Hard Drive Format?

P-head · P-head #1 (**permalink**)

04-29-2010, 12:15 AM

Firstly I'd like to apologise if this question has already been answered in another post. But I've searched the website and couldn't find the answer to my question, so your help would be greatly appreciated.

I have a Macbook and a Compaq Laptop and I'm trying to copy my music from one laptop to the other using my Freecom external hard drive. My hard drive has been formatted to Mac OS Extended (Journal), it was previously formatted in MS DOS mode which was recognised on the Compaq but not on the Macbook. Now when I plug it into my Windows laptop it isn't recognised. Bear with me I'm learning here!

So, my question is- What's the best way to format the hard drive so I can use it on both of my laptops?

Thank you in advance for any advice you guys have!

Slydude · Slydude #2 (**permalink**)

04-29-2010, 01:40 AM

Probably the easiest is to format the drive as FAT 32. Both Mac and Windows can read and write to drives with this format. Keep in mind though that each file must be less than 4 GB in order for FAT 32 to manage it.

If you are running OS X 10.6 there is an option to enable write support for NTFS in OS X using a Terminal command . I believe read support for NTFS is already on by default.

The most flexible option might be PARAGON Software Group - NTFS for Mac, communication channel between Mac OS X and Windows which claims to let the Mac read NTFS and Windows read HFS+. I haven't tried these products but they seem to be well reviewed.

As a free option many users seem to be having good luck with Download MacFUSE for Mac - FUSE-compliant file system implementation mechanism. MacUpdate Mac Software Downloads

BruceAZ · BruceAZ #3 (**permalink**)

05-02-2010, 04:08 PM

I agree with Slydude that formatting the drive with FAT 32 would be easiest. I have two qualifications, however, which probably do not apply in your case. First, as Slydude mentioned, FAT 32 has a 4gb limit on individual file sizes. Second, FAT 32 has a 2tb limit on partition size.

Slydude · Slydude #4 (**permalink**)

05-02-2010, 04:55 PM

Thanks for the info about that 2TB limit Bruce. Not being a big fan of Windows FAT 32 I either didn't know this or had forgotten it.

P-head · P-head #5 (**permalink**)

05-10-2010, 10:31 PM

Thanks very much for your help! Works perfectly

P-head #1 (permalink)
Member Since: Apr 28, 2010 Posts: 2	04-29-2010, 12:15 AM Firstly I'd like to apologise if this question has already been answered in another post. But I've searched the website and couldn't find the answer to my question, so your help would be greatly appreciated. I have a Macbook and a Compaq Laptop and I'm trying to copy my music from one laptop to the other using my Freecom external hard drive. My hard drive has been formatted to Mac OS Extended (Journal), it was previously formatted in MS DOS mode which was recognised on the Compaq but not on the Macbook. Now when I plug it into my Windows laptop it isn't recognised. Bear with me I'm learning here! So, my question is- What's the best way to format the hard drive so I can use it on both of my laptops? Thank you in advance for any advice you guys have! Last edited by chscag; 04-29-2010 at 02:53 AM. Reason: Thread was moved from Anything Goes. Added Title.
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Slydude #2 (permalink)
Member Since: Nov 15, 2009 Location: North Louisiana, USA Posts: 4,026 Mac Specs: 2.8 GHz MacBook Pro 10.8,3 8 GB mem, 2.66 GHz Mac Pro - Dead, iPhone 4	04-29-2010, 01:40 AM Probably the easiest is to format the drive as FAT 32. Both Mac and Windows can read and write to drives with this format. Keep in mind though that each file must be less than 4 GB in order for FAT 32 to manage it. If you are running OS X 10.6 there is an option to enable write support for NTFS in OS X using a Terminal command . I believe read support for NTFS is already on by default. The most flexible option might be PARAGON Software Group - NTFS for Mac, communication channel between Mac OS X and Windows which claims to let the Mac read NTFS and Windows read HFS+. I haven't tried these products but they seem to be well reviewed. As a free option many users seem to be having good luck with Download MacFUSE for Mac - FUSE-compliant file system implementation mechanism. MacUpdate Mac Software Downloads Sylvester Roque Former Contributing Editor About This Particular Macintosh No matter what time it is where I am it's early morning somewhere in the world. At that hour of the morning follow my advice at your own risk. Anything sounds good before your first cup of coffee
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Slydude #4 (permalink)
Member Since: Nov 15, 2009 Location: North Louisiana, USA Posts: 4,026 Mac Specs: 2.8 GHz MacBook Pro 10.8,3 8 GB mem, 2.66 GHz Mac Pro - Dead, iPhone 4	05-02-2010, 04:55 PM Thanks for the info about that 2TB limit Bruce. Not being a big fan of Windows FAT 32 I either didn't know this or had forgotten it. Sylvester Roque Former Contributing Editor About This Particular Macintosh No matter what time it is where I am it's early morning somewhere in the world. At that hour of the morning follow my advice at your own risk. Anything sounds good before your first cup of coffee
	QUOTE Thanks

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P-head #5 (permalink)
Member Since: Apr 28, 2010 Posts: 2	05-10-2010, 10:31 PM Thanks very much for your help! Works perfectly
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