Thanks The only written paper work is a single sheet that "suggests" one install the software included on the drive, but i suspect its the software for the one touch back up system, that i already have, but don't use from the last Maxtor 2 1/2 years ago.
So i'm thinking if i connect to the G4 ibook and follow your instructions, OSX, i should be ok, and as i say, i doubt the software on the drive is anything more than the back up stuff. Dave On 7/16/07, Godfrey DiGiorgi <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Their response is a little stilted, and they are referring to Panther > (Mac OS X v10.3.x) which is out of date by at least a year and a > half. Certainly written by someone much more familiar with Windows > than with Mac OS X in my estimation. > > The facts: > > - Mac OS X can read and write FAT32 file systems, and can format a > volume to either the Apple's Mac OS Extended or to FAT32 (and a > couple of others besides). It can also read NTFS file system volumes, > but not write to them. > > - Windows XP will read and write both NTFS and FAT32 file system > volumes of arbitrary size. It will format drives to both system > models as well, but will not allow creating a FAT32 partition larger > than 32Gbytes. Windows > > My standard operating procedure when I buy an external hard drive, > either FireWire 400/800 or USB 2.0, is to attach it my Apple PowerMac > G5 or PowerBook G4. I open Disk Utility, select the drive, and go to > the Erase tab. If I want the drive to be useable for read and write > from both Mac OS X and Windows, I set the format option to "MS-DOS > File System", press the Erase button, and confirm it. > > That erases and reformats the drive to FAT32 volume format. At this > point the drive can be connected to either Mac OS X or Windows > computers and you'll have full access to share files with it. Having > done this a hundred times (at least!), I've yet to find any issues > arising from using drives formatted this way with both Mac OS X and > Windows XP systems. It also erases all the stuff that might be on the > drive as delivered. I've never found any use for all the junk > software they put on these drives as perks anyway. > > The only issue that very infrequently comes up are file name > specifics: FAT32 and Mac OS Extended formats have slightly different > file name length and reserved character sets. If you use normal file > names of up to 32 characters and don't use diacritical marks or non- > English characters, you won't have any problems at all. > > Godfrey > > > > On Jul 16, 2007, at 12:01 PM, David J Brooks wrote: > > > HI all. > > > > I recently bout on eof the above, as i need more external storage. I > > was trying to get the WD pocket one that could swap between Mac and PC > > but the companies supplier was on back order and i got this. > > > > I sent a email to Maxtor to see if i could swap between Mac and PC(XP > > Home) and i have pasted the reply below. > > > > This things comes wioth preloaded software for Mac/PC plug and play. > > How do i know if its FAT 32 or NTFS. They say if ist FAt 32 the mac > > will read it but not visa versa. I'm more concerned about backing up > > on the PC but would like the Mac to read it sometimes if possible. > > > > Any comments here, I dont want to lose files if i take it from the pc > > to the mac. > > > > Dave(see below) > > > > Dear Valued Maxtor Customer, > > > > Thank you for your E-mail enquiry, which is important to us. > > > > As long as you format the drive as FAT32, > > You have no problem to swapping between PC and Mac. > > > > http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/support/knowledge_base/ > > Answer ID > > 908 > > > > Can I swap my Maxtor External Device between a Mac and PC? > > > > Problem: > > > > Sharing an external hard drive between Windows and Macintosh systems > > has been an issue that has caused much difficulty in the past. > > End-Users that delve into both the Windows and Macintosh system see > > this problem on a daily basis; they cannot share files between their > > Windows PCs and Mac Computers. > > > > > > > > > > Cause: > > > > The problem stems from the fact that the file systems used by Windows > > Based PCs (FAT, FAT32, NTFS) differ from those used by Macintosh > > Computers (Mac OS Extended, HFS+). These differences make it a > > difficult task to share files between Mac and PC users. > > > > > > > > > > Resolution: > > > > Click here for ways to use Windows formatted external drives with Mac > > Systems. It is worth mentioning that Mac OS X (Panther 10.3.x) can now > > read NTFS Volumes; this means that you can copy files from an external > > drive (formatted with NTFS) to a Mac running Panther. However, you > > cannot write files from the Mac to the NTFS Volume. > > > > > > Should you require any further assistance please do not hesitate to > > contact us. > > In order to allow us to deal with all enquiries as efficiently and > > accurately as possible > > We would ask that you include any previous emails when replying to us. > > > > Kind Regards, > > > > Isaac Young > > For & On Behalf of > > APAC Technical Support Team > > Maxtor Branded Products Group APAC > > Seagate Technologies Republic of Ireland Ltd. > > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > -- Equine Photography www.caughtinmotion.com http://brooksinthecountry.blogspot.com/ Ontario Canada -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
