external hard drive

[2macman]

I have a new iMac 27 and want to get external hard drive to backup data. Specifically, am thinking of the Seagate Expansion external hard drive.
All I want is drop and drag capability.

Any problems with compatibility?

When I plug it in, will they automatically recognize each other, and I am off and running?

Help.

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Any external HDD will work, you might have to use Disk Utility to format/erase the HDD first using "Mac OS Extended (HFS+)" as format though.

Format Your Hard Drive Using Disk Utility
Partition Your Hard Drive With Disk Utility

Using Disk Utility - Formatting, Partitioning, Verifying, and Repairing Disks
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[2macman]

external hard drive

Many thanks.

I already have a 500 gb Seagate HD which is formatted to Windows and backs up my old Samsung computer, and the Windows side of my Mac. It is half full.

However, as currently set up, and I cannot drop and drag or save from the Mac side of my Mac.

I presume that in a perfect world, I might be able to reformat and partition the old Seagate to accept both Windows and Mac files.

Q1 However, to do that, I presume I would have to delete all data?
That is not an option.

Thus, I thought the simplest, and least time consuming thing for a non-tech guy is to buy a new Seagate.

Q 2. Am I wasting money? Can the older Seagate be reformatting without having to dump the data on it?

Many thanks.