Hi John & Peter, Yeah, I probably went a little overboard on the time of 7mins ;-), but wanted to point out the limitation of FAT-32. No. 2 of my reply to John is very important:
>> Use the Mac to format the FAT32 volume, not the PC. Because Microsoft Windows XP limits a FAT32 volume to 32GB it quits formatting when it hits the 32GB mark. Cheers, Ronni On 30/04/2010, at 2:38 PM, Crisp, Peter wrote: > > Yes John, I would take Ronni's input as gospel there. Follow her lead > explicitly. > > The file size limitation (4GB) of FAT32 may or may not be an issue for > you. The resultant file size for an AVI file I think is resolution > dependant (example - I have an episode of Top Gear in AVI format - it is > 50 minutes approx and is a file of 242MB). But some home video taken on > my HD camcorder, some of the individual segments (20 min approx) exceed > the 4GB file size so are a problem for the FAT32 drive. So if you're > using HD files, expect large files of short run time. > > So it comes down to if you're prepared to accept the compromise in file > size handling capability to have the cross compatibility. For me this > was a bearable compromise. > > Regards > > Peter... > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On > Behalf Of Ronda Brown > Sent: Friday, 30 April 2010 2:09 PM > To: WAMUG Mailing List > Subject: Re: My Passport portable drive > > > Hi John, > > I'm just rushing out to a job, so can only quickly give you this > information. > > 1. FAT32 is the best free way to format a drive cross platform, but the > best way is to buy MacDrive > <http://www.mediafour.com/products/macdrive/> and install it on your > Windows computer, then to format the drive as HFS+. > This is the native format for Macs, and with MacDrive it is read very > nicely in Windows. > No more ._ files, and things will just work more smoothly everywhere. > > (Also, FAT32 is a very inefficient format for large drives. A 500GB > drive in FAT32 is actually rather nightmarishly inefficient.) > > 2. If a maximum file size limit of 4Gb doesn't bother you (remembering > 4GB of say AVI would be about 7 minutes of video), then use FAT32. Use > the Mac to format the FAT32 volume, not the PC. > > On your Mac: Use Disk Utility > Erase tab (for a single partition, or > Disk Utility > Partition tab for more than one partition). > Disk Utility calls HFS+ "Mac OS Extended", and it calls FAT32 "MS-DOS > File System". > > That's all I have time for a the moment, I have to rush out now. > > Cheers, > Ronni > > 17" MacBook Pro Intel Core i7 > 2.66GHz / 4GB / 1067 MHz DDR3 / 500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200rpm > > OS X 10.6.3 Snow Leopard > Windows 7 Ultimate (under sufferance) > > > On 30/04/2010, at 1:51 PM, Jlin wrote: > >> >> Peter, >> Appreciate the reply. The only options given where >> Mac OS standard 465.1 Gb >> Mac OS extended 465.1 Gb >> DOS 465.1 Gb >> >> That is when connected to mac >> >> >> John >> >> Sent from my iPod >> >> On 30/04/2010, at 1:36 PM, "Crisp, Peter" <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> >>> Yes, you can select a number of formats in setting up an external > drive, >>> the only one in my experience that is cross-compatible between PC and >>> Mac is "FAT32". The only downside of FAT32 that I can ascertain so > far >>> is the file size limitation of 4GB for any one file. Only really an >>> issue for video files. >>> >>> Regards >>> >>> Peter... >>> >>> -----Original Message----- >>> From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On >>> Behalf Of [email protected] >>> Sent: Friday, 30 April 2010 1:19 PM >>> To: WAMUG Mailing List >>> Subject: My Passport portable drive >>> >>> >>> >>> Hi, >>> Can someone help? I have just obtained a WD My passport Essential >>> Utra-portable >>> Hard Drive 500Gb usb 2.0 ( brand new) when I connect it to my Mac >>> PowerBook it >>> say that the disc isn't formatted and provides options. The > powerBook >>> is a >>> prismo running OS 9.1. The reason I have the new HD is to back the > info >>> pending >>> upgrade. I would like to be able to used the HD like I can with A USB >>> stick ie I >>> can use it at home (MAc and PC) and use it at work (PC). When I > attach >>> to PC at >>> home I can store files on the HD but the problem comes when I connect > it >>> to >>> PowerBook. Is there away to be able to have it connect to either? >>> >>> Appreciate any help >>> >>> John Hatch >>> -- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List -- Archives - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/archives.shtml> Guidelines - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/guidelines.shtml> Unsubscribe - <mailto:[email protected]>
