I have a PC and a MBP, and I want to regularly share files between the two of them. Problem is, my external HDD only works on one of the computers. If I format it HFS+ for my Mac, my PC can't read it. If I format it NTFS, then my Mac can't write to it. I don't want to use FAT32 since it has a 4GB file limit, and I can't use MacDrive on my PC since it's running Vista 64 bit, which isn't supported. Is there any other file system than FAT32 that would be readable and writeable on both computers?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
HDD help
- Thread starter paul619LT
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
4JNA
macrumors 65832
the 4gb limit is per single file. so if you have a drive full of 5gb ripped movies, you are out of luck.
without buying something like macdrive, i have no idea. i just use the network to push the files from my pc to the mac, and then use a big external in the HFS format to back up the mac. works for me.
I believe..theres a very low size limit such as 4GB if you "put" FAT32 onto the drive with a Windows computer. But Macs can make it w/e size. But as the other guy said. I believe there is a size limit for files also.
yippy
macrumors 68020
Unless Windows can read a Unix file system (doubtful) you may be out of luck. Fat32 is the only file system that is writable by both operating systems.
However, there is one last thing you can try:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/351476/
I haven't used it myself but supposedly you can write to NTFS volumes with a Mac using that. And I hear it is decent performance.
However, there is one last thing you can try:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/351476/
I haven't used it myself but supposedly you can write to NTFS volumes with a Mac using that. And I hear it is decent performance.
why don't you just make a network share on one of the computers and access it over your lan via NFS from the other computer?