M3 Samsung hard drive for Mac ?

[chris1234567]

I bought an M3 Samsung 1T (USB 3.0) portable hard drive but cannot seem to use it on my Mac even though it should be compatible. The Samsung Drive Manager is a .exe file and I cannot seem to get any further. This MacBookPro is my first time using Apple products. Can anyone help?

[GGJstudios]

Originally Posted by chris1234567

I bought an M3 Samsung 1T (USB 3.0) portable hard drive but cannot seem to use it on my Mac even though it should be compatible. The Samsung Drive Manager is a .exe file and I cannot seem to get any further. This MacBookPro is my first time using Apple products. Can anyone help?

You don't need the Samsung Drive Manager.

Format A Hard Drive Using Disk Utility (which is in your /Applications/Utilities folder)

Choose the appropriate format:

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

• Read/Write HFS+ from native Mac OS X
• Required for Time Machine or Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper! backups of Mac OS X system files.
  
• To Read/Write HFS+ from Windows, Install MacDrive
  
• To Read HFS+ (but not Write) from Windows, Install HFSExplorer
• Maximum file size: 8EiB
• Maximum volume size: 8EiB
• Mac OS X: Mac OS Extended format (HFS Plus) volume and file limits
• You can use this format if you only use the drive with Mac OS X, or use it for backups of your Mac OS X internal drive, or if you only share it with one Windows PC (with MacDrive installed on the PC)

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 ($19.95) (Best Choice for Lion and Mountain Lion)
  • For Mac OS X 10.5 and later, including Lion, FUSE for OS X
  • 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), which is an enhanced version of NTFS-3G with faster performance.
  • Native NTFS support can be enabled in Snow Leopard and later versions, 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.

[chris1234567]

thanks GGJstudios - Very quick response but your response is still too technical for a beginner like me. I found the utilities section to make the changes. I don't use Windows at all, but am still a little unsure which format to choose.
My Mac is one year old and updated to Mac OS X Lion 10.7.5 (11G63).

[GGJstudios]

Originally Posted by chris1234567

thanks GGJstudios - Very quick response but your response is still too technical for a beginner like me. I found the utilities section to make the changes. I don't use Windows at all, but am still a little unsure which format to choose.
My Mac is one year old and updated to Mac OS X Lion 10.7.5 (11G63).

If you're only using the drive with Mac OS X, format it as HFS+.

[markbabbit]

Is there anyway of using it on both windows and macs?

[GGJstudios]

Originally Posted by markbabbit

Is there anyway of using it on both windows and macs?

Yes, a few ways. Read post #2.

[Weaselboy]

Originally Posted by markbabbit

Is there anyway of using it on both windows and macs?

I you only want to use the drive in OS X you can just format to Mac OS Extended using Disk Utility. Or for both OS X and Windows, you can format to ExFAT also using Disk Utility. With ExFAT you can read/write from both PC and Mac.