external hard drives compatible with both pcs and macs

mr. whymper · 09-15-2009, 04:48 PM

are there are hard drives out there that work with both pcs and macs without reformatting? thanks!

viscious · 09-15-2009, 08:39 PM

Um all of them that come formatted in fat32, which is a lot of them.

Lergnom · 09-15-2009, 09:03 PM

Essentially all of them. Just look at the box or the specs on the webpage and you'll see.

AKiss20 · 09-15-2009, 10:44 PM

You have to be careful with file systems though. Most if not all external HDs will come formatted in the NTFS standard, because thats what Windows uses. Mac can read, but not write to this format. Both Windows and Mac, iirc, can write/read to fat32 but fat32 has its own limitations regarding write speed and maximum filesize iirc.

Also, if you want to use the external HD for Mac OS X's built in backup system, Time Machine, you will have to format it to a mac-specific file system that I do not think windows can read.

OperaDad · 09-15-2009, 11:49 PM

The drives are the same. It is the format of the disk that differs. Either OS can format, or reformat, the disk for use by the OS.

Mac uses HFS+, and Windows uses NTFS & FAT32. Macs can use FAT32. There are Windows programs that will allow you to read and write HFS+. There are Mac programs that let you read and write NTFS.

Best to use FAT32 if you want to use the same disk on both. The limitations of FAT32 are:

Max 4GB individual file size.
Note: XP can only format up to 32GB drives, but if you can format it somewhere else, it will work fine.

mr. whymper · 09-18-2009, 11:22 PM

i need to use it to transfer files from a pc to a mac. should i look for one formatted for a mac or a pc. as in, the iomega eGo portable hard drive (Portable Hard Drives Portable Hard Drive: Hard drives in Portable Hard Drive models), would i want the one designed for pc or mac?

Lergnom · 09-19-2009, 01:22 PM

Go through the tech specs: they're all PC/Mac - though I didn't look at the firewire only one which they label "Mac" because it's firewire. Your concern will be file formats not the drive.

mr. whymper · 09-19-2009, 02:28 PM

what am i looking for in the tech specs? and what do you mean by file formats? the formats of the files i wish to transfer? or the format of the drive? when i looked through the specs on a specific drive's website, it usually only stated 'compatible with mac and pc' or something like that.

Lergnom · 09-19-2009, 08:42 PM

You should go into a store and talk to a human being who can take the time to educate you.

mr. whymper · 09-19-2009, 09:15 PM

are you not a human being?

Chipmoney · 09-20-2009, 12:29 AM

I wouldn't rely on the salespeople in any major store like bestbuy to actually know what they are taking about...

Lergnom · 09-20-2009, 03:50 PM

Go to a store, explain your concerns and talk to someone.