How to share files between pc and mac via external hard drive

how can i share my files(mp3,mp4,documents) from my harddisk with mac. i am a new mac user and i have a harddisk of NTFS format(as i was a pc user).I learned that mac supports FAT32 format and therefore i can't write data on my external hard drive.
but, reading a section of OSX yosemite(under compatibility) it is said that now we can easily share files between pc and mac.
So please suggest me easier way that how can i share files between macs and pc as my friends uses pc and in future i really want to share my data with them without any hustle and i dont wanna loose my data in future

You can format the HDD to a common one like ExFAT or Fat32 but a reformat will delete all data off of the HDD.
Your other option is to use a third party software such as Paragon or Tuxera that will allow you to write to a NFTS formatted HDD.
Ciao.

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Downloading files from PC to Mac via external hard drive

I have already downloaded the files from my PC to an external hard drive. I have connected that external hard drive to my iMac and am attempting to bring those files onto my iMac, but don't know how. Can anyone help? I have it connected, but it seems to be showing up at my Time Machine Backup and I can locate any of the files from my PC.

Hi and welcome to Discussions,
here are several ways to migrate your PC files http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2518
but it seems to be showing up at my Time Machine Backup and I can locate any of the files from my PC
I am not sure if I understand that one correctly.
Does your external harddisk comes up as a Time Machine backup in OSX ?
Or is Time Machine asking if you want to use that external harddisk for backup ?
Regards
Stefan

Does anyone know if there is a way to share files between Mavericks and Mac OS 9.1 operating system?

Does anyone know if there is a way to share files between Mavericks and Mac OS 9.1 operating system? When I try to connect from my iMac I get a window that says "The version of the server you are trying to connect to is not supported." Is there a work-around to this problem or is it just not possible? It would be largly appriciated for a solutin beings my business is a small town newspaper, and we have some important files on the older computer that need to be acessed daily.

Actually to share files between OS 8-9 and OS X, all versions, is quite easy from what I read. Look here for some details.
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-20003464-263.html
And here.
https://www.google.com/search?q=file+sharing+Mac+OS+9.x&oq=file+sharing+Mac+OS+9 .x&aqs=chrome..69i57.20706j0j1&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Or since both OS 9 and OS X can do SMB Windows sharing you could use that protocol to share files from one to the other.
Doesn't really matter what OS you are using. Mac OS/OS X shar files with Windows computers of all types and versions of Windows so the same applies for the different versions of Mac OS/OS X.
Each Operating System takes care of reading and writing files to there respective file formats of the hard drives so that does not have to be the same. They both just have to be able to do Ethernet with the same files sharing protocol.

How can i transfer a movie from mac to external hard drive? I have tried dragging but it is like my hard drive has a block on it?

How can i transfer a movie from mac book pro to external hard drive? I have tried dragging but it is like my hard drive has a block on it? Please help

brogand wrote:
Thanks for that, it was really helpful.
Glad to hear that worked for you. While formatting an external drive with a Mac format is best if it will be used only with a Mac, if the files on the drive have to be accessible to a PC also, it's possible to format it in an exFAT format, which both the Mac and a PC can read from and write to. However, if you do that, do the actual formatting while the external is connected to the PC.

From PC to Mac via external hard drive

i really need some advice please...
i have recently moved out of my parents house to live with my partner
i bought a compatible external hard drive for PC and Mac so i could transfer all my music/iphone data etc
the hard drive works fine with the mac so there is no issue there
however, my partner also has an external hard drive. itunes only works when its plugged in and all of his music library comes up etc
i tried to get itunes to do that for my hard drive so that i wont lose any of my iphone data etc...
i am yet to succeed and now whenever i put my partners hard drive it and click itunes, itunes is now blank
is it possible to have to seperate libraries and for itunes to recognise them? i.e when i plug my hard drive in and click itunes all my files and music appear
then if i take mine out and put my partners in, for his music to appear etc
i would really appreicate any suggestions?
thanks

When you connect a different hard disk, launch iTunes while holding the option key down and you'll get a prompt to select a library or create a new one. Select the library on your HD. Alternate iTunes library: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1589
This could become cumbersome, so check some of these alternatives:
How to use multiple iPods, iPads, or iPhones with one computer, http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1495

How to share files between computers and TC

What is the best way to share content/files between computers (iMac and MacBook Pro)?
I thought about using Time Capsule for this...is this NOT wise?
Thanks

What is the best way to share content/files between computers (iMac and MacBook Pro)?
The simplest way to do this would be to enable File Sharing on both Macs.
On each Mac....
Open System Preferences (gear icon on the dock)
Open Sharing
Enter a check mark next to File Sharing
Now when you open the Finder or Macintosh HD, you will see the "other" Mac and you will be able to access files/folders, etc. on the other computer.
I thought about using Time Capsule for this...is this NOT wise?
The Time Capsule was designed to work with the Time Machine application to back up your Mac(s). As such, the TC will make a complete copy of each Mac on the first backup and backup any changes after that to keep a complete timeline of each Macs files. Each computer normally will only be able to access the backups for that given computer.
While it is possible to store normal files or folders on the Time Capsule disk, this is not generally recommended as there will eventually be a struggle between Time Machine and the files on the disk as the drive begins to fill up. The other thing to keep in mind is that access to the drive for "normal" files will be quite slow.

Sharing files between users and macs

My husband and I share an iMac. I have a MBA for traveling and my husband a PC laptop (though he rarely uses for private stuff). We both have iPhones.
We are looking for a way to:
- Share our photos (we don't use iPhoto) and some files. We would like to have this in one shared folder, that we can access from both accounts in the iMac, the MBA and ideally (though not a must) the PC and iPhones. We would both need to have admin rights to edit documents, etc.
- Have access to all the information in my account on the iMac from the MBA. Ideally, same thing for his and the PC.
- Have access to all the data remotely when traveling.
- Have all the data backed up locally (we already have a cloud backup, but we'd like to have a local backup too as it's easier and quicker to access)
We have read a lot about configuration, NAS, time capsule... but we get more and more confused, as we are obviously no tech experts.
Dropbox is not our preferred choice. We already have a cloud backup system. We'd rather have the files stored and accessed locally for everyday use.
Using a NAS to store shared folders and backup the rest sounds good, but they either seem very complicated to set up, or they have mixed reviews in terms of stability, especially to access files remotely.
Timecapsule seems easier and more straightforward, but I'm not sure it would solve the "sharing files between users and macs with admin rights"? It seems to be more focused on backing up the main drive and then providing access to the backed up files. (Though I might be completely mistaken!)
We just can't manage to have one shared folder between both accounts in the iMac. We need to grant admin rights document by document. We don't manage to make it work automatically so we both have one folder to access with full rights for all the contents inside it. And this seems to me like something that should easily be done...?
Any help, advice, proposals... would be greatly appreciated!!!

Move any file you want to the other user to access to the Shared Folder. Anything you put in that folder is available to all users.
The shared folder is here:
Macintosh HD > Users > Shared

How do I download all my photos onto an external hard drive intact without loosing iPhoto's features, important info and details? I need to delete pictures and files to make room in My mac's memory which is currently full.

Hi
How do I download all my photos onto an external hard drive intact without loosing iPhoto's features, important info and details? I need to delete pictures and files to make room in My mac's memory which is currently full.
Maro

So you want to move the iPhoto Library?
Make sure the drive is formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
1. Quit iPhoto
2. Copy the iPhoto Library from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
3. Hold down the option (or alt) key while launching iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library' and navigate to the new location. From that point on this will be the default location of your library.
4. Test the library and when you're sure all is well, trash the one on your internal HD to free up space.
Regards
TD

I had formatted external HDD as Mac OS Extended(journaled) earlier, but now i want to format the same as ExFAT so that i can copy files between PC and MAC. But it is giving 'Can't unmount' error while i try to run Erase

I had formatted external HDD as Mac OS Extended(journaled) earlier, but now i want to format the same as ExFAT so that i can copy files between PC and MAC. But it is giving 'Can't unmount' error while i try to run Erase

Use the PC to reformat the drive.

HT204291 how to transfer files between 5C and ipad

how to transfer files between 5C and ipad data

iCloud: http://www.apple.com/icloud/features/
or using a computer, iTunes: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1296

How to transfer data from macbook pro to an external hard drive, im using (WD 1TB 3.0) ???. I cannot copy anything from my mac to it not a single file.

how to transfer data from macbook pro to an external hard drive, im using (WD 1TB 3.0) ???. I cannot copy anything from my mac to it not a single file.

ok - since you'll be sharing it with a PC - connect it to your windows pc - then format from there - instead of NTFS format - choose exFAT.
or, you can read the link below on how to do it in dos mode.
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-files/how-can-i-forma t-external-drive-in-exfat-not-in/0f6bf19a-19d6-4470-ae05-53ddf26bb476?msgId=1860 eae3-3488-4eea-8326-f87b89d9851b
once you've formatted it - you can now use it in both your macbook and windows computer.

Hi! I have a WD my book external hard drive plugged into my imac and I want to share it over my network with my apple tv. I went into system preferences sharing, checked "file sharing" and added my external hard drive to the shared folder. So now it is

Hi!
I have a WD my book external hard drive plugged into my imac and I want to share it over my network with my apple tv. I went into system preferences > sharing, checked "file sharing" and added my external hard drive to the shared folder. So now it is listed in "shared folders" but under "users" everything is grayed out (it says "read and write" for "everyone" - but "read and write" is grayed out, and it doesn't let me add or subtract users). Now I can access all of the folders I shared from my imac except for the externalhard drive. What's going on?

Hi RRFS!,thanks for help.I forgot to tell that hard drive has 2 partitions 1:format :Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and that works properly,2:format:MS-DOS (FAT32) and when i "get info" for both :first has shering & permitions:You can read and write - with name and privilege, second has shaing & prermissions:You can read and write- without name and privilege

HT201250 I have two external hard drives. One is my Time Machine backup drive. The other I use for external storage of files (documents, photos, movies, etc). Can I set Time Machine to backup BOTH my Mac hard drive and my other external hard drive?

I have two external hard drives. One is my Time Machine backup drive. The other I use for external storage of files (documents, photos, movies, etc). Can I set Time Machine to backup BOTH my Mac hard drive and my other external hard drive?

Yes you can make multiple backups on one hard drive, for example if you’ve 1TB hard drive installed in your PC and you’ve two Mac Machines with 500GB drive each then you just make two backup images with size of 500GB each.
http://www.halfspot.com/use-your-pc-hard-drive-for-time-machine-backup/

I just got a new mac and use my external hard drive to save all my images to but whenever I go to save my photo to my hard drive it says I do not have write access....Whats wrong how do i fix this or do i need a new hard drive??

I just got a new mac and use my external hard drive to save all my images to but whenever I go to save my photo to my hard drive it says I do not have write access....Whats wrong how do i fix this or do i need a new hard drive??@

This is a Mac question not a Photoshop question, and I am a Windows users, but I can Google and this might be what you need to do:
http://www.makeuseof.com/answers/change-read-permision-external-hard-drive-mac/

HELP!: How to read and write to External hard drives? What file system to use?

hey all, this has been really frustrating for me today. i want to be able to write to an external HDD that's formatted in NTFS. today i find out it isn't possible to write to this file system on a Mac and that on FAT32 it is possible. however, FAT32 can't address files larger than 4GB so this hurts me a lot. are there any other file systems that'll allow me to read and write from a Mac? my goal was to use freeNAS to build a NAS with an old tower and connect my external hard drives to it, but if i can't write to them this may not be possible.
thanks guys, i'd appreciate any help!

Read this, you don't need to install any software unless you have no choice.
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3044
https://discussions.apple.com/community/notebooks/macbook_pro?view=documents

How to share files between pc and mac via external hard drive

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