External hard drive -- viruses?

[silversyren]

I'm pretty sure this is a dumb question but I'll be dumb and ask anyway.

I just got my new external hard drive -- OWC Mercury Pro 300 Gb, actually. I have to give a rave for OWC here -- I got it within two days and it was packed very professionally. I haven't used it yet but I have faith in Seagate and OWC.

The external hard drive itself is quite nice -- sleek, silver, and well crafted.

Now -- for my question, I need to get files.. pictures, music, word documents.. off of my old computer. My old computer is a little screwed up. It might have a virus or Windows XP is just corrupted -- something's wrong. if it's a virus, can I transfer it to my external hard drive and then infect another computer?

Thanks!

 

[yankeefan24]

If its to another windows, maybe. Not to a Mac though.

 

[zorg]

My Experience

What I do is plug in the external hd whenever I need it. I do not keep it on long enough for a virus to even get on it. This way you use the space, but no worries on viruses.

 

[gman71882]

😱 😱 😱 Is this PeeCee help or is this a Mac Forum 😀 😉

You CAN & WILL transfer a virus to a newer computer if you use the method you are stating... THAT is IF your old computer HAD a virus and it is windoze Box and your transfering to a newer windoze box.

Windoze viruses can't be transfered to OS X, the file formats (FAT32 & NTFS= windoze. HFS+ = OS X) are entirelly differnt and it would take an EXTREMELY complicated virus written by a Hacker genius to break Both Systems.

 

[silversyren]

hahaa.. well, I'm dumping my old computer in favor of an iMac, MacBook, or Powerbook, it that helps.

I guess I better clean/scan the old computer as well as possible before putting in my external hard drive.

Thanks guys!

 

[CanadaRAM]

What I do is plug in the external hd whenever I need it. I do not keep it on long enough for a virus to even get on it.

Well, how in the world would you know "how long" that would take?

Assuming we are talking about Windows files now, a virus could be in a document, a graphic, any executable or compressed file, or if the virus is active on the machine, it could write itself into whatever system, excecutable, data or hidden file it was programmed to do.