Using an external hard drive between a mac and a PC | ExpatWoman.com
 

Using an external hard drive between a mac and a PC

318
Posts
EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 17 December 2014 - 20:38

I am soooo lost....

Are there any people here more tech savvy than me? (Probably not hard!)

I'm dealing with baby photos so I am super paranoid and I literally can't let 25th December arrive because my phone and mac are both full full full!!! :cry:

318
Posts
EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 18 December 2014 - 10:16
Thank you so much ladies!! I'll have a go tonight. Cross your fingers for me! :cool:
51
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 18 December 2014 - 09:37
As Suzimack says, you can't change the format without wiping all the files. You have two options - copy all the files off, then reformat the drive as FAT32 (using either a Mac or PC, on a Mac you use Disk Utility in Applications&gt;Utilities), then copy the files back on. Or spend $20 buying [url=http://www.paragon-software.com/home/ntfs-mac/'>NTFS for Mac[/url'>, which will give you full read/write on any NTFS-formatted drive, and will mean you don't have to mess about copying the files off and back again. We've been using it for years. <em>edited by VelmaDoo on 18/12/2014</em>
318
Posts
EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 18 December 2014 - 09:36
I thought so - my hubby has the drive at work today to back up onto his PC and I will reformat and start again. Can you please explain what the different formats are - what they're for? And how do I change it? From my googling, I need to be in the disc utility area or something?
126
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 18 December 2014 - 08:20
If the drive is already formated, and there are files on it, then I dont think you will be able to do this. If you want to be able to share the hard drive between both Mac and PC, then you would need to move all the files back onto a PC, reformat the drive (I think FAT32 can be shared by both) and then replace the files. Or if you just want to remove the files from your Mac get a new hard drive and move the files from your Mac to that! ;) You can reformat it to whichever format is required before moving anything.
318
Posts
EW EXPLORER
Latest post on 18 December 2014 - 07:02
There are files on it already. From a PC. Now when I put it in my mac, it seems to be read only? Formatted as NTFS - I think I need to change it - but not sure how or what to? Thanks if you can help!!
51
Posts
EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 17 December 2014 - 21:33
You need to give more information. Are you trying to use an existing drive with existing files between a Mac and PC? How is it formatted?
 
 

ON EXPATWOMAN TODAY