Transfer info from Mac Air to USB

[mayalbalide]

I got a new Mac Air 2 motnhs ago and still have not figured out how to transfer info from my Mac to my external storage device: if i try to dragg the folders with the mouse from the mac to the USB doesnt let m,e do it, neithwer if i do a copy and paste. I ve 2 months work in my Mac unabe to save it somewhere else, any ideas???

 

[KPOM]

I got a new Mac Air 2 motnhs ago and still have not figured out how to transfer info from my Mac to my external storage device: if i try to dragg the folders with the mouse from the mac to the USB doesnt let m,e do it, neithwer if i do a copy and paste. I ve 2 months work in my Mac unabe to save it somewhere else, any ideas???

Is your external device formatted as NTFS (Windows' default file system)? If so, OS X can read to it, but can't write to it without third party software. If you want a drive that both Windows and OS X can read and write to, format it either as FAT32 (if it's less than 32GB) or ExFAT (if it is a solid state drive or larger than 32GB).

Alternatively, there's a program called NTFS-3G that enables Macs to write to NTFS volumes.

 

[mayalbalide]

Is your external device formatted as NTFS (Windows' default file system)? If so, OS X can read to it, but can't write to it without third party software. If you want a drive that both Windows and OS X can read and write to, format it either as FAT32 (if it's less than 32GB) or ExFAT (if it is a solid state drive or larger than 32GB).

Alternatively, there's a program called NTFS-3G that enables Macs to write to NTFS volumes.

thanks for that, it all sound very tecnical for me.... i do not have any knowledge on all that stuff.. can i unload the programme safely from internet?

 

[simsaladimbamba]

I suppose English is not your native language, as your spelling makes your post a bit hard to read?

Anyway:

It has to do with file systems (formats) and Mac OS X' ability to write to them. Most obviously your external HDD uses NTFS as format, which is native to Windows and can be read by Mac OS X, but additional software is needed to write to NTFS formatted HDDs in Mac OS X.
See below for valuable information about this:

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: Install NTFS-3G for Mac OS X (free)
• Some have reported problems using Tuxera (approx 33USD).
• Native NTFS support can be enabled in Snow Leopard, 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 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.
• exFAT partitions created with OS X 10.6.5 are inaccessible from Windows 7
• 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

 

[KPOM]

thanks for that, it all sound very tecnical for me.... i do not have any knowledge on all that stuff.. can i unload the programme safely from internet?

NTFS-3G is EUR25 (about $31) from the developer.
http://www.tuxera.com/community/ntfs-3g-download/

Basically, if you are using an external hard drive with Windows XP or later, it likely will have been formatted as NTFS. NTFS-3g lets your Mac write to the drive without reformatting it. Otherwise, you would need to reformat it to FAT32 or ExFAT, which would erase your files.

My suggestion is that if you ever buy a new external hard drive (or a USB flash stick), format it as ExFAT if you plan to use it with Windows Vista or 7, and Mac (it won't work with XP unless you download a driver from Microsoft). To format something as ExFAT in Windows, right click on the drive, and when the format dialog box comes up, select "ExFAT" as the file system.

 

[GGJstudios]

thanks for that, it all sound very tecnical for me.... i do not have any knowledge on all that stuff.. can i unload the programme safely from internet?

To Read/Write/Format NTFS from Mac OS X: Install NTFS-3G for Mac OS X (free)

 

[mayalbalide]

I suppose English is not your native language, as you spelling makes your post a bit hard to read?

Anyway:

It has to do with file systems (formats) and Mac OS X' ability to write to them. Most obviously your external HDD uses NTFS as format, which is native to Windows and can be read by Mac OS X, but additional software is needed to write to NTFS formatted HDDs in Mac OS X.
See below for valuable information about this:

Thanks for that, yes English is not my fist language and I do make lots of mistakes when writing fast. One last question: i am the only one at work with a mac, everybody else use windows. if i install the NTFS-36, would I be able to use (read/write) all the forms (done if word and excel) sent to me by windows users??(and apologies to all the mac forum users for my duplicate thread: it took me quite a while to figure out how to post a new thread instead of using a existing one not related to me!!)

 

[simsaladimbamba]

If you install NTFS-3G, you will be able to write to NTFS formatted HDDs, and the one you use (external one via USB), seems to use that format.
Mac OS X is already capable of reading NTFS formatted HDDs, therefore you can see the HDD in Finder and read the files.
The file system has NOTHING to do with the .doc(x) or .xls files you get. You only need a compatible application like MS Word or MS Excel or Pages or Numbers (the latter two being part of iWork) or NeoOffice or OpenOffice (the latter two being free) to open them. If those .doc and .xls files contain heavy formatting, some formatting will be lost when opened outside of MS Office.



Helpful Information for Any Mac User by GGJstudios

 

[mayalbalide]

If you install NTFS-3G, you will be able to write to NTFS formatted HDDs, and the one you use (external one via USB), seems to use that format.
Mac OS X is already capable of reading NTFS formatted HDDs, therefore you can see the HDD in Finder and read the files.
The file system has NOTHING to do with the .doc(x) or .xls files you get. You only need a compatible application like MS Word or MS Excel or Pages or Numbers (the latter two being part of iWork) or NeoOffice or OpenOffice (the latter two being free) to open them. If those .doc and .xls files contain heavy formatting, some formatting will be lost when opened outside of MS Office.



Helpful Information for Any Mac User by GGJstudios

Thank you so much!!!