External hard drive help?

[iMacBoy]

I want an external drive for my iMac and it will be just used for that, but when i get it i want to put all my films off my PS3 onto it so i have them on the drive and can view them on the iMac thats the only time it will be meeting the PS3.

Will this be fine?

 

[Hellhammer]

How have you gotten the movies to your PS3? If they have been downloaded through PS3, then they might be copy-protected. Also, how big they are? PS3 only support FAT32 externals so files bigger than 4GB won't work.

Other than that, just format the drive as FAT32 and it should work.

 

[GGJstudios]

I want an external drive for my iMac and it will be just used for that, but when i get it i want to put all my films off my PS3 onto it so i have them on the drive and can view them on the iMac thats the only time it will be meeting the PS3.

It all depends on the format used. I don't know what formats the PS3 can read/write, but I'd guess it's not HFS+. Probably FAT32 or NTFS. If that's the case, you could format the drive using one of those formats, transfer your files to the drive, then transfer them from the external drive to your Mac's internal drive. Then reformat the external drive as HFS+ and move the files back onto the external. You'll be left with a drive that is compatible for backups, and you'll have your files on it.

FAT32 (File Allocation Table)

• Read/Write FAT32 from both native Windows and native Mac OS X.
  [*]Maximum file size: 4GB.
• Maximum volume size: 2TB

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: Install NTFS-3G for Mac OS X (free)
• Some have reported problems using Tuxera (approx $36).
• Some have had good results with Paragon (approx $20)
• Native NTFS support can be enabled in Snow Leopard and Lion, 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

HFS+ (Hierarchical File System, a.k.a. Mac OS Extended)

• Read/Write HFS+ from native Mac OS X
• Required for Time Machine or Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper! backups of Mac internal hard drive.
  [*]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

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

 

[iMacBoy]

Thanks guys, and the movies are on my mates PS3 and he is going to put them on my hd for me to watch.