[asodamiac]

I did a search on how I would set up my external hard drive so that it can be accessed by both my Powerbook G4 and my old Dell desk top.

Basically, what I gathered from the search was:

- Must format the external HD in FAT32 for it to be compatible with both my Mac and PC machines.
- By formatting the external HD in FAT32, my max file size to transfer would be 4GB?

The second point is where I'm confused. I don't work with files that large, but occasionally may have a photoshop file that maybe 1-2GB. However, this does not mean that ONLY 4GB can be read by the Mac and Dell right? That would pose a seriously problem

I'm looking to back up my music and photo files onto my external (which I've already done, but the external is formatted for Macs only at this point). I want some extra insurance by transferring over the files to my old PC as well.

Am I on the right track?

Thanks guys,

Jason

[cgc]

The first point is mostly true, although you can use HFS in windows and NTFS in Mac with the right software. I've never tried any and just formatted my external drive as FAT32 for convenience and universality.

I didn't find anything about a 4GB limit per file but I've heard that from many unofficial sources.

[Aegis]

The 4gb limit on Fat32 is per file. So it's not that it can only read the first 4gb of the partition. Max partition size on Fat32 is 2Tb (IIRC).

[mduell]

Originally Posted by Aegis 

Max partition size on Fat32 is 2Tb (IIRC).

Actually it's 32 times larger, at 8TB.

[ghporter]

There are a lot of bits of FUD about FAT32 going about. Everyone who's interested in the FAT32 file system should read the actual description, courtesy of Microsoft.

Cut to the chase:
>8TB max (in spite of what the above linked description says-see here, also from MS)
>SOME MS OSs have a 32GB limit on volumes THEY BUILD, but there is no such limit in the file system itself
>Maximum file size is 4GB -1 byte due to the file allocation table data structure
>ALL post-Win2K MS operating systems, and OS X, along with most LInux distributions CAN READ AND WRITE to FAT32 partitions.

[OreoCookie]

I'd like to add to the confusion: if your external hd has a USB controller, you will be limited to 2 TB per volume: this is due to some limitations in the USB protocol and has nothing to do with the underlying filesystem. You can have several volumes though so that you will still be able to use the full capacity of the drives.

This is probably not relevant for you if all you are looking at is a single external harddrive.

FAT32 is your best bet, although there are NTFS drivers for OS X with write support (google for MacFUSE).

[asodamiac]

Thanks for the help guys.

I will be running a single 300GB Lacie drive, so I think FAT32 will be the route I'll take. I'm not interested in purchasing software to help facilitate this, unless of course it will make things run more smoothly in the long run.

As for the software, do they encode or re-write files so that the files will be compatible with both a Mac and Windows machine? If so, is there a chance of some kind of data corruption? Music can be replaced by most of my photos cannot.

Thanks again!

[OreoCookie]

You don't need any software on OS X, the `re-encoding' is done by the driver. If you are concerned with the safety of your data, backups are your friends. There is no substitute for a backup system, none.

Your data won't be any safer than when you'd pick a different filesystem (say HFS+).

[asodamiac]

I see, thanks OreoCookie! Well, I'll have to re-organize my photos/music and start backing them up on DVD's, external HD, and a separate computer. This might take a while :/

[peeb]

The only thing to watch out for is that video edit files, DVD rips etc can easily run over 4gb. Another way to do what you want is to mount the drive on one of the machines and use a network to share them.

[Altered_Ego]

I have a Western Digital MyBook 500 GB USB drive. It's hooked up to my Airport Extreme Base Station, and formatted to HFS.

The drive can be access by my new Intel 24" iMac, my Vista PC Laptop and my XP PC Desktop.

I'm really satisfied with that arrangement.

I still have a couple external Firewire drives reserved for the iMac. But I wanted another drive that could be accessed by all computers.

[MikeD]

Does it matter if the external enclosure interface is IDE and the HD is IDE ultra ATA 100 or IDE ultra ATA133? As long as it says IDE, it should fit okay?

Just wondering.

Mike

[mduell]

No, it doesn't matter. All the ATA and IDE flavors are compatible.