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2012Tony2012

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Dec 2, 2012
741
3
What's the best way to backup a 6GB file that can be read on both Mac and Windows?
 

hallux

macrumors 68040
Apr 25, 2012
3,437
1,005
Are both computers linked with a network?

If so, you could create a share on the Windows computer and copy to that share from the Mac.
 

roblegs

macrumors newbie
Jan 9, 2013
2
0
make a .dmg file

You can make a .dmg file on disc tools with the size of 6 GB and store your back-up files in it. I have done so with my most important files and saved them on a USB. You could save them on a DVD or whatever.
 

2012Tony2012

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Dec 2, 2012
741
3
You can make a .dmg file on disc tools with the size of 6 GB and store your back-up files in it. I have done so with my most important files and saved them on a USB. You could save them on a DVD or whatever.

I need a backup of the 6GB zip file so that it can be accessed on a windows PC in case my Mac dies.
 

MFL2012

macrumors member
Jul 27, 2012
92
11
Format a USB drive as exFat. Readable and writable by both systems.The largest file I have put on a stick was around 15 GB, so your 6 would be no problem.
 

phoenixsan

macrumors 65816
Oct 19, 2012
1,342
2
Forget me....

if I am wrong, but ALL the FAT versions of file systems can not support a file more than 4 point something GB? I was confronted with a problem like this, a time ago. My solution? Format an USB drive as NTFS (voiding the size limit of FAT) and downloading a utility to read the NTFS....outdated I know....but works for me in the far times of Tiger....(Mac OS X 10.4)...


:):apple:
 

MFL2012

macrumors member
Jul 27, 2012
92
11
Nov 28, 2010
22,670
31
located
if I am wrong, but ALL the FAT versions of file systems can not support a file more than 4 point something GB? I was confronted with a problem like this, a time ago. My solution? Format an USB drive as NTFS (voiding the size limit of FAT) and downloading a utility to read the NTFS....outdated I know....but works for me in the far times of Tiger....(Mac OS X 10.4)...


:):apple:

FAT 16 and FAT 32 have a file size limit of 4 GB minus 1 Byte,
exFAT can have files of up to 16 ExaByte.


____________________________________________________________

Overview of the four major file systems (called "Formats" in Mac OS X) used on Windows and Mac OS X, compiled by GGJstudios. You can use Disk Utility to format any HDD to your liking.

Any external hard drive will work with PCs or Macs, as long as the connectors are there (Firewire, USB, etc.) It doesn't matter how the drive is formatted out of the box, since you can re-format any way you like. Formatting can be done with the Mac OS X Disk Utility, found in the /Applications/Utilities folder. Here are your formatting options:

HFS+ (Hierarchical File System, a.k.a. Mac OS Extended (Journaled) Don't use case-sensitive)

NTFS (Windows NT File System)
  • Read/Write NTFS from native Windows.
  • Read only NTFS from native Mac OS X
    [*]To Read/Write/Format NTFS from Mac OS X, here are some alternatives:
    • For Mac OS X 10.4 or later (32 or 64-bit), install Paragon (approx $20) (Best Choice for Lion)
    • For 32-bit Mac OS X, install NTFS-3G for Mac OS X (free) (does not work in 64-bit mode)
    • For 64-bit Snow Leopard, read this: MacFUSE for 64-bit Snow Leopard
    • Some have reported problems using Tuxera (approx $36).
    • Native NTFS support can be enabled in Snow Leopard and Lion, but is not advisable, due to instability.
  • AirPort Extreme (802.11n) and Time Capsule do not support NTFS
  • Maximum file size: 16 TB
  • Maximum volume size: 256TB
  • You can use this format if you routinely share a drive with multiple Windows systems.

exFAT (FAT64)
  • Supported in Mac OS X only in 10.6.5 or later.
  • Not all Windows versions support exFAT. See disadvantages.
  • exFAT (Extended File Allocation Table)
  • AirPort Extreme (802.11n) and Time Capsule do not support exFAT
  • Maximum file size: 16 EiB
  • Maximum volume size: 64 ZiB
  • You can use this format if it is supported by all computers with which you intend to share the drive. See "disadvantages" for details.

FAT32 (File Allocation Table)
  • Read/Write FAT32 from both native Windows and native Mac OS X.
    [*]Maximum file size: 4GB.
  • Maximum volume size: 2TB
  • You can use this format if you share the drive between Mac OS X and Windows computers and have no files larger than 4GB.
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