[moook]

Hi all,

Just get to know this forum and found lots of discussion that help a lot.. Thanks
By the way, I have my own question regarding Mac.

I am getting a MyBook Studio 1TB ext hdd, format into FAT32 because need to use for both laptop [mac for myself, window for company]. I found out that if im transferring file which contain more than 3 or 4GB [lots of file]. It will start copy and hang in the middle.
You can see "12minute remaining", if you click the cross to cancel, it still hang it there unless you force shut down. This make me getting a firewire ext hdd but not using it.
Do anyone know what happen is this?

And today i am getting a 2TB Studio. Wish to try with HFS+ format because I heard that firewire 800 only can work properly if Hdd format in HFS+ ?

hope to get some feedback because I walk in to many shops and no one really know what is this about ~

Appreciate and Thanks

[moook]

I have done a experiment just now ~

19.06GB (1583 files)

Transfer to 2TB HFS+ format ext hdd [Mybook studio 2TB]
- Firewire 800 need 10min only
- USB need 15min

Transfer to 1TB FAT32 format ext hdd
(format this because got window laptop need to access) [Mybook Studio 1TB]
- Firewire 800 need 16min
- USB need 28 min

I have a question which is, is it ext hdd for mac use need to format to HFS+ for better performance?

[Spheric Harlot]

Firewire is irrelevant to the reliability of the transfer — it's just quite a lot faster than USB, as you have discovered.

The only issue here is that FAT32 SUCKS. It is ancient and all but obsolete except for small formats like USB sticks.

It has no support for large file sizes, and filenames with special characters in them will break a file transfer, as will files nested in folders within folders within folders where the TOTAL length of the file path (incl. the name of the file) exceeds a certain number of characters.

Unless you need to use the disk with pre-SP3 versions of Windows XP or earlier Windows versions, DO NOT use FAT32 for an external hard drive.

Use ExFAT instead for drives that need to be regularly accessed under both Windows and Macintosh.

[angelmb]

Isn't the default cluster size for exFAT kind of big to use for a hard disk.? I had tried to format an external hard disk with exFAT but it ended wasting a lot of valuable hard disk space.

What I did was to format the external hard disk as NTFS and use Paragon NTFS for Mac OS X so I can write stuff to that hard disk under Mac OS X.

Needless to say, if you are going to use the external hard disk exclusively with a Mac, use HFS+ instead.

[moook]

Thanks a lot to Spheric Harlot and angelmb

As a summary of what you both mention ~

FAT32
- file size alone cannot exceed 4gb
- large file size or filename with special characters will break the transfer
[my problems might be cause by this]
- can use in mac and window

exFAT
- better than FAT32
- can use in mac and window
- but wasting lot of valuable hard disk space

NTFS
- better that both FAT
- only can use in window
- need to use Paragon NTFS for mac only can write file

HFS+
- better a lot to all FAT
- only can use in mac

My break transfer might cause by big file or special character. Thank you a lot for the advise.
I have been asking a lot of computer shop and even apple center, no one can really help me on this.
They will only said "your laptop firewire port spoil, your ext hdd firewire port spoil, your firewire cable spoil". Hahahaha

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by moook 

Thanks a lot to Spheric Harlot and angelmb

As a summary of what you both mention ~

FAT32
- file size alone cannot exceed 4gb
- large file size or filename with special characters will break the transfer
[my problems might be cause by this]
- can use in mac and window

exFAT
- better than FAT32
- can use in mac and window
- but wasting lot of valuable hard disk space

NTFS
- better that both FAT
- only can use in window
- need to use Paragon NTFS for mac only can write file

HFS+
- better a lot to all FAT
- only can use in mac

Excellent summary. I would add

The Mac can read NTFS, but to read/write NTFS under Mac, you need Paragon NTFS or equivalent software.

Stock Windows cannot read or write HFS+, but you can install MacDrive under Windows to enable full HFS+ support.

[moook]

Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot 

Excellent summary. I would add

The Mac can read NTFS, but to read/write NTFS under Mac, you need Paragon NTFS or equivalent software.

Stock Windows cannot read or write HFS+, but you can install MacDrive under Windows to enable full HFS+ support.

THanks again Spheric..

So.. MacDrive is a software for window to read HFS+ format right?

[Spheric Harlot]

read and write, correct.

You're most welcome.

[P]

A few more points:

* Boot camp will add a read-only driver for HFS+ to any Windows installation you create with it.
* You can get a free NTFS driver for Mac using MacFUSE, although it has limitations - the main being that it's slow.
* Parallels desktop will mount any NTFS partition as read/write, and I suspect that VMware Fusion will do the same.
* The free software HFSexplorer can read (but not write) HFS volumes from Windows.

[moook]

Thanks again Spheric Harlot

hi P, thanks for you info as well.

Will decide to format into HFS+ since i stick more in Mac. Will try around the software soon..

Appreciate much to have bro and sis for the advise ~

[besson3c]

You don't need Paragon to write NTFS, you can use a FUSE based file system such as NTFS 3G

[besson3c]

Originally Posted by P 

* You can get a free NTFS driver for Mac using MacFUSE, although it has limitations - the main being that it's slow..

an OS X implementation of Linux FUSE is indeed required for NTFS-3G, but don't download MacFUSE because MacFUSE has been abandoned and the last version released doesn't work with Lion (although there is a patched version you can find in the mailing list archives). Instead, use one of the successors to MacFUSE such as OSXFuse or Fuse4x.

[moook]

Thanks Besson3c for the advice ~

Another question for bro and sis here..
2TB hdd.. with partition and without partition..
what is the different?
i use to partition my hdd always.. but friend said this not good that not good.. but actually they not clear also.. haha.. so hope can get some advise here ~