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External HDD?

moonbeep

moonbeep

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 19, 2012
85
1
Belfast,Northern Ireland
Hi

Got my iMac today,great machine and loving it,hope to master it with time,thing is all my music is backed up onto a Seagate 500GB External HDD and i can't seem to be able to find the music in iTunes so i can copy it over,would i be right in saying the External HDD is formatted for Windows?

Or am I doing something wrong..ie..is there a way to do it or will i have to format the drive?

Any help appreciated!!
 
Can you find the music via Finder?
Maybe sort after biggest folders, you can use OmniDiskSweeper, JDisk Report or GrandPerspective to see where your HDD space went to on the external HDD.

____________________________________________________________

Overview of the four major file systems (called "Formats" in Mac OS X) used on Windows and Mac OS X, compiled by GGJstudios. You can use Disk Utility to format any HDD to your liking.

Any external hard drive will work with PCs or Macs, as long as the connectors are there (Firewire, USB, etc.) It doesn't matter how the drive is formatted out of the box, since you can re-format any way you like. Formatting can be done with the Mac OS X Disk Utility, found in the /Applications/Utilities folder. Here are your formatting options:

FAT32 (File Allocation Table)
  • Read/Write FAT32 from both native Windows and native Mac OS X.
    [*]Maximum file size: 4GB.
  • Maximum volume size: 2TB
  • You can use this format if you share the drive between Mac OS X and Windows computers and have no files larger than 4GB.
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.
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 internal hard drive.
    [*]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
  • 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)
exFAT (FAT64)
  • Supported in Mac OS X only in 10.6.5 or later.
  • Not all Windows versions support exFAT. See disadvantages.
  • exFAT (Extended File Allocation Table)
  • AirPort Extreme (802.11n) and Time Capsule do not support exFAT
  • Maximum file size: 16 EiB
  • Maximum volume size: 64 ZiB
  • You can use this format if it is supported by all computers with which you intend to share the drive. See "disadvantages" for details.
____________________________________________________________
​

 
moonbeep said:
Hi

Got my iMac today,great machine and loving it,hope to master it with time,thing is all my music is backed up onto a Seagate 500GB External HDD and i can't seem to be able to find the music in iTunes so i can copy it over,would i be right in saying the External HDD is formatted for Windows?

Or am I doing something wrong..ie..is there a way to do it or will i have to format the drive?

Any help appreciated!!
Click to expand...
If you used the drive on Windows, it's most likely NTFS, which your Mac can read natively. It just can't write to it unless you enable it via software. You don't need to format it. Make sure the drive was properly ejected from the Windows computer before you try to connect it to your Mac.


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.
 
simsaladimbamba said:
Can you find the music via Finder?
Maybe sort after biggest folders, you can use OmniDiskSweeper, JDisk Report or GrandPerspective to see where your HDD space went to on the external HDD.

____________________________________________________________

Overview of the four major file systems (called "Formats" in Mac OS X) used on Windows and Mac OS X, compiled by GGJstudios. You can use Disk Utility to format any HDD to your liking.

Any external hard drive will work with PCs or Macs, as long as the connectors are there (Firewire, USB, etc.) It doesn't matter how the drive is formatted out of the box, since you can re-format any way you like. Formatting can be done with the Mac OS X Disk Utility, found in the /Applications/Utilities folder. Here are your formatting options:

FAT32 (File Allocation Table)
  • Read/Write FAT32 from both native Windows and native Mac OS X.
    [*]Maximum file size: 4GB.
  • Maximum volume size: 2TB
  • You can use this format if you share the drive between Mac OS X and Windows computers and have no files larger than 4GB.
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.
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 internal hard drive.
    [*]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
  • 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)
exFAT (FAT64)
  • Supported in Mac OS X only in 10.6.5 or later.
  • Not all Windows versions support exFAT. See disadvantages.
  • exFAT (Extended File Allocation Table)
  • AirPort Extreme (802.11n) and Time Capsule do not support exFAT
  • Maximum file size: 16 EiB
  • Maximum volume size: 64 ZiB
  • You can use this format if it is supported by all computers with which you intend to share the drive. See "disadvantages" for details.
____________________________________________________________
​

Click to expand...

Used Finder but can't find any music,was able to copy a cd i have into iTunes,but cannot seem to find an option to add music from Ext HDD,have clicked on music tab but can't see an option to add anything?

Cheers
 
moonbeep said:
Used Finder but can't find any music,was able to copy a cd i have into iTunes,but cannot seem to find an option to add music from Ext HDD,have clicked on music tab but can't see an option to add anything?

Cheers
Click to expand...
In iTunes: File > Add to Library then browse to any folder on any connected drive to add the music.
 
GGJstudios said:
In iTunes: File > Add to Library then browse to any folder on any connected drive to add the music.
Click to expand...

This is gonna seem stupid but i can't see a file button,when i click on music nothing happens,yet if i click on movies etc a dialogue box comes up,can't even find an option to set the graphic equaliser in..
 
moonbeep said:
This is gonna seem stupid but i can't see a file button,when i click on music nothing happens,yet if i click on movies etc a dialogue box comes up,can't even find an option to set the graphic equaliser in..
Click to expand...

The "File" is located in the Menu Bar.
1zd0tuu.png
 
moonbeep said:
This is gonna seem stupid but i can't see a file button,when i click on music nothing happens,yet if i click on movies etc a dialogue box comes up,can't even find an option to set the graphic equaliser in..
Click to expand...
So when you launch iTunes, you don't see this?:
ScreenCap 4.PNG​
Unlike Windows, where there is a menu toolbar at the top of each window, in Mac OS X, the Menu Bar at the top of your screen serves all apps. It changes, depending on which app is active.
 
I like to drag things. Because it works. You can read off of an NTFS volume just can't write natively.
 
GGJstudios said:
So when you launch iTunes, you don't see this?:
Unlike Windows, where there is a menu toolbar at the top of each window, in Mac OS X, the Menu Bar at the top of your screen serves all apps. It changes, depending on which app is active.
Click to expand...

Got the menu bar after a while,didn't know it was a drop down bar,as i say still learning,only had it just over 7 hours now(the iMac).Thanks Very Much for your help,guess i will be doing a lot of googling and reading over the next while...;)
 
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