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Is there a common partition?

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psykick5

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 4, 2011
350
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What I'm asking is this. If I was running a setup like this, could there be a common partition?

SSD (256 GB):
Part 1: 128GB OS X
Part 2: 128GB Windows 7

Hard drive (1TB):
Part 1: 700GB OS X
Part 2: 250GB Windows 7 (NTFS)
Partition 3: 50GB in a format that can be written/read from both Windows 7 and OS X (to transfer files, basically)

I've searched around and can't really find an answer to this. Anyone have some insight? Can it be made into a FAT32 partition?

Thanks
 
psykick5 said:
What I'm asking is this. If I was running a setup like this, could there be a common partition?

SSD (256 GB):
Part 1: 128GB OS X
Part 2: 128GB Windows 7

Hard drive (1TB):
Part 1: 700GB OS X
Part 2: 250GB Windows 7 (NTFS)
Partition 3: 50GB in a format that can be written/read from both Windows 7 and OS X (to transfer files, basically)

I've searched around and can't really find an answer to this. Anyone have some insight? Can it be made into a FAT32 partition?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Yes it can.


____________________________________________________________

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.
____________________________________________________________
​


____________________________________________________________

Links to guides on how to use Disk Utility, the application Mac OS X provides for managing internal and external HDD/SSDs and its formats.
____________________________________________________________​
 
Thanks a lot! I'll probably go with FAT32 but I'll really have to watch file sizes as I was not aware of the 4GB limit. exFAT is nice, too, but reduced I/O speed kind of kills it. NTFS not being read/write on both systems would be bad, too.

Can I use FAT+?
 
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