Can a "Windows compatible" Seagate Expansion External Drive be used with a Mac??

Started by Fontaholic, May 17, 2013, 09:17:20 AM

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Fontaholic

Hey everyone,

Management wants me to use a Seagate Expansion Eternal Drive (2 TB, USB 2.0) to back-up everything I have on my Macintosh workstation.

Only thing is, every bit of documentation on this Seagate External Drive indicates that it's Windows compatible only.

Can I still plug this thing into my Mac's USB and start copying away?  Or is this a bad idea??

Need advice ASAP!

Thanks, John the Fontaholic

David

from my experience, most will work on a Mac, but there are some that don't, depends on the Mac and the OS.
What Mac and OS are you running?
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David

found this:

http://technologycrave.com/external-hard-drives/seagate-expansion-external-hard-drive-review/

QuoteYou merely plug in the power cord and USB 3.0 lead and off you go, this is thanks to the fact that the hard drive comes pre-setup to use for Windows users. If you want to use the Seagate Expansion on a mac, you only need to reformat it using the Disk Utility in your Mac operating system and voila. If you don't know how to do this, take a look at the following Seagate page and follow their easy to follow steps: http://consumer.media.seagate.com/2010/01/the-digital-den/how-to-format-a-windows-disk-drive-for-a-mac/
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Livin' la Vida Loca

Fontaholic

Quote from: david on May 17, 2013, 09:36:50 AMfound this:

http://technologycrave.com/external-hard-drives/seagate-expansion-external-hard-drive-review/

QuoteYou merely plug in the power cord and USB 3.0 lead and off you go, this is thanks to the fact that the hard drive comes pre-setup to use for Windows users. If you want to use the Seagate Expansion on a mac, you only need to reformat it using the Disk Utility in your Mac operating system and voila. If you don't know how to do this, take a look at the following Seagate page and follow their easy to follow steps: http://consumer.media.seagate.com/2010/01/the-digital-den/how-to-format-a-windows-disk-drive-for-a-mac/

 :goodpost:

Many thanks for this -- I'm following the instructions right now!   :banana:

[Fingers crossed for a trouble-free reformatting -- yeah, right...!!]

Cheers, John the Fontaholic

t-pat

formatting will go fine. If you format it Fat32 keep in mind there is 2GB file size limit IIRC
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Fontaholic

Quote from: t-pat on May 17, 2013, 10:19:18 AMformatting will go fine. If you format it Fat32 keep in mind there is 2GB file size limit IIRC

Does that mean that only files smaller than 2GB can be copied/transferred??

Cheers, John the Fontaholic

Joe

Quote from: Fontaholic on May 17, 2013, 10:25:17 AM
Quote from: t-pat on May 17, 2013, 10:19:18 AMformatting will go fine. If you format it Fat32 keep in mind there is 2GB file size limit IIRC

Does that mean that only files smaller than 2GB can be copied/transferred??

Cheers, John the Fontaholic

Yep.
Mac OS Sonoma 14.2.1 (c) | (retired)

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Joe

If you want it to be a Mac to Mac backup and don't need to use the drive on Windows just format it as a Mac volume.
Mac OS Sonoma 14.2.1 (c) | (retired)

The seven ages of man: spills, drills, thrills, bills, ills, pills and wills.

frailer

If you want to go a step or 2 beyond Time Machine, can't recommend ChronoSync highly enough. Cheap as chips, (Agents to cover extra Macs are $10 ea.), slick/easy GUI, and amazing support for the money.
Haven't needed to touch it admin-wise for months. I check randomly to see that volumes are backed up... there they are.

BTW Joe, lurv the Spy vs. Spy animated GIF.   :cool:
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Farabomb

Iirc the limit is 4g on FAT32 but that may be NTFS that I am thinking of.

I have had a hellish time with my seagate goflex and the Mac. They hate each other and refuse to play nice no matter how I format it. I gave up and plugged it into the win server and backup over the network.
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