External HDD works on Mac but not windows?

[Radeon123]

Hey there,

From a bit of searching around, this seems to be a rather confusing topic, and no-one really seems to have the answer

I have an iOmega HDD and I use it for extra space on my Mac all the time. But I want to back up all the files on my PC (111gb) onto the HDD, wipe the PC and install windows again and put some of the files back on. However, when I connect the HDD to a PC, it says; "The disk in drive G is not formatted."


Now is there any way I can use the HDD on both my Mac and my PC? And I can't copy the files to my Mac as there is 700gb of data on the HDD and only 240gb on the Mac.


Any help is appreciated, thanks

 

[basesloaded190]

Hey there,

From a bit of searching around, this seems to be a rather confusing topic, and no-one really seems to have the answer

I have an iOmega HDD and I use it for extra space on my Mac all the time. But I want to back up all the files on my PC (111gb) onto the HDD, wipe the PC and install windows again and put some of the files back on. However, when I connect the HDD to a PC, it says; "The disk in drive G is not formatted."


Now is there any way I can use the HDD on both my Mac and my PC? And I can't copy the files to my Mac as there is 700gb of data on the HDD and only 240gb on the Mac.


Any help is appreciated, thanks

Mac and PC Harddrives are formatted differently so no you won't be able to use it between both machines.

 

[GGJstudios]

From a bit of searching around, this seems to be a rather confusing topic, and no-one really seems to have the answer

Some of us do.

I have an iOmega HDD and I use it for extra space on my Mac all the time. But I want to back up all the files on my PC (111gb) onto the HDD, wipe the PC and install windows again and put some of the files back on. However, when I connect the HDD to a PC, it says; "The disk in drive G is not formatted."

Now is there any way I can use the HDD on both my Mac and my PC? And I can't copy the files to my Mac as there is 700gb of data on the HDD and only 240gb on the Mac.

Your external drive is probably formatted as HFS+, which can't be read natively by Windows. Read the following for details about how to use HFS+ or NTFS between Mac and Windows:

HFS+ (Hierarchical File System, a.k.a. Mac OS Extended (Journaled) Don't use case-sensitive)

• Read/Write HFS+ from native Mac OS X
• Required for Time Machine or Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper! backups of Mac OS X system files.
  [*]To Read/Write HFS+ from Windows, Install MacDrive
  [*]To Read HFS+ (but not Write) from Windows, Install HFSExplorer
• Maximum file size: 8EiB
• Maximum volume size: 8EiB
• Mac OS X: Mac OS Extended format (HFS Plus) volume and file limits
• You can use this format if you only use the drive with Mac OS X, or use it for backups of your Mac OS X internal drive, or if you only share it with one Windows PC (with MacDrive installed on the PC)

NTFS (Windows NT File System)

• Read/Write NTFS from native Windows.
• Read only NTFS from native Mac OS X
  [*]To Read/Write/Format NTFS from Mac OS X, here are some alternatives:
  • For Mac OS X 10.4 or later (32 or 64-bit), install Paragon (approx $20) (Best Choice for Lion)
  • For 32-bit Mac OS X, install NTFS-3G for Mac OS X (free) (does not work in 64-bit mode)
  • For 64-bit Snow Leopard, read this: MacFUSE for 64-bit Snow Leopard
  • Some have reported problems using Tuxera (approx $36).
  • Native NTFS support can be enabled in Snow Leopard and Lion, but is not advisable, due to instability.
• AirPort Extreme (802.11n) and Time Capsule do not support NTFS
• Maximum file size: 16 TB
• Maximum volume size: 256TB
• You can use this format if you routinely share a drive with multiple Windows systems.

Mac and PC Harddrives are formatted differently so no you won't be able to use it between both machines.

Yes, you can. See above.

 

[Radeon123]

Thank you very much!

I now kind of understand this...

But yeah, I tried using MacDrive but it wouldn't install for some reason, but googled 'MacDrive alternatives' and came up with this list of disk sharing programs.

TransMac is now installed and working fine, albeit a little slow.

Thanks for your help

 

[barredfreak]

If you have a Mac, trash your PC, my friend. You should have realized/will come to realize that it is incompetent.