04-10-2008, 10:51 PM

Hello everyone. You've probably seen a million posts by me lately...I get a little obsessive...sorry.

So I have a 250gb external hard drive but it is formated to NTFS...I know my mac can read this but can not write to it...which is a problem. I want to use this with time machine so I need to it be formatted to FAT32...my computer will only do something like 30 gigs or something so how do I get around this??

Do I format it in DOS? Or are there any other easier ways around this problem?

Thank you!

04-10-2008, 11:32 PM

Format it under Mac OS X disk utility to either Fat32 (if you want PC's to read it) or Mac OS Extended Journaled


Step 1:
Open the system drive, usually titled "Macintosh HD." Open Applications, then Utilities and double click the "Disk Utility" program to open it. A window will open giving a list of all the drives currently mounted on the computer.

Step 2:
Select the disk that needs to be formatted on the left. It is not possible to format the startup disk unless the system has booted from the Install Disk. It is important to note that formatting the startup disk will permanently erase the data stored on the disk. If you are planning on erasing the startup disk, back up all important files and applications.

Step 3:
Click on the "Erase" tab to the right of the list of drives. The window will now display the options for erasing the hard drive and formatting it to work on the Macintosh computer.

Step 4:
Select the Volume Format from the pop-up list. In most cases it's best to leave it at "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)" as this is the default. This setting is the best option for running Mac OS X. If there are other requirements for the disk, then select the format that best suits your needs. If you have questions about the formats, refer to the Apple user's manual.

Step 5:
Name the hard drive. Type a name for the disk in the field where it asks for the name. This name will always appear when the disk is mounted on a Macintosh computer.

Step 6:
Click the erase button. A window will open asking to verify the erase procedure. Click the erase button in this window to start the process of erasing the disk. Once the process is complete, the drive will appear with the name it was given on the left side of the window with the list of drives and on the desktop of the Macintosh computer.

04-11-2008, 12:41 AM

First things first... Time Machine is NOT compatible with FAT32!!!!! Or at the least it has severe issues with it, depending on what you read.

Now that that's out of the way... let me point you to my ongoing rant about how lousy FAT32 is (read what happened to this guy), as well as alternatives to get OS X to have write access to NTFS volumes.

04-11-2008, 12:50 AM

Originally Posted by getuptogetdown

Hello everyone. You've probably seen a million posts by me lately...I get a little obsessive...sorry.

So I have a 250gb external hard drive but it is formated to NTFS...I know my mac can read this but can not write to it...which is a problem. I want to use this with time machine so I need to it be formatted to FAT32...my computer will only do something like 30 gigs or something so how do I get around this??

Do I format it in DOS? Or are there any other easier ways around this problem?

Thank you!

You can't backup Time Machine to anything but an HFS+ volume (OS X's native file system). Sorry this slipped my mind in my reply to your prior post... this will have an impact on how you set things up.

The best alternative for sharing any drive/partition between Windows and OS X is to format the partition in NTFS using Windows, then use one of a couple alternatives to enable OS X to have write access to NTFS volumes. Paragon NTFS isn't free, but it has been around for awhile and reportedly is faster than the freebie solution that's available. For the freebie solution, you have to install MacFUSE, then NTFS-3G.

As in my prior reply, avoid FAT32 like the plague. Read the links provided there for details why.

It is possible to get a package to enable Windows to read HFS volumes. I would NOT do this for the simple reason that by allowing Windows to read OS X's files, you are also opening the door to Windows malware to potentially damage OS X's files.

04-11-2008, 01:07 AM

So the hard drive I ordered says its mac os x and windows capable...what format is this going to be in??

This all seems pretty confusing...should I not use a harddrive that has any windows files at all with time machine? Is it even a possibility of doing that??

Basically is my hard drive formatted in NTFS not worth figuring out to get to work on a mac?? Thanks

04-11-2008, 01:12 AM

Am I able to buy that program, paragon NTFS, and just use my hard drive how it is set up?? So I can use it for mac and pc??

04-11-2008, 01:20 AM

yep, but I don' think that allows you to use timemachine with it.

04-11-2008, 01:27 AM

So then what are my options?? I have a 250gb hard drive which I really want to use with time machine but is formated at NTFS. Any workaround or am I pretty much out of luck??

What will my new harddrive coming in the mail (works on both windows and macs) be formatted at??

I'm just not sure what to do in this situation.

04-11-2008, 01:29 AM

if you really want to use that drive with time machine you could make an HFS+ partition on that drive and use that partition with time machine.

04-11-2008, 01:42 AM

Okay so from everything I've read this is what I've got from it:

1.)If I want to use my larger drive for time machine I really just have to format it to HFS+ so macs can use it. At this point...will I be able to write anything from my pc onto it?

2.)If I want my more portible hard drive to be cross platform and writable and readable on both systems I should probably purchase paragon NTFS so both system can access it?

Let me know if this seems like the best solution.

04-11-2008, 01:53 AM

Originally Posted by getuptogetdown

Okay so from everything I've read this is what I've got from it:

1.)If I want to use my larger drive for time machine I really just have to format it to HFS+ so macs can use it. At this point...will I be able to write anything from my pc onto it?

Yes and No. Yes, HFS+ to use TM. No, you can't write anything to it from the PC.... UNLESS you install some software to let Windows read/write HFS+ volumes. I wouldn't want Windows and all the malware it can pick up to write to my Mac partitions personally, but that's your choice.

2.)If I want my more portible hard drive to be cross platform and writable and readable on both systems I should probably purchase paragon NTFS so both system can access it?

That, or use the free alternatives I mentioned before. I use NTFS-3G myself and haven't had any issues.

04-11-2008, 04:40 AM

I don't know whether this will help but I'll say it anyway.

I have two external Maxtor 300 Gb drives which were FAT32 and I thought either would be ideal for TM. I allow Disk Utility to 'caress' them and both failed at some point during TM back (this is a long story shortened).

In Parallels, I downloaded and installed MaxBlast software (Maxtor proprietary hard drive preparation software).

In Parallels, I let MaxBlast format the hard drive in NTFS (YES NTFS). I then dropped out of Parallels and presented the drive back to TM as an option. TM then reported it needed to be formatted, arranged for it to happen and the whole thing has been working nicely ever since.

I hope this encouraging tale puts your mind at rest. Must go as I have flight to catch.

04-11-2008, 05:53 AM

Ok, this turns out to be a interesting topic, as I am also looking to a similar setup. My son has a 500gb ibook and I'm looking to use part of it for TM. Can I create a partition with the correct format and use it for TM and leave the other partition as NTFS so he can access it with his PC?

Thanks

04-11-2008, 05:57 PM

As I recall from the first I used Time Machine, TM "prepares" (formats) the drive/partition to become a storage area for your backups. It doesn't ask what format you want it in, it just formats the drive/partition before making the first backup.

I may be wrong, but I don't think formating the drive prior to using it for the first backup is necessary. If TM doesn't like what you've done, it's going to reformat it the way it wants to.

That being said, I have a Time Capsule automatically formatted by TM, and both my Windows machines have no trouble reading and writing to it.

I think this may all be a non-issue. I would just try it out and see what happens. Let TM do what it wants and make your first backup. Then try to write to the drive with Windows. If you don't like the results, then start to consider your formatting options.

04-11-2008, 07:50 PM

I have my 160GB external drive formatted with two partitions

1 formatted as HFS+ so time machine can back up to it
and
1 formatted as FAT32 so I can store files to it and access them from both windows and mac