external hdd info needed please. - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

lunchbox · 12-25-2007, 11:46 AM

I just got a new 500gig maxtor external HDD and I'm in the process of switching from a pc to mac. I want to take all of my movies, music, and various other data with me to use on my mac when I get it.

Problem is I don't know if I can use my external HDD on windows and move all of my media on to it and plug and go with my Mac or if I have to do it another way.

I'd rather not write a bunch of DVDs just to transfer the data onto the harddrive via my mac so is there an easier way to do it?

can you read/write from both a mac and pc on an external harddrive.

Would my best bet just be to hook up the external hdd to my mac and transfer all of my data over my network at my house?

thanks for any help you can provide.

Hain · 12-25-2007, 03:43 PM

If you haven't formatted your drive into an NT File System (NTFS) it should work fine... If you have done that then I honestly don't know.

Most externals now a days are formatted as FAT32 which is compatible with both

Looking at my manual for my external (Western Digital 500GB My Book), it is perfectly compatible with Windows 2000/XP/Vista and Mac OS X 10.2.8 or later. I have never had problems between Doze and a Mac-attack.

lunchbox · 12-25-2007, 06:43 PM

yea, I haven't even plugged it into a computer yet, I just got it this morning so I suppose it should be alright.

Thanks for the help!

12-25-2007, 11:46 AM	#1 (permalink)
lunchbox Thank God hockey is back Location: Deeeeeetroit	external hdd info needed please. I just got a new 500gig maxtor external HDD and I'm in the process of switching from a pc to mac. I want to take all of my movies, music, and various other data with me to use on my mac when I get it. Problem is I don't know if I can use my external HDD on windows and move all of my media on to it and plug and go with my Mac or if I have to do it another way. I'd rather not write a bunch of DVDs just to transfer the data onto the harddrive via my mac so is there an easier way to do it? can you read/write from both a mac and pc on an external harddrive. Would my best bet just be to hook up the external hdd to my mac and transfer all of my data over my network at my house? thanks for any help you can provide. __________________ A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools. -Douglas Adams

12-25-2007, 03:43 PM	#2 (permalink)
Hain has a plan Location: middle of Whywouldanyonebethere	If you haven't formatted your drive into an NT File System (NTFS) it should work fine... If you have done that then I honestly don't know. Most externals now a days are formatted as FAT32 which is compatible with both Looking at my manual for my external (Western Digital 500GB My Book), it is perfectly compatible with Windows 2000/XP/Vista and Mac OS X 10.2.8 or later. I have never had problems between Doze and a Mac-attack. __________________ ////\\// IRONSKY.NET \\//\\\\

12-25-2007, 06:43 PM	#3 (permalink)
lunchbox Thank God hockey is back Location: Deeeeeetroit	yea, I haven't even plugged it into a computer yet, I just got it this morning so I suppose it should be alright. Thanks for the help! __________________ A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools. -Douglas Adams