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Randor

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 27, 2008
13
0
Vancouver, Canada
I have a bouncing new baby Mac Pro, and would like to copy data (mainly jpegs, Word docs and Spreadsheets) from my Windoze hard drive on my old PC.

Unfortunately, the old PC has some, yet to be determined, problem where it reboots 5-10 minutes after power-up. So, simply networking the two of them together isn't really an option at the moment.

Does anyone have any advice on how I might get this data across?

Thanks!
Randy
 

steveza

macrumors 68000
Feb 20, 2008
1,521
27
UK
You will need a utility to access NTFS from your Mac but they are easy to come by online.
 

TEG

macrumors 604
Jan 21, 2002
6,618
165
Langley, Washington
If it is a SATA drive, just put it in the Mac Pro and call it good. If it is an IDE/PATA drive, you should get a cheap external enclosure or USB to PATA converter (there are several on TigerDirect.ca). Also, since the Drive is NTFS, you will only be able to read/copy from the HD. You will not be able to write to the NTFS drive from OS X. Once coppied, you can the format the drive or do whatever you want with it.

TEG
 

trainguy77

macrumors 68040
Nov 13, 2003
3,567
1
Its not worth buying a converter!!! If its IDE just place it in the cd drive bay. It won't be screwed in but just be careful. I have done this before it works great.
 

jaw3net

macrumors regular
Jun 25, 2007
166
35
Los Angeles, CA
You will need a utility to access NTFS from your Mac but they are easy to come by online.

Can you recommend some utilities and where to find them? I have a Dell Desktop and am getting an iMac tomorrow. I have a lot of files on an external Western Digital HD that I'd like to be able to access and write to when my iMac arrives. Is this possible even if the external HD is formatted as NTFS? I'd really hate to have to buy another 500GB drive just because the iMac won't be able to write to my current external HD. Any help/advice would be appreciated. Thanks!
 

Cave Man

macrumors 604
Can you recommend some utilities and where to find them? I have a Dell Desktop and am getting an iMac tomorrow. I have a lot of files on an external Western Digital HD that I'd like to be able to access and write to when my iMac arrives. Is this possible even if the external HD is formatted as NTFS?

You don't need a utility to READ the drive, only to write to it. If you're just retrieving data from it, Leopard will allow you to move it to your Mac hard drive.
 

iSamurai

macrumors 65816
Nov 9, 2007
1,024
6
ɹǝpun uʍop 'ǝuɐqsı&#
Quick Fix

Boot up your PC with SAFE MODE with Networking (press F8 before boot screen loads).

It shouldn't reboot and then you'll be able to network.


Fix for Quick Fix

if it continues to reboot in safe mode, strip out the hard drive (a normal + head screw driver should do the trick; if it's a laptop a smaller one will also do) and purchase a external case. Be clear what your HD is (ATA or SATA) as connection head is different.

Mac OSX is able to read NTFS and R/W FAT32. If you need write access to NTFS there's free stuff out there; or paragon's NTFS for mac (I use this as it's quite handy. it's basically a "plugin" for Finder).


Side Note

You will have a headache deleting the Windows and Programme Files folder on an external HD. I tried, both in XP and Vista, also with the system user allowances it won't work. So just format after you're done with the HD.
 

jaw3net

macrumors regular
Jun 25, 2007
166
35
Los Angeles, CA
Here's another question. If I copied everything that is on the external HD to my new iMac and then deleted the files on the external HD, could I format it using Disk Utility so that the iMac would be able to read + write to it? If so, which Mac format do I use?
 

Makosuke

macrumors 604
Aug 15, 2001
6,661
1,242
The Cool Part of CA, USA
If I copied everything that is on the external HD to my new iMac and then deleted the files on the external HD, could I format it so that the iMac would be able to read + write to it? If so, which Mac format do I use?
Yes; the format will depend on what you want to do with it.

If you want it to be read/write-able from both a Mac and Windows without any additional drivers, use FAT32 (in Disk Utility on the Mac I believe it says "MS-DOS Filesystem," which will give you FAT). If you're not planning on using it with Windows, I'd recommend HFS+ Journaled; it's a much better filesystem than FAT, and it's the "most native" format for OSX, so you won't have any restrictions at all. There are utilities available for Windows that will let it read HFS+, if you don't mind going that route.
 

jaw3net

macrumors regular
Jun 25, 2007
166
35
Los Angeles, CA
Yes; the format will depend on what you want to do with it.

If you want it to be read/write-able from both a Mac and Windows without any additional drivers, use FAT32 (in Disk Utility on the Mac I believe it says "MS-DOS Filesystem," which will give you FAT). If you're not planning on using it with Windows, I'd recommend HFS+ Journaled; it's a much better filesystem than FAT, and it's the "most native" format for OSX, so you won't have any restrictions at all. There are utilities available for Windows that will let it read HFS+, if you don't mind going that route.

Thanks...I think my Windows days are over. I don't see a HFS+ Journaled in Disk Utility.

The options are:
Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
Mac OS Extended
Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled)
Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive)
MS-DOS (FAT)

Which option should I use to format the external HD so that my iMac can read & write to it?
 

Neil321

macrumors 68040
If want just want your Mac ( OS X ) to be able to r/w ( and not windows ) then Mac OS extended ( jounaled ) or you could choose FAT32 in case you ever decide to use windows but your'll always be stuck not being able to tranfer files no larger than 4GB
 

jaw3net

macrumors regular
Jun 25, 2007
166
35
Los Angeles, CA
If want just want your Mac to be able to r/w ( and not windows ) then mac OS extended ( jounaled ) or you could choose FAT32 in case you ever decide to use windows but your'll always be stuck not being able to tranfer files no larger than 4GB

Thanks folks.
 

Makosuke

macrumors 604
Aug 15, 2001
6,661
1,242
The Cool Part of CA, USA
Yeah, sorry about that; HFS+ = Mac OS Extended; I'm a little too used to using the more technical terms. Incidentally, you never want to use one of the case-sensitive options unless you have a very good reason for it--those are for very special-purpose situations.
 

wh!plash

macrumors member
Mar 5, 2008
40
0
Sarasota, Fl
You don't need a utility to READ the drive, only to write to it. .

+1

Your Mac can read FAT and NTFS volumes no problem.

In the case of a SATA drive, just plug it into one of the available drive sleds. If its an IDE type drive, you don't even need a firewire enclosure. A cheap $24 USB2.0 enclosure will do just fine.
 

trainguy77

macrumors 68040
Nov 13, 2003
3,567
1
In the case of a SATA drive, just plug it into one of the available drive sleds. If its an IDE type drive, you don't even need a firewire enclosure. A cheap $24 USB2.0 enclosure will do just fine.

Or just put it where a CD drive goes.....like i have stated its cheaper.
 
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