My Book and most external hard drives are set up out-of-the-box to work with Mac and PC thanks to a special format that both systems understand. As a result, you can use your external drive as a backup which you can access on both Mac and PC. This is very convenient if you are a hybrid user like me, who has the best of both worlds. But there is a limit to that format, (called FAT32), namely you cannot save files larger then 4 Gigabytes. Since High definition video (HDV) is very popular these days, 4GB is peanuts, especially if you like to keep compression to a minimum for your. But I wouldn’t be writing this if there was no solution! What is the solution?
The solution involves installing 2 pieces of free software on Mac. But let us first look at the options you have without installing additional software: You could format MyBook or any other external hard drive either in Windows XP NTFS or Mac OS X format so that you can transfer bigger videos then 4GB. Unfortunately, by doing so, sharing large videos between PC and Mac suddenly grinds to a halt. Your external drive then becomes a slave of one or the other system. Windows cannot read the Mac OS X system, while Mac cannot read the extended NTFS format from Windows. Yet, the solution is precisely to format your external drive from your PC to the NTFS format! There is a slight problem, though: transfer speed.
FAT32 limits file sizes to 4GB and device sizes to 8TB. For you to be able to store a file greater than 4GB in size, you'd need to reformat the drive to either ExFAT (file size is limited to 16EB, or 16 BILLION TB) or a MacOS partition format (called HFS plus, file size limited to 8EB, or 8 BILLION TB). This file system designed with a limitation on the size of the files--The FAT32 does not support the single file larger than 4GB, which means you can transfer files to a FAT32 USB flash drive that as large as the capacity of the drive, but the individual file should not exceed 4GB.
Disadvantage of using the NTFS format for sharing Because you have to use intermediate software that is actually optimized for compatibility and not for speed, copying files to and from your NTFS external drive via the Mac is incredibly slow. To give an example, it takes 4 hours for a video of 18GB to transfer to My Book. Now, if you really need to share this video from your Mac to your PC and vice versa, you have no other option, unless you want to cut the video into pieces of just under 4GB, which is cumbersome and slow too. In fact, transferring will probably be faster.
At this time of writing, according to the developers of MacFuse, there won’t be much improvement in speed for the immediate future. For the record, since NTFS is Windows native, transfers between PC and the NTFS formatted external drive are just fine. Formatting the external hard drive to NTFS To format your external drive to NTFS format, you need to use your PC because Mac cannot do this:. On Windows, connect your external hard drive (either USB or Firewire) and wait until it is detected.
Usually, you get a message saying that the drive is ready to use. On the desktop, double click the icon My Computer, then right click on the external drive. If it is My Book, it will be called like that. Otherwise, it could be E:, F:, depending on your configuration. A dialog box pops up (see screen shot below):. Select Format and then: in the File system dropdown list, select NTFS. For Allocation unit size, select Default allocation size.
You can change the name of the drive in Volume label if you want. Keep in mind that if the drive contains files, they will be destroyed. Best backup any files beforehand if you need them!. Then click on Start. The formatting will begin. This will take a long time. Best go do something else for at least an hour or so.
If all is well, your PC will be able to read this extended format without any problems, so the only thing we need to do now is to get it to work with the Mac. Therefore, we need to install MacFUSE on Mac, and after that, install the NTFS-3g package. Sounds complicated?
No, it is very easy if you follow the instructions below. Keep in mind that this solution only works with Mac OS X version 10.4 and higher! If you do not know what version of Mac OS you have, click on the Apple logo at the top left of the menu bar, and select About This Mac. A dialog box pops up looking somewhat like this: Instructions to install the recognition software on Mac MacFUSE has a driver that lets Mac OSX 10.4 (and higher) understand various alien formats. There is a lot you can do with MacFUSE, but this is beyond the scope of this article. I suggest you go to and look for the download link on the right, under Featured Downloads. At this time of writing that is: For non technical users: I would NOT try to understand the tech speak on that page and you certainly would not want to follow the demo video there, because it makes things look so complicated that you probably run away screaming your head off.
Instead, just click on the download link to download the software and follow the instructions below. The software will do all the work for you, there is nothing you need to do except installing. After you downloaded the software: double click on the file you downloaded. It will open this box: Now double click on the icon of MacFUSE.pkg. The install dialog box appears. It is possible that another dialog box will ask you to check the software: Click Continue and on the next dialog box, click Continue again to install the software.
When the dialog box with hard drives comes up, make sure you select your startup hard drive Do NOT select the external drive (in this case My MacBook)!. When MacFUSE is installed, restart your Mac. After restart, go to to download the NTFS-3g package for Mac OS X. Select the latest version on that page that has the word behind it. This means that is it a tested and stable version of the software. Beta versions do not always behave as expected. After download, double click the file you downloaded, you will see the following box: Double click the NTFS-3G icon and follow the instructions.
After install, best restart the Mac again and make sure you connect the external drive. If all is well, the drive should be detected and mounted onto your system. If so, you will be able to backup very large videos on your external drive and share them with your PC and Mac. A dream has come true, be it perhaps a slow dream 🙂 If you have problems, go here: and look for Known issues.
We are not done yet! There is one very important issue related to the use of external drives: What you need to know about external drives You cannot unplug an external drive just like that. If you do that, chances are 50/50 that the hard drive becomes corrupt. Mac will not be able to mount an NTFS hard drive if it was not closed of properly on Windows or on the Mac itself. Mounting means connecting the hard drive with the computer.
If a hard drive is not mounted, Mac will not see the drive and ignore it. The way to avoid this problem on Windows is that you either use the little application “Safely remove hardware”, usually accessible at the bottom right of the Task bar. Right click on it and select the external drive you want to remove. It works actually the same way as with flash memory sticks, except that external hard drives are much more vulnerable. Sometimes, you get a warning that the disk cannot be deactivated. Whatever happens, do not unplug the drive physically, unless you want to spend the next 5 to 6 hours repairing the drive and possible losing data in the process.
It can help to close all applications and open windows. If that doesn’t work, close down the computer and then make sure the LED on the external drive is out before you unplug the usb or firewire cable. On Mac it is the same thing. You press the Eject button next to the external drive in the file manager, or drag the drive to the trash can. Normally you can unplug the drive without problems. But if a message shows up that the drive is busy, try to close all applications and open windows, then try to unmount the drive again.
If you still get the same message, shut the computer down and wait until the LED is out on the drive before unplugging. Again: NEVER EVER unplug without proper dismounting. Categories, Post navigation.: whenever i am playing vimeo videos in jwplayer7 it is showing crossdomain error.: I have a kindle 8 tablet. Can I use the cloudberry s3 ex explorer to correct the link? When I try to.: Hi, Do you offer advertising space (or article placement) on miracletutorials.com? If yes, what would the cost.: Is the plugin still active and supported?.: You have two options to add watermark to video: 1.
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Ever run out of storage space and start wondering if it would be possible to take a crowbar to your new unibody MacBook Pro to pry it open and put another hard drive in? Neither do I. However, it is frustrating that you have to sacrifice storage space because you spent the extra money to get a solid-state drive instead of the cheaper hard disk drive. So you figured, “Fine, I’ll just get an external hard drive. I’ll store my media files on it while keeping the internal hard drive clear for apps and the OS.” While browsing the Internet for your external hard drive, you come across weird terms like NTFS, HFS+, FAT32, and exFAT. While your instinct may be to find out if it’s some weird slang acronym defined only on scandalous websites, you may fare better by reading below. NTFS If you own a Windows computer, the hard drive in your system is probably running the format, which stands for New Technology File System.
While the “New” is originally referring to the year 1993, it has since been improved and updated over the years. NTFS has limits for file size and partition that are theoretically so large, you probably don’t have to worry about them in this lifetime. It also has a lot of additional features, such as security permissions to files and folders, hard links, a change journal, and more. WD 4TB Elements Desktop USB 3.1 Gen 1 External Hard Drive While NTFS works natively with Windows, it doesn’t work quite as well with other operating systems. By default, Macs can only read NTFS and not write to them. Some versions of Linux can write to NTFS while others may not. The Sony PS3 and the PS4 do not support NTFS at all.
Even Microsoft’s own Xbox 360 failed to support NTFS, but Microsoft finally included NTFS support with the Xbox One. It is recommended to use NTFS if you’re working strictly with Windows computers. HFS+ As mentioned before, Macs can only read NTFS-formatted hard drives by default. If you want to, you’re going to need the help of a third-party driver.
However, if you’re working primarily with Mac computers, you’re probably better off using, which stands for Hierarchical File System, for native support. Also known as Mac OS Extended or HFS Extended, HFS+ is an improvement on the HFS file system, by supporting larger files and using Unicode for naming files. HFS+ also has optional journaled features for improved data reliability. G-Technology 4TB G-DRIVE G1 USB 3.0 Hard Drive While HFS+ formatted hard drives work great with Macs, they can’t really be used with other operating systems and devices, since it is a proprietary system from Apple. Windows computers won’t even recognize the drive if you plug it in and good luck trying to use them for other devices, such as gaming consoles.
You should use HFS+ if you’re planning on using only Mac computers. APFS If you have a Mac running macOS High Sierra or later, you may consider converting your or to Apple File System (APFS). Optimized for all-flash storage, APFS features strong encryption, space sharing, fast directory sizing, and improved file system fundamentals. Please note that APFS can only be read by Macs running macOS High Sierra or later.
If you intend to use your external drive to move files between Macs running different OS versions, it is recommended that you format your drive in HFS+ instead. Seagate 4TB Backup Plus Portable Hard Drive In FAT32, a single file can only be as big as 4GB, which is very restricting considering the typical uncompressed Blu-ray movie can be anywhere from 20 to 40GB (and even more for an uncompressed UHD Blu-ray movie). FAT32 is mostly used for moving files to older systems, as well as other devices, such as the Sony PS3, Microsoft Xbox 360, and more.
ExFAT While it may sound like a weight-loss product from a late-night infomercial, is a hard drive format that feels like the child of NTFS and FAT32. ExFAT takes everything that’s good about FAT32, such as compatibility and ease of use, and leaves out everything that was bad about it, like the 4GB file size limit. Instead, it has very large file and partition size limits, like NTFS, but none of its extra features to maintain its svelte file system. WD 3TB My Passport Wireless Pro USB 3.0 External Hard Drive exFAT is a good option if you work often with Windows and Mac computers. Transferring files between the two operating systems is less of a hassle, since you don’t have to constantly back up and reformat each time. Linux is also supported, but you will need to install appropriate software to take full advantage of it.
Unfortunately, exFAT didn’t inherit all of FAT32’s legacy in compatibility because it may not work with older devices, such as the PS3 and Xbox 360. It does work on the current-gen of gaming consoles, such as the PS4 and the Xbox One. Reformat While it’s convenient to purchase the hard drive that will work with your computer right out of the box, most external hard drives can also be reformatted so you’re not limited to your initial choice. Please see below on how to reformat your external hard drive on Mac and Windows. DISCLAIMER: Please keep in mind that reformatting will result in the loss of all the data on the hard drive so make sure you back up your data elsewhere before starting. How to Reformat in Mac Step 1: Make sure your external hard drive is attached and mounted to your Mac.
Step 2: If you have already written any data to the drive, back it up before proceeding to the next step. Step 3: In the Finder, choose Go, then choose Utilities. The /Applications/Utilities folder will open. (Alternatively, you can search in Spotlight for Disk Utility and click on it.) Step 4: Launch Disk Utility. Step 5: Click the icon for your external hard drive in the sidebar on the left. Step 6: Click the Erase tab along the top of the window.
Step 7: From the Volume Format menu, choose Mac OS Extended. Step 8: Enter a name for the external hard drive in the Name field. Step 9: Click the Erase button. How to Reformat in Windows Step 1: Plug your external hard drive into your computer. Step 2: If you have already written any data to the drive, back it up before proceeding to the next step. Step 3: Open Windows Explorer, click the “Computer” section in the sidebar and find your drive.
Step 4: Right-click on the drive and choose “Format.” Step 5: Under “File System,” choose the file system you want to use. Step 6: Check the “Quick Format” box. Step 7: Name your hard drive under “Volume Label.” Step 8: Click “Start” to format the drive. Step 9: After you’re done, don’t forget to remove the external hard drive safely before unplugging. Which hard drive format do you use?
Do you use one that’s not listed above? Let us know in the comments below! Don’t forget to check out all of the hard drives and storage solutions available at B&H. For more information. Share a photo of your current hard drive + tag for a chance to win a new Hard Drive Prize Pack!