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stchman

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 16, 2012
671
2
St. Louis, MO
Hello all.

I would also like to get an external HDD for the MBA. The WD Passport at Amazon looks really good. One cable, USB 3.0, all good specs.

My biggest problem is it appears that Mac OS X only supports the following file systems for an HDD of that size:

FAT32
HFS+

The first is OK, except for the fact FAT32 can't support files over 4GB in size. Second, OS X does not support EXT2/3/4 or NTFS from a read/write standpoint.

I would like this HDD to be able to work with Mac OS, Linux, and Windows for file storage.

Thanks.
 

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,541
942
My biggest problem is it appears that Mac OS X only supports the following file systems for an HDD of that size:

FAT32
HFS+

The first is OK, except for the fact FAT32 can't support files over 4GB in size. Second, OS X does not support EXT2/3/4 or NTFS from a read/write standpoint.

I would like this HDD to be able to work with Mac OS, Linux, and Windows for file storage.
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)

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).
    • 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.
 

Orange Crane

macrumors 6502
Jul 17, 2012
268
0
If the drive is formatted hfs and is connected to the MacBook and shared over your network then windows will read it fine. If its going to be plugged into both computers equally (or if youre dual booting from the mac) formatting for ntfs and using one of the utilities outlined above with the Mac is probably your best bet.
 

stchman

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 16, 2012
671
2
St. Louis, MO
What's wrong with NTFS or exFAT?

I need to be able to reliably read and write in NTFS (looks like OS X does not relaibly do this). Linux has had NTFS support built in for years, you would figure that OS X would have it as well.

It appears that exFAT support in Linux is still in the development stages. The community will get it figured out soon enough.

So by default FAT32 will be the one.
 

\-V-/

Suspended
May 3, 2012
3,153
2,688
I need to be able to reliably read and write in NTFS (looks like OS X does not relaibly do this). Linux has had NTFS support built in for years, you would figure that OS X would have it as well.

It appears that exFAT support in Linux is still in the development stages. The community will get it figured out soon enough.

So by default FAT32 will be the one.

OS X cannot write to NTFS natively, but it can read it just fine. If you get a third-party driver such as this -> http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/33122/tuxera-ntfs ... OS X will be able to read and write NTFS. Been using it for years without issues.
 

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,541
942
I need to be able to reliably read and write in NTFS (looks like OS X does not relaibly do this).
Yes, it does reliably read/write NTFS with Paragon. Only enabling the native NTFS support is unstable.
 

Alameda

macrumors 6502a
Jun 22, 2012
871
349
NTFS will work just fine on a USB drive.
I defer to your greater knowledge(I mean that without sarcasm... I've read a lot of your posts here and you know your stuff).

But he said that he wants to use this USB drive on Mac, Windows, and Linux. If he wants a totally plug and play solution on all platforms, I think that FAT32 is the only way to go. If he's willing to install the Paragon software on his Mac and something else on Linux, then NTFS will work. However, NTFS is a very complicated file system, and I personally wouldn't feel confident swapping it around on a read/write basis amongst three operating systems with various third party file system drivers. If it were me, I would use FAT32, because I think it will be less hassle and potentially more trouble-free across all three OS'.

But if you have better experience with this, I'm open to your opinion.
 

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,541
942
If he wants a totally plug and play solution on all platforms, I think that FAT32 is the only way to go.
The problem with FAT32 is the 4GB per file limitation, as the OP mentioned.
If he's willing to install the Paragon software on his Mac and something else on Linux, then NTFS will work.
As the OP mentioned, Linux has native NTFS support.
 
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