Newb iMac Help Please (External Issue)

[Rmbxr9]

Just got the iMac 21.5 last night, having used a PC for around 15 years...
My old PC completely died. Luckily I had basically all my stuff on DVDRs and Externals.

So here's my issue, I can open up Finder, and drag stuff from my External on to the Mac perfectly fine.
I can put in a DVDR, and drag the files onto the Mac, no problem.

But I can't
A.) take the files from the DVDR and drag them onto the External.
B.) Can't drag files from my MAC onto the External.
When I try, I get the circle with the bar going through it...

What am I missing here? Do I have to do this through another route?

What I really want to do is get the files from the DVDRs to the External. And in the future, back up files to the External as well. For safe keeping.
Thanks

 

[kylera]

Just got the iMac 21.5 last night, having used a PC for around 15 years...
My old PC completely died. Luckily I had basically all my stuff on DVDRs and Externals.

So here's my issue, I can open up Finder, and drag stuff from my External on to the Mac perfectly fine.
I can put in a DVDR, and drag the files onto the Mac, no problem.

But I can't
A.) take the files from the DVDR and drag them onto the External.
B.) Can't drag files from my MAC onto the External.
When I try, I get the circle with the bar going through it...

What am I missing here? Do I have to do this through another route?

What I really want to do is get the files from the DVDRs to the External. And in the future, back up files to the External as well. For safe keeping.
Thanks

It would seem that your external is formatted to NTFS, the file system used by Windows 7. You might have to copy all your files over and reformat the hard drive, and then bring the files back.

You can reformat your hard drive by accessing Disc Utility in the Applications/Utilities folder in your iMac's hard drive.

 

[Rmbxr9]

It would seem that your external is formatted to NTFS, the file system used by Windows 7. You might have to copy all your files over and reformat the hard drive, and then bring the files back.

You can reformat your hard drive by accessing Disc Utility in the Applications/Utilities folder in your iMac's hard drive.

Thanks for responding.
So, I've basically almost got everything off the External on the the MAC.
I can finish that up, and then reformat I guess.

When I go to Disc Utility and click my External, I see
First Aid
Erase
Partition
RAID
Restore

What am I looking for to reformat it?
I was only used with Vista in the past, so, perhaps that is the problem.

 

[GGJstudios]

It would seem that your external is formatted to NTFS, the file system used by Windows 7. You might have to copy all your files over and reformat the hard drive, and then bring the files back.

That's not necessary. You can install Paragon to enable Mac OS X to read/write to any NTFS drive.

Format A Hard Drive Using Disk Utility (which is in your /Applications/Utilities folder)

Choose the appropriate format:

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.

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.

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.

 

[Rmbxr9]

Is Paragon a free program?

 

[GGJstudios]

Is Paragon a free program?

No, did you read my post, under the NTFS section? It has a link, price, etc. in bold text.

 

[Rmbxr9]

What about this patch?
NTFS-3G

----------

No, did you read my post, under the NTFS section? It has a link, price, etc. in bold text.

Yeah, sorry I just skimmed it quickly.
Thanks