1TB HD for backup on Macs and Pcs

Z

zoranb

Registered
I have the WD MyBookStudio 1TB external HD and im facing the issue of using it for backup for both my Pc and Mac. What is the optimum way of using it for such a purpose?
 
Create two partitions. One "Mac OS X Extended (Journaled)" and one NTFS. You'll probably have to format each volume within the respective OS.
 
You best bet would be Mac OS Extended and then install MacDrive on your XP/Vista box. Also you might would want to look a NAS style disk too.
 
Errrhh... The NAS style disks usually are, pardon my french: Crap. MacDrive would work, but ain't free. And I'm not entirely sure whether it works completely for backup purposes, because you'd have to install at least MacDrive again in order to bring your files back, which you probably only have on your backup. :p ... I just mean it could make things more complicated than a dedicated NTFS partition.

Of course partitioning gives you a rather fixed ratio Mac:pC, you'd have to decide beforehand which system generates how much backup etc., which means you probably will end up (after months/years) with one partition that has too much free space and one that has too little.
 
I did it the other way: Disks are usually formated Fat32 when you receive these, so I cut the 1TB disk in two partitions and formatted a 500 GB partition on MacOS Extended, so that the disk can be accessed by both PC and Mac.
 
Ok thanx guys, interesting suggestions, but on the other hand, why not make them all FAT32 so i wont have to worry about MacDrive etc.

BTW by HDutil i mean DiskUtility, sorry
 
FAT32 can't be used for files larger than 4 GB and Time Machine won't backup on anything other than Mac OS Extended.
 
There is a FREE program out there for Windows that allows for PC's to access Macintosh drives. I'm on vacation right now, and don't have access to my computer, but I downloaded it for my used Windows PC I recently purchased. The program was available on VersionTracker.com.
 
Two partitions will avoid pollution from your two Back-up software. Each one will do its job independantly.
 
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