[mimes1]

I have another question before I make this jump from PC. I have TONS of stuff on EHD's - nothing of importance on my internal HD. I understand that I can plug and play these hard drives, but I learned today that that might be read only and I would have to reformat to be able to do that on a mac. But reformatting wipes everything off. It would be a very bad day if I lost everything like that.

For those of you that have switched over and had EHD's, how did you go about getting your EHD's squared away? I hope that question makes sense.

Thanks!

[AnnBK]

You can always burn things to DVD's and then add to your Mac EHD , but if you have as much stuff as I do, that might take a while. A lot depends on the EHD. I have one that I can play on both my Mac and my PC, and another one that is more selective. Sorry I'm not much help on this one, I've always had a Mac and really haven't been faced by that challenge.

[Sara Arell]

Amy, if I were getting a "new" Mac (and I so want another one!) I'd let the techie guys do all of that stuff for you. They have the capability to do it faster and smarter than I do so I generally take things that are going to take a long time over to them and let them do it. That's just me though.....

[Jo Corne]

hmmmm Amy...I went from PC to mac about three years ago and had ALL my scrap stuff plus all the other bits and bobs on ehd as well as pc and I am now trying to remember what I did....I think it went ok as I am still using an EHD that I had before. let me think about this a bit more and get back to you as the last thing I want is for you to lose anything

[Deb C.]

Hi Amy. I switched from a PC to a MAC (and love it by the way). I had an EHD that my Mac could only read - not write to. However, I bought a new EHD and I could copy from the old one to the new one, using my Mac.

I haven't completely copied everything to my new one yet, but I was told that after I finish, I can reformat the old EHD to a format the Mac can write to. You would then have 2 EHDs to use.

[mimes1]

Does that mean that I could transfer all my files from the EHD onto the mac hard drive, then reformat the EHD then move everything back? If I buy a EHD that's mac and PC compatible, which mine is, why does it need to be reformatted in order to be written to?

[Sara Arell]

mimes1, on 21 October 2012 - 10:00 PM, said:

Does that mean that I could transfer all my files from the EHD onto the mac hard drive, then reformat the EHD then move everything back? If I buy a EHD that's mac and PC compatible, which mine is, why does it need to be reformatted in order to be written to?

I don't know the reason it has to be reformatted, Amy, but I do remember that my tech had to reformat my new EHD FOR my Mac, and the EHD was PC and Mac compatible. I wish I knew why, but I don't......as I said, I just let set it up for me

[Sara Arell]

Amy, I found this while searching for answers........not sure if it will help, but thought I'd pass it along for you.
It's confusing to me, but I think you are a little more computer savvy than I am so maybe it will be helpful to you.

Any external hard drive will work with PCs or Macs, as long as the connectors are there (Firewire, USB, etc.) It doesn't matter how the drive is formatted out of the box, since you can re-format any way you like. Formatting in HFS (Mac OS Extended) or FAT32 or NTFS-3G can be done with the Mac OS X Disk Utility.

Here are your formatting options:


FAT32 (File Allocation Table)
Read/Write FAT32 from both native Windows and native Mac OS X.
Maximum file size: 4GB.
Maximum volume size: 2TB
NTFS (Windows NT File System)
Read/Write NTFS from native Windows.
Read only NTFS from native Mac OS X
To Read/Write/Format NTFS from Mac OS X, here are some alternatives:
For Mac OS X 10.4 or later (32 or 64-bit), install Paragon (approx $20) (Best Choice for Lion)
For 32-bit Mac OS X, install NTFS-3G for Mac OS X (free) (does not work in 64-bit mode)
For 64-bit Snow Leopard, read this: MacFUSE for 64-bit Snow Leopard
Some have reported problems using Tuxera (approx $36).
Native NTFS support can be enabled in Snow Leopard and Lion, but is not advisable, due to instability.
AirPort Extreme (802.11n) and Time Capsule do not support NTFS
Maximum file size: 16 TB
Maximum volume size: 256TB
HFS+ (Hierarchical File System, a.k.a. Mac OS Extended)
Read/Write HFS+ from native Mac OS X
Required for Time Machine or Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper! backups of Mac internal hard drive.
To Read/Write HFS+ from Windows, Install MacDrive
To Read HFS+ (but not Write) from Windows, Install HFSExplorer
Maximum file size: 8EiB
Maximum volume size: 8EiB
exFAT (FAT64)
Supported in Mac OS X only in 10.6.5 or later.
Not all Windows versions support exFAT. See disadvantages.
exFAT (Extended File Allocation Table)
AirPort Extreme (802.11n) and Time Capsule do not support exFAT
Maximum file size: 16 EiB
Maximum volume size: 64 ZiB

[Sara Arell]

I found this that might be helpful - I hope!

http://sites.duke.ed...ive-formatting/

[SandiC.]

mimes1, on 21 October 2012 - 10:00 PM, said:

Does that mean that I could transfer all my files from the EHD onto the mac hard drive, then reformat the EHD then move everything back? If I buy a EHD that's mac and PC compatible, which mine is, why does it need to be reformatted in order to be written to?

Yes I've done that. Now with new EHDs, many are mac and pc but if I get one that isn't I reformat it first. Takes a little time, but well worth it in the end. Go get that Mac! Whatever hassles in the beginning, in the end you'll love it.

[Sara Arell]

SandiC., on 22 October 2012 - 08:38 AM, said:

mimes1, on 21 October 2012 - 10:00 PM, said:

Does that mean that I could transfer all my files from the EHD onto the mac hard drive, then reformat the EHD then move everything back? If I buy a EHD that's mac and PC compatible, which mine is, why does it need to be reformatted in order to be written to?

Yes I've done that. Now with new EHDs, many are mac and pc but if I get one that isn't I reformat it first. Takes a little time, but well worth it in the end. Go get that Mac! Whatever hassles in the beginning, in the end you'll love it.

Sandi, not to change the subject entirely, but I have another question - about ICloud. I got an email from ICloud this morning letting me know that my ICloud storage was almost full and that after that email I would no longer be able to receive my email from ICloud unless I upgraded my ICloud account or deleted some of the things I wanted backed up to the Cloud. I bought the $20 per year storage selection and from what I can see have not exceeded my allowance...............has this happened to you yet?

[mimes1]

Thanks Sara - that looks a wee bit over my head, but I appreciate your effort in finding it.

Today I hope to make time to head to the Apple store to ask more questions. Looking at financing options too.

[DebLynn]

There should be new iMacs being announced tomorrow morning at Apple's iPad mini event. Just a head's up!

[Sara Arell]

mimes1, on 22 October 2012 - 09:39 AM, said:

Thanks Sara - that looks a wee bit over my head, but I appreciate your effort in finding it.

Today I hope to make time to head to the Apple store to ask more questions. Looking at financing options too.

Amy, I just love the techies at our Apple Store - they are so good about answering any question I have and I just marvel at their knowledge! Some of the guys are just babies, it seems, and yet they have so much knowledge!

Good luck in your Mac purchasing! I can't wait until you get it and hear once again -"I've gone Mac and will never go back"! LOL

And yes, the stuff I found was way over my head too, but thought maybe something in there might click with you - sometimes a word, a phrase or something will turn on a light bulb in my head and give me my answer, but this stuff was a little over the top!

[SandiC.]

Sara, re: iCloud, haven't had any storage issues yet and I don't remember what my plan is except it was more than enough at the time I got it. Sorry, can't help you with that.

Ok, iPad mini....who's looking at that?

Amy, are you looking for a laptop or a desktop? I have both an iMac 27" desktop I love, love, love and a 15" macBookPro. also in love with that. The new MacBook Pro with retina display is on my wish list.

[mimes1]

Sandi - I am looking at a finance option - if it works out I'm going to go for it. Do all the models use the SATA? Is there an option? Does it matter?

Yes, I'm looking at the 27" imac with 1 TB hard drive and starting with 4 GB ram. I understand I can upgrade to 8 easy enough. I'm looking at the 2.7 Ghz. Don't know exactly what that means but I'm told I wouldn't need the higher one.

[Jo Corne]

mimes1, on 23 October 2012 - 12:26 PM, said:

Yes, I'm looking at the 27" imac with 1 TB hard drive and starting with 4 GB ram. I understand I can upgrade to 8 easy enough. I'm looking at the 2.7 Ghz. Don't know exactly what that means but I'm told I wouldn't need the higher one.

Amy, that is what I have but dh kindly put in another 8GB of ram so I am running with 16GB ram (LOVE my dh) and wait until you get to use the very very wide screen....LOVE that too.
you won't go wrong with this one.

glad you are getting solutions to your ehd question, I'm sure I just plugged mine in and things were ok. I really don't remember having any issues with taking it all from PC to Mac.

enjoy, you won't regret going MAC, yay

[Sara Arell]

SandiC., on 23 October 2012 - 12:03 PM, said:

Sara, re: iCloud, haven't had any storage issues yet and I don't remember what my plan is except it was more than enough at the time I got it. Sorry, can't help you with that.

Ok, iPad mini....who's looking at that?

Amy, are you looking for a laptop or a desktop? I have both an iMac 27" desktop I love, love, love and a 15" macBookPro. also in love with that. The new MacBook Pro with retina display is on my wish list.

Thank you, Sandi! I haven't quite been able to figure it out myself - I thought I had ample storage too......