downloaded media on the desktop. We have way too much media to store it all on the desktop so that isn't an option.
Thanks for any help,
Natalie

Hi,
How about creating two libraries - one on your main computer and the other on your external hard drive.
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1589
Once you've done this you can use the library on your computer but when you want to access stuff on your ext HD, you hold down option key whilst launching itunes > select library on ext drive.
jim

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.

External hard drive for quick access to photos/music

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