Hi Chris Pretty much any drive can be reformatted for the Mac, so you'd be able to erase that drive in Disk Utility. You'd just need get the software that comes with it, as it would be Windows only. However it would/should work with Time Machine ok anyway.
A few things to consider though. Some of this is my own experience and personal preference so others may disagree or have different experiences...... 1) Just be aware that the larger the drive the more you'll lose should it all fall over in a big heap. eg someone with 2x 2TB has less to lose versus someone with 4TBs. So the bigger the drive, the more you store on it, the more gets lost if the drive falls over. So really need more then one backup "just in case". 2) If the computer doesn't have USB3 then it will just drop back to USB2 so a little slower to access. 3) I'm not a huge fan of Seagate gear. Again, this is my own experience and personal opinion. I've had more of their gear fail then any other brand. (And they were the brand that had a large failure rate in iMacs a few years back). They may be slightly better now, but I'm still a bit cautious. So I'd just be a bit cautious of not "putting all your eggs in one basket". Just make sure to cover yourself should anything happen to that drive. (Though the same applies for any drive really). Whereas Western Digital I find really great and it's my "go to" drive brand. I just find them more reliable and better follow service if needed. Again, just my experience. But to answer your question again, yes it should work fine once reformatted. Kind regards Daniel Sent from my iPhone 6 --- Daniel Kerr MacWizardry Phone: 0414 795 960 Email: <danielATmacwizardry.com.au> Web: <http://www.macwizardry.com.au> **For everything Apple** NOTE: Any information provided in this email may be my personal opinion and as such should be taken accordingly, and may not be the views of MacWizardry. Any information provided does not offer or warrant any form of warranty or accept liability. It would be appreciated that if any information in this email is to be disseminated, distributed or copied, that permission by the author be requested. > On 20 Jan 2015, at 12:06 pm, Chris Burton <[email protected]> wrote: > > Good afternoon wamuggers, > > I was in Good Guys this morning and noticed a number of Seagate HD, one of > which was 5tb 'Expansion drive'; I didnt know these were available and it > really got my attention as I am in the process of consolidating all my data > from numerous drives, and this size would be perfect as my offsite backup > drive. > > However, on closer inspection I noticed that it was for Windose only which is > a real bummer and has 'Backup software ready to go' and is USB 3 enabled. > They do have a 'Desktop Backup drive 2tb' that can be used with both Win and > Macs without reformatting and using Seagate's backup software. > > My question is, can I reformat this drive for use with my iMac as I want to > start using Time Machine for my backups now and this size would see me good > for a few years. > > I cant find anything online saying I shouldnt reformat and wanted to check > with you good people before I handed over the dollars. One cnet review says > that it is possible to reformat as per other external HD > > Many thanks and best regards to all > > Chris > > -- 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> > Settings & Unsubscribe - > <http://lists.wamug.org.au/listinfo/wamug.org.au-wamug>
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