What format for new ext. HD?

[flyfish29]

I just bought a Seagate 80 GB free agent Go and I know I need to reformat it-

I see under disk utility there are several options for the Mac. Which one should I choose?


Also, when I am done hooking up the HD to my laptop do I need to drag the icon to the trash before unplugging the USB cables?

 

[JNB]

I just bought a Seagate 80 GB free agent Go and I know I need to reformat it-

I see under disk utility there are several options for the Mac. Which one should I choose?

HFS+ should cover ya'. May also list as Mac Extended (Journaled)

 

[flyfish29]

HFS+ should cover ya'. May also list as Mac Extended (Journaled)

There is a Mac Extended (Journaled) and a Mac Extended (Case sensitive Journaled)...I assume the first one is right?

What is journaled and why do I want it?

What would case sensitive mean as far as HD's formatting goes?

 

[JNB]

There is a Mac Extended (Journaled) and a Mac Extended (Case sensitive Journaled)...I assume the first one is right?

What is journaled and why do I want it?

What would case sensitive mean as far as HD's formatting goes?

I'm sure I'll get corrected (or at least amplified on), but real simply, journaling a Unix file system writes system changes to a journal before making the actual file system change. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journaling_file_system). It used to be a purely server-related formatting, but has found it's way into general desktop use on everyday *nix systems. It's a generally recommended method, though I'm also sure some will argue against it.

Case-sensitive journaling I've never seen the value of, and is actually contraindicated (http://www.macfixit.com/staticpages/index.php?page=2003111009264885)

 

[Luigi239]

If you need to do any file sharing with windows, use Fat32 or MS DOS file system. OS X can still read and write to fat32 just fine. The reason to do this is that Windows cannot read HFS+. The only thing you lose by going Fat32 is being able to boot off of the drive into OS X.

 

[Peace]

To answer the other part of your question one should always "unmount" any external drive before disconnecting the USB cable.There may be apps or the system writing or reading from the drive and than can corrupt data.

 

[flyfish29]

If you need to do any file sharing with windows, use Fat32 or MS DOS file system.

Nope- I don't do Windows or windows!!!

Thanks everyone for the help- I will assume that I just need to drag the icon to the trash to remove the drive.