format of external drive

I have purchased WD 1TB external drive with 3.0 usb for my MBA.

it is formatted in NFTS...which i have determined that MBA can read but cannot write.
FAT32 can both read and write but only up to file size 4gb.
xfat32 can accept files greater than 4gb
HFS for OS X systems...can read/write.

in process of cutting cord to Windows and its old 2.0 usb ports but still have much to learn about MBA apps and functions.

1. If I were to format HFS to work on my MBA, would i be able to read files via Windows.
I do have a small 32GB 3.0 thumb drive which I can use and have to decide which format to use for that. Fat32, Xfat32 or HFS.

2. how can I determine which free softwares can be downloaded for MBA use without problems. just because the software says it will run on MAC, I want to make sure it will.

on windows, i would download/install software after I had set a restore date...so that if I did not like it or had a problem i could do a restore to that date and all files would be gone. cannot see that option in Macs.

thanks and hope someone can give me some guidance.

You don't want to use a FAT format on that drive for two reasons: FAT is a non journaling file system and prone to errors; FAT is a space waster - known as cluster slack especially with larger drives.

Probably best to either re-format to the Mac native file system (HFS+) or leave it as NTFS and use a driver to provide read and write access. The only driver we recommend is Paragon NTFS from Paragon software: $19.95.

thank you. i really did not want to buy a driver to be able to write to NFTS format drive as eventually, I will only use my MAC,

however now that I think about it....when using other computers (most of friend have Windows) I just may want that feature.
will look into the Paragon for 19.95...i presume that is US$.
would I be able to install it on my 1TB drive and 32GB drive and any other ones I decide to purchase in future?

i did some research on this Paragon driver.
I misunderstood the concept and thought it was installed on each external product but now see that it is installed on my MBA and will read/write to any NFTS external drive.

is that correct?

if so...then I shall order it for sure.

I have read some buyers were having problems with losing data files and were very dissatisfied with the product. Overall tho..most comments were positive. there is always a bad apple in every barrel.

That is correct. You install Paragon on your MB Air and it will allow you to read any NTFS drives.

Lisa

i understand that NFTS drives can already be read by MBA
will i be able to write to the nfts?

if so, now i know i am good to go.
thanks

can windows systems read/write to HFS drive?

if so.....i culd format my main external drive to HFS, then only Macs could read/write
AND that could be a bit of security as most people have Windows.

any issues with using HFS formatted drives with Macs?

lori5060 said:

i understand that NFTS drives can already be read by MBA
will i be able to write to the nfts?

if so, now i know i am good to go.
thanks

Click to expand...

lori5060 said:

can windows systems read/write to HFS drive?

if so.....i culd format my main external drive to HFS, then only Macs could read/write
AND that could be a bit of security as most people have Windows.

any issues with using HFS formatted drives with Macs?

Click to expand...

Hi Lori.... - you still seem to be having a problem understanding the format you want for your external HD - you might be able to help us if you clearly explain exactly what are your issues?

Quoted below is a brief summary I put together last year from an article on the MacRumors forum - to answer your questions above, the summary below would indicate: 1) Mac OS X can read but NOT write natively to NTFS w/o additional software; and 2) Windows cannot handle the Mac OS file format w/o additional software.

SO, please try to understand these properties and limitations and tell us your priorities - your are probably best off formatting your external HD as HFS+ and then using the Paragon software already strongly suggested to interact w/ a Windows system. Dave
.

Hard Drive File Systems

HFS+ (Hierarchical File System), a.k.a. Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
- File system used by Mac OS and needed for Time Machine
- Windows requires additional software to use the Mac OS

NTFS (Windows NT File System)
- Read/Write NTFS from native Windows
- Read only NTFS from native Mac OS X
- OS X needs additional software for interaction

FAT32 (File Allocation Table)
- Read/Write FAT32 from both native Windows and native Mac OS
- Maximum file size: 4GB
- You can use this format if you share the drive between Mac OS X and Windows computers and have no files larger than 4GB

Click to expand...

thanks ravdave
guess i do sound a bit lost for knowledge on this topic

right now Apple is very new to me and i am taking baby steps as to what i am doing on MBA and which files i will copy to its internal storage and where i will keep the rest of my data from my windows computer.

i would use this drive for transporting my data with me while i travel with my MBA. reading is no problem but if and when i want to add something to this drive...i need to be able to have the functionality.

of course, i realize, that for the time being i could just save files & pics & movies to my MBA internal storage and deal with it when i return home.

my understanding now is that nfts drives can only be read by MBA
BUT will write to nfts if i use third party...paragon driver[ (as suggested)/B]

if this is all i have to do at the moment...i can go with that..
thanks

I agree using Paragon and formatting your drives with NTFS to use with Windows and OS X is a good option.

I will confess that I have formatted some of my external drives using extFAT. It can be read by OS X and Windows but it is not a journaled formatting method but I have had no problems with it. I have used one for capturing video and those files will exceed 12GB is size. Just an option.

Lisa