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  • #1

    Will a PC external hard drive work on a MAC?

    Well Friday the 13th has certainly lived up to it's reputation Don't ask.

    My question is this: after a recent panic when my laptop crashed forever (RIP Sony Vaio No 1) I took Niddy's advice and backed up everything on an external hard drive from John Lewis costing £59.95 for 320 GBs (whatever that means)

    Now PC No 2 is acting up and I fear another computer death on my hands over the weekend

    Can I take my external hard drive round to my daughter house and plug it into her MAC Book Air Thin (fancy pants) laptop? Will it work? Can I then access my documents and (crucially) send/update/alter WORD documents even if she hasn't got WORD on her machine?

    Yours sincerely,

    I know F**k all about IT
    Tags: account, advice, apple, broadband, con, court, data, default, documents, emergency, facebook, fashion, files, financial, fine, free, friday, hard drive, ico, information, internet, jobs, laptop, loss, mat, mobile, money, niddy, online, panic, parking, parking ticket, pay, recovery, sky, store, support, thank you, ticket, update, video, windows, work, world
  • #2
    Re: Will a PC external hard drive work on a MAC?

    I think you need to format the HDD to be mac compatible before you loaded data on it....

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    • #3
      Re: Will a PC external hard drive work on a MAC?

      From experience i'e used a mac drive on a PC so I would imagine you should be fine the other way BUT as niddy said you'll loose whatevers on it as it'll need to be formatted for the mac to read

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      • #4
        Re: Will a PC external hard drive work on a MAC?

        Originally posted by Never-In-Doubt View Post
        I think you need to format the HDD to be mac compatible before you loaded data on it....

        Not retrospectively? Both the external HDD and Sony Vaio PC laptop are alive as we speak (so quick answer appreciated).

        The box from John Lewis doesn't say anything about being either/or PC vs MAC compatable but the gadget is called "INTENSO 2,5" portable hard drive memory blade 320 GB USB 3.0".

        All I know is when I plug it into my laptop USB slot it shows me everything is safely on there. It didn't ask me to format it to PC or Apple at the outset

        I so hate Steve Jobs

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        • #5
          Re: Will a PC external hard drive work on a MAC?

          Depends what the hard drive was formatted as.

          I think OSX Snow Leopard onwards has NTFS (modern Windows file system) read/write support.

          FAT32 should be read/writeable on most Macs by default.
          I'm an official AAD Moderator and also a volunteer, here to help make the forum run smoothly. Any views or opinions are mine and not the official line of AAD. Similarly, any advice I have offered you is done so on an informal basis, without prejudice or liability. If in doubt seek advice from a qualified insured professional - Find a Solicitor or go to the National Probono Centre.

          If you spot an abusive or libellous post then please report it by Clicking Here. If you need to contact me, for instance if I've issued you a warning, moved, edited or deleted your post, please send me a message by clicking my username.

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          • #6
            Re: Will a PC external hard drive work on a MAC?

            Originally posted by philnicandamy View Post
            From experience i'e used a mac drive on a PC so I would imagine you should be fine the other way BUT as niddy said you'll loose whatevers on it as it'll need to be formatted for the mac to read
            Oh dear. Do you mean if I tamper with the HDD so it can be read by a MAC I can never go back to it being read by a PC ? I'm only looking at a temporary/emergency situation until I cobble together the money to buy yet another new PC and can transfer everything from my HDD on to that. Is it really an all or nothing situation of Apple vs Microsoft?

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            • #7
              Re: Will a PC external hard drive work on a MAC?

              This one?

              http://www.intenso.de/multimedia/pro...8321612_en.pdf

              Says: File Format: FAT 32

              So if true, should read/write on a mac without trouble.
              I'm an official AAD Moderator and also a volunteer, here to help make the forum run smoothly. Any views or opinions are mine and not the official line of AAD. Similarly, any advice I have offered you is done so on an informal basis, without prejudice or liability. If in doubt seek advice from a qualified insured professional - Find a Solicitor or go to the National Probono Centre.

              If you spot an abusive or libellous post then please report it by Clicking Here. If you need to contact me, for instance if I've issued you a warning, moved, edited or deleted your post, please send me a message by clicking my username.

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              • #8
                Re: Will a PC external hard drive work on a MAC?

                Originally posted by rizzle View Post
                Depends what the hard drive was formatted as.

                I think OSX Snow Leopard onwards has NTFS (modern Windows file system) read/write support.

                FAT32 should be read/writeable on most Macs by default.
                Thank you Rizzle for that hope. I didn't 'format' anything when I got it I just took it out of the box and it was a plug-and-go situation. I've just looked at the box and it says "system compatibility Windows Xp and Mac OS 10".

                I think I should go into John Lewis tomorrow and ask them what to do. The on-the-floor techie guys are usually willing to help a damsel in distress

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                • #9
                  Re: Will a PC external hard drive work on a MAC?

                  If it's backward compatible to Windows XP, then that means it must be FAT32 formatted.

                  So should in theory work with any reasonably modern Mac PC/laptop as well.

                  Even if you did format it, then at the very least there should be some way to get a modern Mac to access the files.
                  Last edited by Riz; 13 April 2012, 20:45.
                  I'm an official AAD Moderator and also a volunteer, here to help make the forum run smoothly. Any views or opinions are mine and not the official line of AAD. Similarly, any advice I have offered you is done so on an informal basis, without prejudice or liability. If in doubt seek advice from a qualified insured professional - Find a Solicitor or go to the National Probono Centre.

                  If you spot an abusive or libellous post then please report it by Clicking Here. If you need to contact me, for instance if I've issued you a warning, moved, edited or deleted your post, please send me a message by clicking my username.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Will a PC external hard drive work on a MAC?

                    Originally posted by rizzle View Post
                    This one?

                    http://www.intenso.de/multimedia/pro...8321612_en.pdf

                    Says: File Format: FAT 32

                    So if true, should read/write on a mac without trouble.
                    Wow. Yes. That's the one. Thank you so much - our posts have crossed. It seems my wish will be granted as soon as I know which knobs to press. My know-all daughter will do the rest. Thank you so much for that info

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                    • #11
                      Re: Will a PC external hard drive work on a MAC?

                      You know what? I do have to ask myself (and you guys) why oh why are there two different operating systems (you can forget Amstrad because that belongs to my generation only.) I really do get the fashion thing and obvious design statement about Apple ipods, ipads, iphones which are so cool, but why the out-and-out war or seperatism which makes us chose allegiance to one or the other
                      Last edited by PlanB; 13 April 2012, 22:05. Reason: SpecSavers moment

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                      • #12
                        Re: Will a PC external hard drive work on a MAC?

                        Originally posted by Flowerpower
                        Have you considered using an online backup system? I recently signed up for cloud storage, it worked out at under £2/month for unlimited storage. At least this way you know it's there whatever happens and you can access it online via your account.

                        I decided to sign up after attempted data recovery on an old external HD failed completely.

                        I can read my external PC HDs on the work Mac but not write to them.
                        Plan B on Cloud Nine that's a possibility

                        Please tell me this won't have an Apple vs PC issue too

                        My broadband is currently with BT so is that significant or can I get this "cloud" stuff with any service providor and will it stop when I change internet people? (you've probably gathered that I have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about)

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                        • #13
                          Re: Will a PC external hard drive work on a MAC?

                          Originally posted by Flowerpower
                          From the website
                          I have PC at home, Mac at work. Works on both.

                          My broadband is also with BT but this is an independent service you can use with any connection. It's not related to your broadband provider.

                          Basically you upload your files to a remote server so even if you drop your laptop in the ocean (not that you would ) the files remain intact and you can download them by logging in to your account.
                          So forgive my paranoia but who can access my "cloud" files? MI5, President Obama, Boris Johnson, the London Borough of Camden parking ticket department? Right now I'm happy to tuck my HDD under my pillow each night where no one except me and my cat has access I'm truly fanatical about my personal privacy

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                          • #14
                            Re: Will a PC external hard drive work on a MAC?

                            Originally posted by Flowerpower
                            I can read my external PC HDs on the work Mac but not write to them.
                            Most likely formatted with NTFS then.

                            With a bit of luck, PlanB's should both read and write if FAT32.
                            I'm an official AAD Moderator and also a volunteer, here to help make the forum run smoothly. Any views or opinions are mine and not the official line of AAD. Similarly, any advice I have offered you is done so on an informal basis, without prejudice or liability. If in doubt seek advice from a qualified insured professional - Find a Solicitor or go to the National Probono Centre.

                            If you spot an abusive or libellous post then please report it by Clicking Here. If you need to contact me, for instance if I've issued you a warning, moved, edited or deleted your post, please send me a message by clicking my username.

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                            • #15
                              Re: Will a PC external hard drive work on a MAC?

                              Grabbed this off the web.

                              Operating systems along the top. What files systems they can read/write down the side.

                              Click image for larger version Name: 20120413004.png Views: 1 Size: 33.4 KB ID: 1386338
                              I'm an official AAD Moderator and also a volunteer, here to help make the forum run smoothly. Any views or opinions are mine and not the official line of AAD. Similarly, any advice I have offered you is done so on an informal basis, without prejudice or liability. If in doubt seek advice from a qualified insured professional - Find a Solicitor or go to the National Probono Centre.

                              If you spot an abusive or libellous post then please report it by Clicking Here. If you need to contact me, for instance if I've issued you a warning, moved, edited or deleted your post, please send me a message by clicking my username.

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