Run format from windows or mac

viper54 · viper54 #1 (**permalink**)

06-27-2011, 12:52 PM

Hi all! A noob here that has been working with pc's since they began and now switching (adding) to a MacBook Pro.

I have a MyBook external drive that I used for pc backups. I want to reformat it to use for my MBP backups. But, I want to move my iTunes too. Do I run the reformat software using the mac version on windows or download the mac version to the mac and run it from there? Then consolidate my iTunes to the newly formatted drive or do it first before reformatting the drive.

I hope I posted this in the right forum. I have searched numerous places but still can't understand the order things should be done in.

Thanks!!

chscag · chscag #2 (**permalink**)

06-27-2011, 01:15 PM

Welcome to the Mac Forums.

Backup the data you wish to keep on the MyBook first before doing anything. If you wish to move your iTunes library you can do that by copying the entire music library to a USB flash drive. Make sure that everything has been copied.

There is no need to download anything as your Mac can format drives directly from Disk Utility which is built in.

When you're sure you have everything you need from the MyBook safely backed up, attach the MyBook to your MBP, open Disk Utility from Applications, Utilities, and erase - format the MyBook. Format it to the Mac OS Journaled file system.

You can move your iTunes music library contents to the Mac from the flash drive and then authorize the Mac from within iTunes.

Slydude · Slydude #3 (**permalink**)

06-27-2011, 01:25 PM

Lets deal with moving the iTunes library first. If you are going to use the MyBook to do that you'll want to move the library before formatting the drive. The article covers several versions of windows. Move an iTunes library from a Windows PC to a Mac.

As far as the formatting goes I think you can format that drive using Apple's Disk Utility on the Mac. I don't think you need/have to use the MyBook software. This mini tutorial on Disk Utility should get you started.

viper54 · viper54 #4 (**permalink**)

06-27-2011, 04:21 PM

Thanks to both of you.

Guess I need to buy a bigger flash drive if I go that route. The one I have is only 256 MB and my iTunes is over 9 GB.

Do I need to download NTFS-3G first to be able to read the MyBook or is that only for older versions? I'll use the Disk Utility to format since I don't use the MyBook software to make backups on the PC anyway (I use Paragon).

chscag · chscag #5 (**permalink**)

06-27-2011, 04:34 PM

Why would you need NTFS-3G if you can read the MyBook from your PC and transfer what you need from it to a flash drive using Windows? Flash drives are usually formatted as FAT-32 from the factory. Mac OS X reads and writes to FAT-32 natively.

Slydude · Slydude #6 (**permalink**)

06-27-2011, 04:57 PM

Have you tried reading the MyBook on your Mac? If you are running 10.5 or higher OS X should be able to read but not write to NTFS formatted drives. You could probably move the files that way.

viper54 · viper54 #7 (**permalink**)

07-07-2011, 11:09 AM

After getting a bigger flash drive, that is what I used. I am proud of myself since on my XP machine, the music and app files were on another partition so I had to move them to the main iTunes folder along with my playlists. I was really careful about reading how to do it and it worked.

When I plugged in my MyBook, the mac asked me if I wanted to format it to use it for time machine. Couldn't have been easier.

chscag #2 (permalink)
Member Since: Jan 23, 2008 Location: Fort Worth, Texas Posts: 32,016 Mac Specs: 21.5" iMac 2.5 GHz i5, iPad 3rd Gen., 3 iPods	06-27-2011, 01:15 PM Welcome to the Mac Forums. Backup the data you wish to keep on the MyBook first before doing anything. If you wish to move your iTunes library you can do that by copying the entire music library to a USB flash drive. Make sure that everything has been copied. There is no need to download anything as your Mac can format drives directly from Disk Utility which is built in. When you're sure you have everything you need from the MyBook safely backed up, attach the MyBook to your MBP, open Disk Utility from Applications, Utilities, and erase - format the MyBook. Format it to the Mac OS Journaled file system. You can move your iTunes music library contents to the Mac from the flash drive and then authorize the Mac from within iTunes. Community Guidelines
	QUOTE Thanks

chscag #5 (permalink)
Member Since: Jan 23, 2008 Location: Fort Worth, Texas Posts: 32,016 Mac Specs: 21.5" iMac 2.5 GHz i5, iPad 3rd Gen., 3 iPods	06-27-2011, 04:34 PM Why would you need NTFS-3G if you can read the MyBook from your PC and transfer what you need from it to a flash drive using Windows? Flash drives are usually formatted as FAT-32 from the factory. Mac OS X reads and writes to FAT-32 natively. Community Guidelines
	QUOTE Thanks

Slydude #6 (permalink)
Member Since: Nov 15, 2009 Location: North Louisiana, USA Posts: 3,897 Mac Specs: 2.8 GHz MacBook Pro 10.8,3 8 GB mem, 2.66 GHz Mac Pro - Dead, iPhone 4	06-27-2011, 04:57 PM Have you tried reading the MyBook on your Mac? If you are running 10.5 or higher OS X should be able to read but not write to NTFS formatted drives. You could probably move the files that way. 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 Last edited by Slydude; 06-27-2011 at 04:58 PM. Reason: Corrected typos
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viper54 #1 (permalink)
Member Since: Jun 27, 2011 Posts: 4 Mac Specs: 13" MacBook Pro	06-27-2011, 12:52 PM Hi all! A noob here that has been working with pc's since they began and now switching (adding) to a MacBook Pro. I have a MyBook external drive that I used for pc backups. I want to reformat it to use for my MBP backups. But, I want to move my iTunes too. Do I run the reformat software using the mac version on windows or download the mac version to the mac and run it from there? Then consolidate my iTunes to the newly formatted drive or do it first before reformatting the drive. I hope I posted this in the right forum. I have searched numerous places but still can't understand the order things should be done in. Thanks!!
	QUOTE Thanks

viper54 #4 (permalink)
Member Since: Jun 27, 2011 Posts: 4 Mac Specs: 13" MacBook Pro	06-27-2011, 04:21 PM Thanks to both of you. Guess I need to buy a bigger flash drive if I go that route. The one I have is only 256 MB and my iTunes is over 9 GB. Do I need to download NTFS-3G first to be able to read the MyBook or is that only for older versions? I'll use the Disk Utility to format since I don't use the MyBook software to make backups on the PC anyway (I use Paragon).
	QUOTE Thanks

viper54 #7 (permalink)
Member Since: Jun 27, 2011 Posts: 4 Mac Specs: 13" MacBook Pro	07-07-2011, 11:09 AM After getting a bigger flash drive, that is what I used. I am proud of myself since on my XP machine, the music and app files were on another partition so I had to move them to the main iTunes folder along with my playlists. I was really careful about reading how to do it and it worked. When I plugged in my MyBook, the mac asked me if I wanted to format it to use it for time machine. Couldn't have been easier.
	QUOTE Thanks

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