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Switcher Hangout (Windows to Mac)
going to be switiching from PC to Mac: external hard drive question
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<blockquote data-quote="MacInWin" data-source="post: 1702347"><p>OK, so here's the background to the problem. Microsoft created a unique file structure called NTFS and uses it as the default on Windows machines. Apple also created a file structure for drives called HFS+ and uses that as the default for OS X. The challenge is that neither can natively WRITE to the other, so while you can mount and read an NTFS drive on a Mac, you cannot natively write to that drive. To do that, you need a third party driver like ParagonNTFS, as Dave indicated. There is also a Paragon version for Windows that lets Windows write to HFS+ drives. I have no idea how well that version works, but Paragon NTFS is very good. You can also share the ability to read/write drives between Windows and Macs by choosing a format both can read and write, like FAT32 or ExFAT. Those formats are not terribly efficient on either system, but do allow you to move the drive back and forth if you need to. </p><p></p><p>As for your plan, you don't need to look for an HFS+ formatted drive, just get a drive with the interface you need (USB, Firewire, whatever) and then format it when your Mac arrives. I would also hold off on doing anything with your data until your Mac arrives, then attach both the new drive and the NTFS drive to the Mac, format the 4TB HFS+ and copy from he 1TB to the 4TB at that time. That way you know that what you have on the 4TB will work.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="MacInWin, post: 1702347"] OK, so here's the background to the problem. Microsoft created a unique file structure called NTFS and uses it as the default on Windows machines. Apple also created a file structure for drives called HFS+ and uses that as the default for OS X. The challenge is that neither can natively WRITE to the other, so while you can mount and read an NTFS drive on a Mac, you cannot natively write to that drive. To do that, you need a third party driver like ParagonNTFS, as Dave indicated. There is also a Paragon version for Windows that lets Windows write to HFS+ drives. I have no idea how well that version works, but Paragon NTFS is very good. You can also share the ability to read/write drives between Windows and Macs by choosing a format both can read and write, like FAT32 or ExFAT. Those formats are not terribly efficient on either system, but do allow you to move the drive back and forth if you need to. As for your plan, you don't need to look for an HFS+ formatted drive, just get a drive with the interface you need (USB, Firewire, whatever) and then format it when your Mac arrives. I would also hold off on doing anything with your data until your Mac arrives, then attach both the new drive and the NTFS drive to the Mac, format the 4TB HFS+ and copy from he 1TB to the 4TB at that time. That way you know that what you have on the 4TB will work. [/QUOTE]
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Switcher Hangout (Windows to Mac)
going to be switiching from PC to Mac: external hard drive question
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