Transferring files from Windows to Mac?

[Savage]

I feel like an absolute n00b for having to make a thread about this. But... it simply isn't something I've ever had to do before. And my Google searches haven't been too helpful.

The area that I live in just got hit by a hurricane so we are expected to have about a week with no power and poor cell LTE. So network transfers are not an option for now. Nor are cloud transfers.

I have an external hard drive but it is currently formatted for a Mac so plugging it into the Windows computer did nothing. I couldn't find a straight answer on how to use an external hard drive that is readable by both devices to be able to do this. I'm assuming this would be my best option?

Then I thought connecting them via USB-C would work and probably have fast data transfer, but that also did nothing. Is that option not a thing?

Thank you.

 

[Fishrrman]

Do you have a USB flash drive around?
If so, connect it to the Mac and format it to "exFAT".

Next, connect it to the Mac.
Does it mount on the desktop?
If so, GOOD.
Now, copy the files you want to take to the PC onto the flashdrive, and "move them over" that way.

It's called "sneakerNet".
You could also do it to a spare hard drive if you have one.
DO NOT try this on your Mac-formatted drive!

 

[Savage]

Do you have a USB flash drive around?
If so, connect it to the Mac and format it to "exFAT".

Next, connect it to the Mac.
Does it mount on the desktop?
If so, GOOD.
Now, copy the files you want to take to the PC onto the flashdrive, and "move them over" that way.

It's called "sneakerNet".
You could also do it to a spare hard drive if you have one.
DO NOT try this on your Mac-formatted drive!

I do, but I have around 200gb to move. So the flash drive wouldn't be big enough.

Can I reformat the Mac-formatted drive? I won't really need this external hard drive for anything after I'm done doing this.

 

[Fishrrman]

You can reformat the drive.
BUT...
Be sure you understand before you do it, that it will DESTROY any data that is on the drive.

If that's not important, it should work.
Suggestion:
1. Reformat the drive
2. Before you copy anything to it, connect it to the PC, to be sure that the drive will be recognized in the new format
3. NOW connect it to the Mac, copy the files, and move them over.

Note:
I've heard that there are some solutions out there (perhaps even a free one) that will let you read Mac-formatted drives on the PC/Windows. That's the limit of my knowledge on this subject!