What format for my external drive allows use with Mac and Windows?

I got an external hard disk (1 tr) and i want to used it for my windows and mac, i read i can have two partitions one for mac and one for windows, but i dont really want to have two parts, and I read i can format it by fat32 and i can write and read on both os, is that true?
I want to use it for movies, os backups, and files..
Is it true that i can only save files up to 4 GB when the format is fat32?
please advise..

It this case you would need to to go to "Disk Utility" on mac and select 3 partions which will be under the Parition Layout in my screen shot below. "Current" is grayed out that will drop down select 3 partitions and make one NTFS, second Mac OS Extended, third FAT32. Using the FAT32 for both Mac and Windows but the files have to be under 4GB each.

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Best external hard drive format for use with mac and windows?

This is more of an apple operating system combined with windows operating system question, but being that my OS will upgrade an fluctuate there is not option to choose in the operating system section.
Anyways to the question(s)
This whole prbolem came about when my computer started having issues, I want to back it up and whether I can continue to use my laptop or not I will still be owning an apple in the future. I went to buy a hard for back up and got told that it is not as easy as one would think to transfer files from mac OS to windows OS and vice versa. I have a mac, my boyfriend has a windows computer; we share files. Mostly I just copy his files, but once in a while I give him files too. I have read up and talked to people and only found one solution so far to format the external drive to fat 32 or exfat. I think only mac has the exfat option, but works well between both OSs, correct me if I am wrong.
What is the difference between fat 32 and exfat?
A user posted some good info about formatting. More specifically .Drives, partitions, formatting w/Mac's + PC's
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3044
If I do not want to use fat32 or exfat is there a format type that works great for mac saving that I can still at least save files to that were originally on a windows computer? Such as I copy his files from his external drive to my computer and then save them to my external drive.
Is there a better format for file sharing between mac and windows that does not set a 4GB limit?
And a silly question, Can you dual format a hard drive?
Note: This format is for an external hard drive.

I still do not know which format would be the best. That is so that I can use it easily between mac OSX and windows. Is FAT32 the only true option? How limited is it? I heard it is limited to 4GB file size for windows and 32 GB for Mac. Are there other sources I have not found with more concrete information on the limitations of this format?
I really do still need this information and I need to back up my drive before I can take the computer in for service.

I recently purchase macbook air with OS 10.10.2. I want to use my Seagate external backup plus hard drive for time machine back up. How to partition my 1TB Seagate back up plus hard drive for use with mac and windows pc?

Hi All,
I recently purchased 13" Macbook Air with OS 10.10.2. I want to use my 1TB Seagate backup plus external hard drive as time machine and my windows 7 pc. Please suggest a method. Thanks in advance for your reply.

I strongly recommend having an external drive dedicated solely for TimeMachine. You could partition the drive but if something goes wrong you risk losing the data on both partitions. Should you decide to go ahead with splitting the drive for two different uses you’ll need to partition the drive either using the Mac’s built in Disk Utility program or Windows utility. I believe the built in Windows disk utility program will destroy the current partition and erase the data that’s on it - I use a third party Windows disk utility program for partitioning and it allows for non-destructive partitioning but warns to back up data first just in case. Apple’s Disk Utility can do non-destructive partitions but I don’t recall every trying to do a non-destructive partition on a disk originally formatted for Windows using it. Again - back up that data just in case.
Finally, your TimeMachine drive should be at least 1.5 times (I prefer 2 times) the size of the data you expect to be backing up a year or two from now. In other words, if you currently are using 50GB of your computer’s drive but expect to begin purchasing Mac software to replace software on your Windows computer and if you expect to be putting photos, music, and other data on it you might expect that two years from now you’ll have 100GB of stuff on the drive. So a 200GB partition is the smallest size you’d want. TM’s backup scheme keeps multiple copies of data as it changes so the extra room is important for this scheme.

External Hard drive help: use with mac and pc? how to backup everything etc

Hello! I need some help regarding a new external hard drive I got from OWC. It is a 500 gb firewire 400 + usb 2.0 7200 rpm hard drive. I am running it from firewire. The software suggests the first thing you do is make a clone of your macbooks internal hard drive, that way if it fails later you can use the external to back everything up. If I do this ...
1. do I have to make the drive "Bootable" ? I have software called Data Backup 3 by Pro soft I think. It came with my external.
2. Can I still back up other stuff like my audio recordings and record onto that drive to a seperate folder?
3. If I make a bootable copy will it try and boot from the drive everytime I turn it on or something?
My other question is... how can I use this drive with a pc? I have a pc as well and I heard that the only way it will work is to format it in ms-dos mode (fat32?)
If I write it to fat32 will it slow down my drive or make it worse? I heard that you should format external drives specifically for mac if you have a mac; so it will only work with macs...
(sorry this is going on and on; it's like a chain reaction of questions)
so If its formatted to mac drive format then can I do this with my current situation:
1. I have wireless internet, the router is on a pc downstairs
2. Can I send files over a network somehow from the pc to my mac
3. then store it on my external?
If so can someone point me in that direction with a link?
Thank you for reading, sorry for making this so long.

1. No, you don't have to make a bootable clone.
2. If you use the drive for a bootable backup, then you cannot use the drive for other types of storage unless you partition the drive and make more than one volume.
3. No, it will not try to boot the computer. You must designate the startup volume using Startup Disk preferences.
If you wish to use the drive on both a Mac and a PC, then either you make two partitions - one for Mac and the other for the PC or you must format the entire drive using FAT32 so the drive can be used for read//write by both operating systems. If you do this then you cannot use the drive for a bootable backup nor can you use it with Time Machine.
FAT32 is slower for read/write on the Mac than using Mac formatting.
Optimally, I would suggest you partition the drive into two volumes. One volume formatted for the Mac and the other formatted FAT32.
You can send files from a PC to a Mac and vice-versa using File Sharing. Select Mac Help from the Finder's Help menu and search for "file sharing" or "sharing" to find help articles. Also see,
Mac OS X 10.5 Help- Setting up a Mac computer to share files with Windows users
Mac OS X 10.5 Help- Setting up a Windows computer to share files with Mac users
Mac OS X 10.5 Help- Sharing with Windows computers

HT2477 what is the best external drive to use with time machine?

I already have an external hard drive that I use to backup anything I want to then delete from my macbook air. I also use Carbonite to back up everything on my mac. I am looking to switch to Carbonite to Time Machine because it's free. Can you recommend a drive? How do most people use TM? Do you manually back up once a day or do you set it to constantly back up your files?
Thanks,
Jan

I back up every day, I also have 2 back up drives, which you should also have, if your data is imporant to you.
A Time Machine back up, and a clone (which is bootable)
I use a OWC Elite,and a IOmega.
Use Time Machine on OWC:
ttp://eshop.macsales.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=adwords& gclid=COCM8O3uuLsCFSUOOgodVBEAOwuuLsCFSUOOgodVBEAOw
IOMEGA:
http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=iomega+portable+hard+drives&tag=googhy dr-20&index=electronics&hvadid=3927029335&hvpos=1t2&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2132 262008473015365&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_2k8gsvyzks_b
These are but a few that are available for affordable prices, I have had very good performance from both, there is going to be many other opinions, and all are valid, I just sat stay away from WD as they have been problematic.
Do a web search you will find tons of drives, at different prices, and capacities, choose one or better still two and back uo to 3 different systems.
I use Time Machine and Carbon Copy Cloner:
http://www.bombich.com/
Also check into SuperDuper:
http://download.cnet.com/SuperDuper/3000-2242_4-46651.html
Hope this helps

Formatting Hard Drive to use with TM and Windows

I hope this is not a strange question. I have new iMac with 500GB, and a Windows XP system that I'd like to use with my new eGO 1TB USB drive.
Will this work:
- Partition 750GB for Time Machine
- Partition 250GB to allow my Mac to store files permanantely, as well as being accessible by Windows XP.
I assume that there is a drive formatting process that allows this? In other words can one Partition be 'Mac Only' and the other 'Mac and PC'?
I am hoping that I can unplug the USB from the Mac, and take the eGo to the XP system, and have the 250GB Partition be accessible.
Am I on the right path here?

select the whole drive (model, not name) in disk utility and click on the partition tab. set the number of partitions to two and click on options. in the resulting popup set the partition scheme to GUID. then click on each partition and change the formats to Mac os extended journaled for the first 1 and to MS DOS (FAT) for the second one. finally, hit "apply".

Can I Use a network drive to work with Mac and Windows?

Is it possible to introduce a network drive which can be accessed by both Mac and PC? I manipulate images in Photoshop on my Mac but the software I use to create slide shows is only available in PC format. This software is used more or less universally in the area of photography I am invo;ved with so changing is not an option. Can anyone advise me please.
TC

Yes sure. Any NAS type drive formatted in any way will work. Both Mac OS X and Windows communicate by Ethernet Packets to a Networked drive and it is up to the NAS device OS to translate those Ethernet Packets to the format used on the drive.
Even if you are using a standard external drive connected to a Router or another computer, which is what a NAS is (A self contained computer with Operating System and hard drives), that router or NAS box does all the translating.

What is the best external drive to use with logic studio?

I want to get Logic studio, but don't have enough hard drive space on my 2009 IMac, running Snow Leopard. What is the best, most efficient, external hard drive for this purpose?

What you want to look for is not so much a fast drive, although that is desirable, but a seperate buss to run it from. What i/o do you have on your iMac?
Shattuck

What's the best external drive to use with Final Cut Pro?

I'm looking for a drive to mainly back up my final cut pro work, possibly do a little editing on, what's best? I have a G5 desktop.

Congratulations on your graduation.
On the hope that during your college career you learned how to do original research, you could show some clear initiative and read through those threads my link will reveal. From the drives discussed you might find common elements (praise or conndemnation) that show up after reading dozens of threads. Of the ones that get consistently good reviews by serious users, you can then go the website of the manufacturer and figure out if they fit your budget.
All this can be done in the time of you waiting around for a few people to chip into this thread.
Good luck.
x

Is Time Machine something that I can back up to in a separate particle of my new MacBook Pro or do I need an external drive to use with it?

.....ie we have Seagate external drives but both have Windows files on them, although plenty of room. Am I able to keep the Windows files on them and back up to them with Time Machine on new MacBook Pro? Don't understand....and not very clear. Thanks
Belinda

Belinda,
In order to use Time Machine the external volume must be formatted in Disk Utility as "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)". You can't use a drive that is formatted to be used for both a Mac and a Windows unit (exFAT, etc.). You should purchase a new external drive to use with Time Machine and never let your work go for over a week with hooking up to the TM drive and allow Time Machine to do it's thing.
Clinton
MacBook Pro (15” Late 2011), OS X Yosemite 10.10, 16GB Crucial RAM, 960GB M500 Crucial SSD, 27” Apple Thunderbolt Display

What is the best external battery to use with a macbook pro retina?

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You should check your date of purchase against the manufacturer's warranty
or guaranty since some of those better brands have some recourse should
they fail within a specified time period. A good reason to save dated receipts.
Since solid-state USB drives probably don't (all) use a wear-leveling software
to equally utilize their recordable space evenly, it is possible that some of these
may exhibit a failure in some sector areas due to excessive over-writing. If the
ones you use do not have such a technology or an undercounted total capacity
with a means to automatically write in other sections, you may have to consider
manually using a disk utility to zero-overwrite and reformat them occasionally.
Even so, that may only help a marginal flash or thumb drive work a little longer.
Should a camera memory card fail you still may be able to attempt with margin of
success, to +recover image files+ from it. re: http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec
The standard default format they ship with works well for most file types; so if
you aren't moving OS X or Mac app specific files around on a USB flash drive,
the original format should be fine. Oh, you can use Disk Utility to attempt to do
a repair; but in some cases you may have to reformat them, etc.
{Some of the flash drive warranties or guarantees may vary from between regions;
so if you have one with a '5 Year' guarantee in the US, other rules may apply in EU,
or when you seek to replace an item under warranty outside of where it was bought.}
Good luck & happy computing!

What is the best backup drive to use to backup a windows xp pc and to transfer that data to a new iMac i5 May 2011 and then to backup my iMac on it?

What is the best backup drive to use to backup my windows xp pc and to transfer these files to my iMac i5 new in May 2011 and then to backup my i5 iMac?

Get something with both USB and Firewire connections, as big as you can afford. Format it Fat 32, plug it into the XP machine with USB, drag and drop the files you want to keep, plug it into the iMac with Firewire, drag and drop again. If you want to use it just to back up your Mac in future, reformat it Mac OS Extended and enable Time Machine. If you're likely to want to share the drive with Windows PCs in future, leave it Fat 32.

External Hard Drive Compatible with Mac and Windows?

So my old laptop is a Dell Latitude and I bought a Western Digital external hard drive and put all my files/pics/music on it. The information the WD came with said its compatible with Mac and Windows, but when I plug it into my brand spankin new Macbook, it doesn't register with the computer and won't show up. What's going on?
Message was edited by: philliesphan

I recently ran into that problem. In order to have the hard drive compatible for both PC and Mac it must be in a FAT32 format. In order to do this though all your files will be deleted (in order to reformat). You can do this by plugging in the hard drive into you mac and going under disk utility and there you will find your hard drive and under erase change the format to FAT32 and then you press erase (all will be deleted off the external drive though)

Can same flash drive be used on mac and pc?

can same flash drive be used on mac and pc?

ok because i fried a Hp drive yesterday but it never asked me to format

What format for my external harddrive?

Hello,
I have a 1,5 TB Seagate external harddrive.
What format and partitiontype shall it be to be used on both Mac and Windows?
Because right now it only works on my mac and the rest of my family uses Windows so i would like to share my ext. hdd with them aswell..
Right now it's Mac os Extended Journaled and Apple-partitiontype..
Help Please :-)

Not quite sure I understand but here is what Disk Utility Help says about partitioning a disk:
Partition a Disk
1. If you’re partitioning an external disk, make sure it’s connected to your computer.
2. Open Disk Utility.
3. Select the disk that you want to partition and click Partition.
4. Choose the number of partitions from the Volume Scheme pop-up menu.
If you can’t choose the number of partitions, follow the steps for partitioning a startup disk.
5. Click each partition and type a name for it, choose a format, and type a size.
You can also drag the divider between the partitions to change their sizes. If a partition’s name has an asterisk beside it, it’s shown larger than its actual size in order to display its name clearly.
6. Click Options and choose one of the following:
If you’ll be using the disk on a Windows computer, choose the Master Boot Record partition scheme (also known as “fdisk”).
If you’ll be using the disk only with Mac computers, choose GUID Partition Table.
7. Click Apply.

What format for my external drive allows use with Mac and Windows?

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