Having trouble transferring files from my Macbook to Seagate FreeAgent External HD

i'm wondering if anybody here has ever successfully installed and used the FreeAgent GoFlex External HD (500 GB) made by Seagate? i'm having lots of problems transferring files from my Macbook to the Drive. I posted the below message on the Seagate Support forum, but thought i would try to see if any of you had any ideas as well.

Thanks!

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I recently got a FreeAgent GoFlex External HD (500GB), and I plan on using it on my Macbook and possibly on a PC. I downloaded the Seagate Diagnostics software, as well as ran the MacInstaller on my computer (which asked me if i wanted to install it for use on a 'Mac-only' or 'Windows & Mac'. i checked the latter).


Even after installing NTFS, i still am unable to drag and drop basic music files from my Macbook onto my FreeAgent drive. I always get the same error message, "The item could not be moved because 'FreeAgent GoFlex Drive' cannot be modified". The FAQ's on this website are either too complicated for my simple brain (i'm not very technically-savy), as they have not been able to explain to me why after installing and activating NTFS, I still cannot transfer files to my drive from my Macbook.

If anybody can please help me, I would greatly appreciate it. If this helps, my Product Number is 9ZF2A7-500, and Serial Number is NA013JML.


Thanks.

If you would have provided us with the specs on which Mac you have and what version of OS X you're using, we could answer your question better.

First, your Mac can not write to a drive formatted to NTFS without some sort of third party driver, or, in the event you're using Snow Leopard, by turning on its NTFS write support which is turned off by default.

Second, when you chose install for Mac and PC, something must have went wrong because the drive should have been formatted as FAT-32 not NTFS which is proprietary for Windows only.

In simple terms, the drive must be erased and formatted to FAT-32 in order for it to be read and write for both Mac OS X and Windows.

Let us know what you want to do.

I don't know what FAT-32 is. what i read on the Seagate Support website was that i needed to activate NTFS to get it to work on my mac, but maybe that was incorrect. i may eventually want to transfer files from my mac onto a PC at some point, so having it compatible with Windows is important for me.

Specs:
Model Name: MacBook, OS X 10.5.8
Model Identifier: MacBook4,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.4 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 3 MB
Memory: 2 GB
Bus Speed: 800 MHz
Boot ROM Version: MB41.00C1.B00
SMC Version (system): 1.31f0
Serial Number (system): W883290X0P2
Hardware UUID: 76EE4971-D79D-5FA7-B2FC-B806785FD577
Sudden Motion Sensor:
State: Enabled

I have always found writing to NTFS drives iffy at best from OS X I know there are some free addins that will do it .. and Pay programs as well. or you can format the Drive fat 32 as suggested but that will limit the size of files you can store on the drive.

You could format the Drive Mac format but then you would need a program for the PC that will read the Mac format.... Its a never ending circle that I really have no good answers for you

MacFuse ... or MacDrive

Hi,
I'm new to the forum and Macs so please be gentle.
I am considering converting from a Windows PC and buying the new iMac 27".
I have a Freeagent external 500gb drive that I use to backup my PC.
The drive is formatted NTFS.
This drive currently contains 23,000 mp3 files and 1000's of jpg files.
I understand that the drive, to be able to be read by the Mac needs to be in the FAT-32 format. (Or so I believe)
My question/s is:

1) If I mount the Seagate onto the MAC with NTFS, the MAC cannot read the contents therefore I cannot transfer the files to the MAC?
2) If 1) is true, then is the software Seagate DiscWizard the s/w to use to make the drive readable by MAC?
3) If 2) is not true, what do I need to do to simply make the Freeagent drive visable and readable to MAC?
Once the files have been transferred to the MAC, I don't mind completely reformatting the drive to allow MAC syncronisation.
Many Thanks,
Robert K

1) False - OS X can read and transfer files from NTFS partitions. It cannot write to them without doing as chscag suggested above.

Many Thaks for the quick response.
I have also just found another important post about Switch 101 Migrate to Mac which is very helpful.
regards,
RK