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abbottpc.com
Dec 10, 2007, 06:02 PM
What is the best file system for an external drive, so I can use it in both OS X and Windows.


htdefiant
Dec 10, 2007, 07:14 PM
In theory, FAT32 is your best shot. It can be written to by both operating systems, problem is you're limited to 32 gigs. Since most external hard drives are larger, NTFS is the way to go. You won't get the performance of FAT32, but you will get the space.
Neil321
Dec 11, 2007, 10:12 AM
In theory, FAT32 is your best shot. It can be written to by both operating systems, problem is you're limited to 32 gigs. Since most external hard drives are larger, NTFS is the way to go. You won't get the performance of FAT32, but you will get the space.

can you tell me were you got this 32gb thing from as i have two external drives one NTFS and one FAT32, the FAT32 one is 400gb split in two and i use the full 200gb for windows stuff.If i did'nt need
it too write from OS X id use NTFS all the time as FAT32 is old and cruddy
newappleboy
Dec 11, 2007, 10:17 AM
can you tell me were you got this 32gb thing from

I know I've had problems with this in the past, especially when formatting in Windows. If you do the format tool through disk management or is My Computer it won't format bigger than 32 gig, but if you do it through the command prompt it'll format to any size.
VespR
Dec 11, 2007, 10:35 AM
you also can't dump files bigger than 4gb onto a fat32 hard drive.
dtdrpepper
Dec 11, 2007, 12:30 PM
What is the best file system for an external drive, so I can use it in both OS X and Windows.

If your own Windows compatibility is all that matters, a good choice is to format HFS+ and get MacDrive for your Windows machine (www.mediafour.com (http://www.mediafour.com))
htdefiant
Dec 11, 2007, 03:35 PM
can you tell me were you got this 32gb thing from as i have two external drives one NTFS and one FAT32, the FAT32 one is 400gb split in two and i use the full 200gb for windows stuff.If i did'nt need
it too write from OS X id use NTFS all the time as FAT32 is old and cruddy

That 32 GB is a Windows OS limitation, I believe. MacDrive is a fantastic product, by the way.
Neil321
Dec 11, 2007, 05:13 PM
That 32 GB is a Windows OS limitation, I believe. MacDrive is a fantastic product, by the way.

OK but your talking about the size limit that the xp partition can be if FAT32 and not a external drive as this can be any size and its up to you if you want to be able to write to it or not
abbottpc.com
Dec 11, 2007, 08:15 PM
Thanks for the help guys. I ended up installing mac drive and its working great. I needed something that I could read and write with, and this was the best option since the bootcamp partition is the only windows machine left.