external hard drive question

[silentownage001]

posted this in the wrong section. if a mod can move it then many thanks. sorry

hey everybody. im new here and do not yet have a mac but ill be getting one within the next year. either late 2011 or the 2012 whenever itll be released.

anyway so im looking to get an external hard drive. i found the seagate freeagent go which i like. 320gb should be fine.

my question is, if i back everything up on it with it set to windows, will i have to delete everything to format it for os x? or will it be fine?

Edit: i realized both hard drives use usb 2.0 so after looking on the seagate website i think this will be a much better choice but id like opinions on how well it works with a MBP as thats what ill buy.

http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/external/external-hard-drive/portable-hard-drive

the options are blue, usb 3.0, 500 gb and 14.5mm.

or would this drive be better?

http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/external/external-hard-drive/slim-hard-drive/

opinions? suggestions?

 

[miles01110]

The explanation of your situation is not very clear, but it sounds like you want to back up your Windows files and then restore them when you get a Mac.

For best results you should format whatever external drive you get as NTFS, then when you get a Mac download something like MacFUSE or NTFS-3G so you can write to the drive. It shouldn't be any issue to transfer the files to your Mac.

All platter-based hard drives are the same; pick the one that fits your storage needs and budget and get the one with the best warranty.

 

[silentownage001]

thanks. for as unclear as my post is you answered my question.

 

[iThinkergoiMac]

MacFUSE or NTFS-3G

A couple things: MacFUSE has been unmaintained for over 2 years and is showing incompatibilities with Lion, so look at OSXFUSE instead. NTFS-3G REQUIRES FUSE, so you can't have it without FUSE installed. NTFS-3G is also having issues with Lion, and we don't know if it will be updated to work. It gives an error message, but usually also works anyway.

 

[silentownage001]

A couple things: MacFUSE has been unmaintained for over 2 years and is showing incompatibilities with Lion, so look at OSXFUSE instead. NTFS-3G REQUIRES FUSE, so you can't have it without FUSE installed. NTFS-3G is also having issues with Lion, and we don't know if it will be updated to work. It gives an error message, but usually also works anyway.

thanks