Mac/PC Compatibility? Is this drive compatible with both PCs and Macs without the need to frreformat it?
1668234
THANK YOU!! I didn't know how to get my expansion disk to accept back up information until I read your post and once I used Time Machine to format, everything copied quickly and easily. So again, THANK YOU!!
1668235
Some guy in a comment on one of the one star reviews notes that it needs to be reformatted on the Mac with some specific format (FAT something) and then it will work on both Mac and PC.
1668236
I own a Mac & PC. Works like a charm on both these Operating Systems! Read my review in the 5 stars section for more details
1668237
I have this exact hard drive - purchased it this weekend. It needs to be formatted FAT 32. It works perfectly with my Mac and PC.
1668238
I own a Mac & PC.Works like a charm on both these Operating Systems!Read my review in the 5 stars section for more details
1668239
why does it have it be formatted if the software is supposed to work for both mac and pc ?
1668240
In the first moment I hate this product, because in the box said that only works for PC so I installed and it was true I just only can read not write the disk never let me write but...... if you have a mac just do one thing connect the disk and then select after that go to utilities and part the disk but indicating "1 partition" after a few seconds your only PC external hard drive works well in both MAC and PC
1668241
Windows and Mac don't support all the same disk formats. Windows supports FAT32 and the more robust NTFS. Mac can read and write FAT32, as well as its own OS Extended format, but (unless things have changed) can only read NTFS. So FAT32 can be used for both, and external drives often come pre-formatted in FAT32. But if you're only going to use one, you might want to reformat to something optimal for your chosen platform.
1668242
I was wondering the same thing, and read this review:I've been wanting an external for a long time, but the price just wasn't right. Caught this during the holidays and couldn't pass it up. Being it's my first external, I have nothing to compare it to, but I am pleased with my purchase. Great portability, lightweight, and big amount of storage. I was worried about compatibility with a Mac, but it works seamlessly between Mac and PC. Would consider purchasing another in the future. Also, the same item is at Wal-Mart and on the product page it states that it IS supported by both Mac and PC formats. http://www.walmart.com/catalog/allReviews.do?product_id=10992462 Hope this helps! I was wondering the same thing, and read this review:I've been wanting an external for a long time, but the price just wasn't right. Caught this during the holidays and couldn't pass it up. Being it's my first external, I have nothing to compare it to, but I am pleased with my purchase. Great portability, lightweight, and big amount of storage. I was worried about compatibility with a Mac, but it works seamlessly between Mac and PC. Would consider purchasing another in the future. Also, the same item is at Wal-Mart and on the product page it states that it IS supported by... » Read More I was wondering the same thing, and read this review:I've been wanting an external for a long time, but the price just wasn't right. Caught this during the holidays and couldn't pass it up. Being it's my first external, I have nothing to compare it to, but I am pleased with my purchase. Great portability, lightweight, and big amount of storage. I was worried about compatibility with a Mac, but it works seamlessly between Mac and PC. Would consider purchasing another in the future. Also, the same item is at Wal-Mart and on the product page it states that it IS supported by both Mac and PC formats. http://www.walmart.com/catalog/allReviews.do?product_id=10992462 Hope this helps! « Show Less
1339934
@TonyI believe you could. You'd have to create two partitions on the drive, one formatted in HFS+ (for Mac) and the other in NTFS (for Windows). I have never done any such thing but it might be worth a try. Of course, as these drives have come so far down in price, why not just buy two, one for Mac and the other for Windows?
135685
I am an idiot- specifically, how do you format this for a Mac? Also, is it fine to do this, or should I buy a specific hard drive already formated or designed for Macs?
301968
Tabitha. I am not certain because I do not normally use MACs. However....note the tech specs on Amazon.com. It says "Preformatted for PCs, easily reformatted for Macs" What this PROBABLY means is the drive is NTFS formatted (Microsoft proprietary formatted) so will work plug and play with PCs running Microsoft operating systems. Which is why I can just plug it into a USB port and begin using it. For a MAC user you will probably have to format it (to HFS) for your specific MAC operating system. It should be fairly straight-forward. The manufacturer gives directions for this here: http://www.hgst.com/support/faqs/how-format-my-drive-mac-only-hfsHope this helps.Tim Tabitha. I am not certain because I do not normally use MACs. However....note the tech specs on Amazon.com. It says "Preformatted for PCs, easily reformatted for Macs" What this PROBABLY means is the drive is NTFS formatted (Microsoft proprietary formatted) so will work plug and play with PCs running Microsoft operating systems. Which is why I can just plug it into a USB port and begin using it. For a MAC user you will probably have to format it (to HFS) for your specific MAC operating system. It should be fairly straight-forward. The manufacturer gives directions for this here:... » Read More Tabitha. I am not certain because I do not normally use MACs. However....note the tech specs on Amazon.com. It says "Preformatted for PCs, easily reformatted for Macs" What this PROBABLY means is the drive is NTFS formatted (Microsoft proprietary formatted) so will work plug and play with PCs running Microsoft operating systems. Which is why I can just plug it into a USB port and begin using it. For a MAC user you will probably have to format it (to HFS) for your specific MAC operating system. It should be fairly straight-forward. The manufacturer gives directions for this here: http://www.hgst.com/support/faqs/how-format-my-drive-mac-only-hfsHope this helps.Tim « Show Less
1776683
Yes it is.....when you get the drive reformat it to Mac os extended journal
2006924
This Drive is NTFS formatted so it will not work on MAC. For MAC system you will need either FAT32 or MAC journal formatted.
1218851
My understanding is that it will work for either Windows or Mac but will need to be formatted when used with a Windows system. It is my understanding that once it is dedicated it is not recommended to the use the Gdrive back and forth between the two different computer systems. Hope this is helpful.
1465528
If the question is whether the software on the drive is MAC compatible, the answer is NO. I have a Mac and I just use the device as a flash drive with my information in PDF files on the drive.
603307
I'm not sure about FAT32, but I was able to reformat mine to exFAT using Disk Utility on a Mac, and that allowed me to use the drive with both Macs and PCs. I'm fairly certain you could do the same for FAT32, by the same method. Good luck.
577669
Hi Shiki, This is very helpful. Is it easy to partition the drive? I just ordered this so I don't have the drive yet, but when it comes I'd like to back up both my Mac and PC... Do you know where to find information on how to partition? Thank you!
1733732
Any USB drive can. With a proviso: They come from amazon and other stores preformatted as FAT32. This format is recognized by all modern OSes. However if you format it on your mac to the MAC OS format then windows will think it is blank and ask to reformat it.ON both the MAC and PC you can chose to format any USB drive as 'FAT32'. Bottom line. Yes. don't worry lol
953783
I think the question is does the drive come preformated for Mac or PC or do you have to format it for either OS and setup two partitions if you want to use it across platforms.
684980
I believe it works for PC and Mac. You'll have to do your own formatting and that should take care of it. It's funny you should ask about this drive. I have two of these 1 TB drives both the same. I was doing pretty good up until 2 weeks ago when the most recent drive started to cut out and giving me error messages. I had heard about the port and cable having problems and I think I just started having this problem. I use LaCie because my porche drive is still going and doing great. This "Rugged" model is suspect at this moment. I'm going to try re working it and hope I can get it back in operational mode. Best of luck. I believe it works for PC and Mac. You'll have to do your own formatting and that should take care of it. It's funny you should ask about this drive. I have two of these 1 TB drives both the same. I was doing pretty good up until 2 weeks ago when the most recent drive started to cut out and giving me error messages. I had heard about the port and cable having problems and I think I just started having this problem. I use LaCie because my porche drive is still going and doing great. This "Rugged" model is suspect at this moment. I'm going to try re working it and hope I can get it... » Read More I believe it works for PC and Mac. You'll have to do your own formatting and that should take care of it. It's funny you should ask about this drive. I have two of these 1 TB drives both the same. I was doing pretty good up until 2 weeks ago when the most recent drive started to cut out and giving me error messages. I had heard about the port and cable having problems and I think I just started having this problem. I use LaCie because my porche drive is still going and doing great. This "Rugged" model is suspect at this moment. I'm going to try re working it and hope I can get it back in operational mode. Best of luck. « Show Less
779409
The USB drive should be recognizable by any device with a USB Port. the only thing that would be incompatible is if you have a proprietary file type exclusive to Mac trying to run it on Windows. Files like pictures, videos and such should all be fairly universal and transfer with no issues.
1399081
I've never heard of any external hard drive NOT working on a PC... You might have to reformat, but HDs labeled for Macs should work in PCs (but NOT the other way around!).
1900407
it all depends on how you use it. This version I bought was the drive formatted for MAC OS
2253997
Also instead of formatting the drive you can install the NTFS driver for mac os provided by seagate and it will keep the drive compatible with mac and windows.