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”).

Similar Messages

  • 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

  • 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't format external drive for Mac

    I got an external Seagate Freeagent 750GB drive to use with my new Mini. It came formatted as a windows FAT volume. Since I don't have a FW400 to FW 800 cable yet, I have it connected via USB. When I try to reformat as a Mac drive (with any of the 4 case-sensitive / journaled options), I get an error, but I can then reformat as FAT. Does anyone know how I can format this drive as mac and what the problem is?

    It may have something to do with the partition scheme. There are at least three different schemes. One is used for windows formats (so you can use FAT32 or NTFS format), one is used for Intel Mac (probably GUID, not sure), and one is used for PowerPC Mac (probably the Apple Partition Map, again not sure). I don't know whether it is smart enough to choose the appropriate scheme for you when you have selected a format for your partition. Try to select the right scheme for Intel Mac first, and then decide on the format on each (if you have more than one partition on that disk) partitions.
    I think you have to make sure the format is compatible with the scheme, especially when you have multiple partitions on one disk. You can't format one partition to FAT32 and another to HFS+, although it will try to do something, but it will end up with error.

  • Formatted External drive for Mac OS extended

    Hi,
    I actually change from windows to Mac (no comparison...!!) but trying to transfer my photos (Pictures in finder) to an external hard disk i can`t drag and drop and i do not know why....i read in one forume that i have to formatted the external drive for Mac OS extended. First question: how could i do that? if my hard disk was originally formatted for windows, do i lose the info when i formatted?
    Thanks!!

    You will lose the files on the HD when you reformat it.  So copy what you want off the drive to a folder on your Mac temporarily. 
    select the HD on the Desktop and launch Disk Utility.
    select the HD in the left hand page of DU.
    click on the Partiton button
    select 1 Partition
    select OS X Extended (journaled) in the drop down Format menu.
    click on the Apply button
    drag the folder of files onto the EHD to copy back and then delete from your Mac's drive after verifying that they all copied back successfully.
    OT

  • 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]

  • Tricky stuff: formating hard drive for Mac and Windows

    Don't know how to format an external USB hard drive for these purposes:
    #1. Store a bootable backup for my MacBook (Intel)
    #2. Must be readable and writeable by both Mac OS 10.4 and WinXP (mainly for file storage)
    Can I do 2 partitions, with Mac OS Extended (journal) + GUID to serve purpose #1, and MS-DOS + Master Boot Record to serve purpose #2? My research suggests no, it seems both volumes must use either GUID or MBR? Thanks

    Hi,
    I have two Western Digital external HDs with nearly exactly these specs.
    Partitioned them with GUID partition scheme and have Partition 1 as bootable OSX clone and partition 2 with FAT32 for file storage/sharing between OSX and Windows.
    So, what you want is what I have/use right now.
    Regards
    Stefan

  • 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.

  • Best way to format my 16GB flash drive for Mac and PC transferring large power point files?

    best way to format my 16GB flash drive for Mac and PC transferring large power point files?

    format flash drive in Exfat for transferring files between Mac and Pc.
    FORMAT TYPES
    FAT32 (File Allocation Table)
    Read/Write FAT32 from both native Windows and native Mac OS X.
    Maximum file size: 4GB.
    Maximum volume size: 2TB
    You can use this format if you share the drive between Mac OS X and Windows computers and have no files larger than 4GB.
    NTFS (Windows NT File System)
    Read/Write NTFS from native Windows.
    Read only NTFS from native Mac OS X
    To Read/Write/Format NTFS from Mac OS X, here are some alternatives:
    For Mac OS X 10.4 or later (32 or 64-bit), install Paragon (approx $20) (Best Choice for Lion)
    Native NTFS support can be enabled in Snow Leopard and Lion, but is not advisable, due to instability.
    AirPort Extreme (802.11n) and Time Capsule do not support NTFS
    Maximum file size: 16 TB
    Maximum volume size: 256TB
    You can use this format if you routinely share a drive with multiple Windows systems.
    HFS+ ((((MAC FORMAT)))) (Hierarchical File System, a.k.a. Mac OS Extended (Journaled) Don't use case-sensitive)
    Read/Write HFS+ from native Mac OS X
    Required for Time Machine or Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper! backups of Mac internal hard drive.
    To Read HFS+ (but not Write) from Windows, Install HFSExplorer
    Maximum file size: 8EiB
    Maximum volume size: 8EiB
    You can use this format if you only use the drive with Mac OS X, or use it for backups of your Mac OS X internal drive, or if you only share it with one Windows PC (with MacDrive installed on the PC)
    EXFAT (FAT64)
    Supported in Mac OS X only in 10.6.5 or later.
    Not all Windows versions support exFAT. 
    exFAT (Extended File Allocation Table)
    AirPort Extreme (802.11n) and Time Capsule do not support exFAT
    Maximum file size: 16 EiB
    Maximum volume size: 64 ZiB
    You can use this format if it is supported by all computers with which you intend to share the drive.  See "disadvantages" for details.

  • Format External Drive for HFS+ volume and FAT32 volume with Disk Utility

    I just bought a Seagate 1tb external drive from OWC and I want to partition it into a HFS+ (journaled I assume) volume and a NTFS volume. Objective: To manually backup critical folders from my wife’s Dell (running XP) to the NTFS volume and critical Mac folders from my PowerBookG4 to the HFS volume.
    My plan was to have my Mac (10.4.11) do the partitioning into a 350gb FAT32 volume for Windows and a 650gb HFS+ volume for Mac – then take the external drive to the Dell and have the Dell reformat the 350gb FAT drive to NTFS.
    First question – Is this possible overall?
    Second question – I haven’t been able to get my Disk Utility on my Mac to do the initial partitioning into one HFS volume and one FAT32 volume the way I want it. Is this step possible?
    I’m happy to be more specific about the steps I’ve taken if the basic plan is good. From what I’ve found in some forums so far, I think I’m on the right track but am unable to execute it. Thank you.

    Thank you Limnos for all your help. Last night I tried again and it worked! I’ not totally sure on what I did right but:
    • Both volumes on the new ext. driver were HFS (from my last attempt the other day) so I looked into a simple erase of one partition/volume into a different format, but DU did not offer a way of erasing it into MS-DOS(FAT32). But I think I did a simple HFS erase anyway of the volume I wanted to format to FAT32. There was nothing “in” that volume because this was a new external drive but I figured it could not hurt anything.
    • So then, I think I went back to Partition, locked the partition/volume that I wanted to keep in HFS+ for my Mac files, and (re)partitioned the other just erased volume to MS-DOS. I think I did it under the MBR option.
    • It worked! Not sure why but my Mac recognized both volumes one as HFS, the other as FAT32. Maybe someone will find this useful some day!!
    • Then, I hooked up the drive to my work Dell, the Dell found only the FAT32 drive (as expected), and I executed a short simple easy command I found on ehow.com (search for ‘convert FAT32 to NTFS’) to make that volume NTFS.
    Thanks again Limnos and everyone else!

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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 partition my drive for  Mac and XP use?  from a novice

    I would like to use my MacBook Pro for both Mac ad PC programs (Office and others) and hear that I can partition the drive.  How is the best way to do that?  Also I have an external Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex external drive to set up that supposedly can back up both Mac and PC without formatting each time.  Do I have to partition the drive first?  Do I use Time Machine?

    Is it your intent to run Windows programs on your computer?  If so then this is more than simply a partitioning exercise.
    In order to use an external drive on both Macs and PCs there are two options.  Option One is to partition and format the drive MBP and FAT32, respectively.  OS X can read/write a FAT32 formatted drive.  However, due to filesystem differences some features of the OS X filesystem are not supported by FAT32, so FAT32 is not the best choice for transferring OS X documents, but would be fine for transferring Windows documents.
    Option Two is to partition the drive using GUID then creating two partitions.  One partition is formatted Mac OS Extended, Journaled and the other partition is formatted FAT32.  Each partition can be used for the data from the appropriate platform.
    TM is not a file transfer program, cannot be used for Windows documents, and does not work on Windows.
    If you wish to run Windows on your Mac then see the following:
    Windows on Intel Macs
    There are presently several alternatives for running Windows on Intel Macs.
    1. Install the Apple Boot Camp software.  Purchase Windows XP w/Service Pak2, Vista, or Windows 7.  Follow instructions in the Boot Camp documentation on installation of Boot Camp, creating Driver CD, and installing Windows.  Boot Camp enables you to boot the computer into OS X or Windows.
    2. Parallels Desktop for Mac and Windows XP, Vista Business, Vista Ultimate, or Windows 7.  Parallels is software virtualization that enables running Windows concurrently with OS X.
    3. VM Fusionand Windows XP, Vista Business, Vista Ultimate, or Windows 7.  VM Fusion is software virtualization that enables running Windows concurrently with OS X.
    4. CrossOver which enables running many Windows applications without having to install Windows.  The Windows applications can run concurrently with OS X.
    5. VirtualBox is a new Open Source freeware virtual machine such as VM Fusion and Parallels that was developed by Solaris.  It is not as fully developed for the Mac as Parallels and VM Fusion.
    Note that Parallels and VM Fusion can also run other operating systems such as Linux, Unix, OS/2, Solaris, etc.  There are performance differences between dual-boot systems and virtualization.  The latter tend to be a little slower (not much) and do not provide the video performance of the dual-boot system.
    See MacTech.com's Virtualization Benchmarking for comparisons of Boot Camp, Parallels, and VM Fusion. Boot Camp is only available with Leopard or Snow Leopard. Except for Crossover and a couple of similar alternatives like DarWine you must have a valid installer disc for Windows. You must also have an internal optical drive for installing Windows. Windows cannot be installed from an external optical drive.

  • Backup on external HD for Mac and PC

    I'm planning to use LaCie's Silverkeeper to do a backup of my Mac onto an external hard drive that is formatted as MS-DOS (to use with both Mac and PC). I also have a PC in my household that I'd like to backup a few things onto this external drive. I've been reading these discussions about people having problems with not being able to copy certain Mac files due to some characters not allowed on Windows (such as "/"), and restoring issues due to the drive not being Mac Extended format. So is there a way I can confidently use this drive to backup data from both the Mac and PC, and be able to restore? If I reformat the drive to Mac Extended, will I be able to copy any files from the PC onto it?

    An MSDOS formatted drive should not be used for OS X backups. If you need to do PC backups then I would suggest a separate external drive. Otherwise, format the drive for use with OS X (Mac OS Extended.) Get MacDrive (Media Four) for the PC which enables Windows to read/write Mac drives.
    Alternatively if you think you are sufficiently skilled you can try the technique outlined here for creating HFS+ and FAT32 partitions on one drive.

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