Using an EHD with Mac

[kendallt]

So, I recently switched to a Mac exclusively after being a PC user my whole life. I realized I could no longer save files to my EHD, and after doing some research online, I discovered that apparently if you've previously used your EHD on a PC, you can't then use it on a Mac other than just for viewing files. Who knew?!

Anyway, my question...Is there not a way to format the hard drive so that it can be used for my Mac now without losing all my existing files? I am really nervous to tinker with it on my own and risk damaging or losing the files.

 

[ChristineF]

I had this problem a few years back and what I did to make sure I at least had my files was plug the EHD into my old PC, transfer the files to a flash drive memory stick (these can handle PC to Mac and back without issues) and put them onto my mac. I then got an EHD specifically made for Mac. Don't know about formatting the EHD for use with Mac, but I hope it is possible so you can get your files onto your Mac.

 

[Nettio]

Yes, you can format the EHD to a format that your Mac can read & write to it but you'll need to move everything off the drive, reformat and then move the files back. Do you need to still be able to access the EHD from a PC too? If so, you'd need to format it as FAT32 since that's the only format both Mac & PC can read/write to. Otherwise if you only need it to work with your Mac, you can format it as Mac OS Extended. There's an article here that explains it in more detail: http://www.pcworld.com/article/250431/how_to_share_an_external_drive_between_a_mac_and_a_pc.html

Just make sure you have a backup of your files before doing anything, just in case. And if you don't have a backup, it might be easiest to by a new EHD, format it and then use the old EHD for your backup. If you decide to go that route, you don't need to by the special "Mac" EHDs. They're almost always more money and you can simply buy any EHD and format it for Mac.

 

[Sherri Tierney]

Ugh. This makes me think twice about getting a Mac. I transfer files back and forth between home and work with a thumb drive, but at home (PC) we all share our files to the same EHD. Seems like a lot of work just to bring a Mac into the house. There are a few features that I like on the Mac though. There are a lot I like on PC too, so it isn't like I'm jumping at the bit to switch. Thanks for asking the question because it isn't one I would have considered until it was too late.