external HD + PC to Mac - format?

[dcx3]

I have read about formatting and still unclear. A search did not pull up any results - though I know they're out there.

I want to buy an external HD (not sure if Portable or Desktop kind is better). I have a desktop PC and an Apple iBook and soon to be MBP.

I would like to take files from both the iBook and the PC and be able to see them on the new MBP - but I realize there is some format issues?

The MBP will be my primary computer.

Is there a way to just use the external drive like you can a flash drive in the sense that I can plug the flash drive into any computer and still read the files.

Sorry for this post as I realize it's most likely been posted before. - is there a better search and the forums search?

 

[techie4life]

I have read about formatting and still unclear. A search did not pull up any results - though I know they're out there.

I want to buy an external HD (not sure if Portable or Desktop kind is better). I have a desktop PC and an Apple iBook and soon to be MBP.

I would like to take files from both the iBook and the PC and be able to see them on the new MBP - but I realize there is some format issues?

The MBP will be my primary computer.

Is there a way to just use the external drive like you can a flash drive in the sense that I can plug the flash drive into any computer and still read the files.

Sorry for this post as I realize it's most likely been posted before. - is there a better search and the forums search?

I had the same problem, but I solved it by opening up Disk Utility with the external drive plugged in and "Erasing" the drive using "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)" Now I can use the drive with my iMac and Xbox 360, so I'm sure it would work with a Windows PC.

 

[dolphin842]

I had the same problem, but I solved it by opening up Disk Utility with the external drive plugged in and "Erasing" the drive using "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)" Now I can use the drive with my iMac and Xbox 360, so I'm sure it would work with a Windows PC.

I'm not sure about the 360, but a Windows PC will *not* be able to read or write to a drive formatted as Mac OS Extended (also known as HFS+), unless it has special software that usually costs money.

If you will be dealing with individual files smaller than 4GB, format the drive as "MS-DOS (FAT)" in Disk Utility. If you need to work with larger files, have Windows format the disk as NTFS, and install MacFUSE/NTFS-3G on your Mac to enable NTFS read/write support.

 

[techie4life]

I'm not sure about the 360, but a Windows PC will *not* be able to read or write to a drive formatted as Mac OS Extended (also known as HFS+), unless it has special software that usually costs money.

Thanks for clearing that up. I've been wondering about that for awhile now.