External Harddrive

Discussion in 'Mac Basics and Help' started by Haarball, Sep 13, 2006.

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  1. Haarball, Sep 13, 2006

    Haarball macrumors member

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    #1
    So apparently, Macs can only read NTSF, but not write to it. Will it write to FAT32? Is there an application that will let me re-format it to FAT32 without deleting everything on it?

    Also, when I connected the drive to my PC and I browsed through its settings, there wasn't an option for FAT32, only NTSF. Does this mean it cannot be formatted to FAT32?

    Cheers.
     
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  2. patrick0brien, Sep 13, 2006

    patrick0brien macrumors 68040

    patrick0brien

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    #2
    -Haarball

    Hold on a sec. What are you trying to do?

    Are you attempting to have an external HD that is read/writeable by both OS's?

    If so, move the files off of the External, reformat the drive from the PC, move the files back on, and you are done. Swappable to both.
     
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  3. Haarball, Sep 14, 2006

    Haarball thread starter macrumors member

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    #3
    Yeah, that's it. I thought I heard about an app that would let me re-format without having to backup all the files on it, but I guess not.

    Cheers.
     
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  4. Temujin, Sep 14, 2006

    Temujin macrumors 6502a

    Temujin

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    #4
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  5. a456, Sep 14, 2006

    a456 macrumors 6502a

    a456

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    #5
    FAT32 Format

    You can format your external HD for Windows (FAT 32) using Disk Utility in Tiger, but you will need to backup files first.
     
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  6. Haarball, Sep 14, 2006

    Haarball thread starter macrumors member

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    #6
    Alright, thanks. I'll try Macdrive! It's at least got a 5-day trial, so I'll be able to clear up 10 gigs worth of TV shows from my Macbook. It's not too expensive, either - I'll have to look into buying it at a later point.

    Thanks for your answers. Consider this thread dead.
     
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  7. Temujin, Sep 14, 2006

    Temujin macrumors 6502a

    Temujin

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    #7
    Just to make sure you got the details. Macdrive will enable you to use a Mac formatted drive on a Windows PC.
    A good idea is to partition your drive. 10 mb NTFS for Macdrive, so Windows users can get the app. when sharing files, and then keep the rest as a Mac formatted drive containing all your data.
     
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  8. Haarball, Sep 14, 2006

    Haarball thread starter macrumors member

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    #8
    I thought I could connect my Macbook to my PC and then use that app to transfer files, actually.

    I don't have room on my PC harddrive to backup the files from the external, though, so I guess there's no way out of this!
     
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  9. Temujin, Sep 14, 2006

    Temujin macrumors 6502a

    Temujin

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    #9
    There is no need for any app if the only thing you want to do is to transfer files back and forth between a Mac and a PC using a network.

    Simply connect the drive to your PC and share the folder/entire drive. Then get your Mac and search for the drive in Finder under Network.

    The PC will do all the writing and reading, not the Mac, so no problems using NTFS in this scenario.
     
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