CGTalk - How to format Mac External HD for PC?

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pearblossom

09-08-2004, 02:51 AM

Hello,
I have a new Mac 120 gb external firewire/USB HD by Tekserve (I think they're native to NYC), and I would like to get it to work with my PC--which is custom-built and running Win2K. I called the tech guys at Tekserve several times and tried emailing them too--every time I called they would transfer me to a different department and finally someone would come on and say "oh, you just format it for a PC." "how?" "well, we're a Mac shop . . . there's one guy here who knows, but he's off for the day/out to lunch/Lord alone knows where." i swear I called them several times and they kept telling me this, then transferring me to sales.

One thing they did tell me to do was format it on a Mac using the Disk Utility, erasing the drive and in 'version' or what it was selecting MS-DOS. I did that. Now I've tried taking it back home and plugging it in and my PC still won't detect it--i tried Add/Remove Hardware, and went to Admin. Tools -->Computer Management-->Storage but I can't find any sign of the drive there, and don't know where else to look for it.

I tried Google and asking the people I know, they don't know. anybody here know?

beaker

09-08-2004, 03:31 AM

Here is a way to format for pc on a mac:
http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20040724110933265&query=fat32

It involves using the commandline (terminal).

YETI

09-08-2004, 02:48 PM

If you format the drive using the pc - make sure that you format it using FAT32 file system - not NTFS, then your mac should be able to pick it up and use it. Just remember when writing files from your pc to keep the filenames short as possible, as I have had issues importing sequences from the pc to the mac when I gave long names to them.

Hope that helps - If you need to get to the format settings in 2000 then simply right click on the "my computer icon" and select manage and then disk management.

_YETI

pearblossom

09-09-2004, 01:54 AM

thanks very much for responding. I went to Disk Management, but the drive still doesn't show up there--I tried 'rescan disks', rebooting and logging on as an admin but it didn't seem to care. I'll try taking it to school tomorrow to see if one of the computers there (mac or pc) will recognize and format it--otherwise maybe I just need to exchange it for a different drive.

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