Help formatting ext HD for PS3?

[Big Stevie]

I can't get my ext HD to be recognised on my PS3 Slim.

Ive just bought a WD My Passport 1TB HD that I want to be able to use between my MacBook & PS3 for videos and photos. I understand I need to reformat it to FAT32, so my PS3 can recognise it.

In Disc Utility I get the options of reformatting to exFAT or MS-DOS. Ive tried both but I can't get my HD to be recognised on my PS3.



Ive tried creating partitions, but it still doesnt work.

Any suggestions please?

[mankar4]

You have to format the partition itself, not just the whole HD, as I understand from this thread:
http://forums.macrumors.com/archive/.../t-620980.html

[Big Stevie]

Thanks mankar4, I think Ive already tried that, but I'll give it another go to be sure

[GGJstudios]

Originally Posted by Big Stevie

In Disc Utility I get the options of reformatting to exFAT or MS-DOS. Ive tried both but I can't get my HD to be recognised on my PS3.

Ive tried creating partitions, but it still doesnt work.

Any suggestions please?

MS-DOS (FAT) is FAT32.

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)
  • 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.

[Stooby Mcdoobie]

Originally Posted by Big Stevie

Thanks mankar4, I think Ive already tried that, but I'll give it another go to be sureImage

The external has to follow a certain file/folder structure for the PS3 to display the files (or press triangle -> display all, but this is better imo). You have to keep movies in a folder called VIDEO, pictures in a folder called PICTURE, and music in a folder called MUSIC. For example:

MUSIC

song1.mp3

song2.mp3

VIDEO

movie1.mp4

movie2.avi

PICTURE

pic1.jpg

pic2.png

Also, check out PS3 Media Server. It's a wonderful app that allows you to stream/copy stuff to your PS3 wirelessly.

[Big Stevie]

Thanks, Ive got the PS3 Media Server working that streams content to my PS3, but I really want to copy files over to the ext HD for back up as well as copying over to the PS3, I shall give things another go tomorrow morning