Dumb iTunes music question.

[zipur]

So I was thinking I want to backup my music to a 150 Gig USB drive which I also use for my windows machine. I plug the the USB Drive into my MBpro. The MBpro sees the jump drive in Finder. I open USB Drive and I can see folders, I can copy from the USB Drive to my MBpro.

Then I navigate to my Itunes music folder.
I select copy but when I move to the USB Drive it will not allow me to Paste my music folder to the USB Drive.

What am I doing wrong, why can't I backup my music?

[simsaladimbamba]

Have you checked Finder > select USB flash memory thumb drive >> GET INFO >>> Format and Sharing & Permissions yet?

[GGJstudios]

Originally Posted by zipur

So I was thinking I want to backup my music to a 150 Gig USB drive which I also use for my windows machine. I plug the the USB Drive into my MBpro. The MBpro sees the jump drive in Finder. I open USB Drive and I can see folders, I can copy from the USB Drive to my MBpro.

Then I navigate to my Itunes music folder.
I select copy but when I move to the USB Drive it will not allow me to Paste my music folder to the USB Drive.

What am I doing wrong, why can't I backup my music?

Your USB drive is probably formatted as NTFS. OS X can only read NTFS drives natively, but writing is possible via several methods.

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)
  • 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.

[zipur]

Originally Posted by GGJstudios

Your USB drive is probably formatted as NTFS. OS X can only read NTFS drives natively, but writing is possible via several methods.

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)
  • 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.

I forgot to thank you for such a complete answer.