Format Firewire drive for both OSX and XP?

[Lorddiagram]

Hi,

I would like to format my external firewire drive so that I can use it for both:

1. Pro Tools 7.0 on my XP PC
2. Logic 8 on my Macbook

Is there one format that will work for both? Or do I need to partition the drive and format each partition differently?

Any advice is very much appreciated.

lD

[esaias]

OS X and Windows will both READ and WRITE FAT32 but remember that FAT32 has 4 gigabyte file size limit.

OS X can read NTFS partitions but not write on them and Windows can't access HFS partitions at all. There are 3rd party helper softwares for both OS X and Windows that allows them to read & write NTFS or HFS.

-Tomi

edit: word "write" was missing from the first line, fixed it. So FAT32 is the only usable option without 3rd party software gimmicks. Use FAT32 only on those partitions which you need to see from both OS'es, NTFS and HFS+ are better than FAT32 in everyway.

[larrygates]

Format the FW drive on your Mac first, as native OS X, don't do journaled or any of that stuff just regular Mac OS X format.

Buy this program

Mediafour | MacDrive

You will see everything on the Mac FW drive when you plug it into your PC, and you can write to it. Even run sessions off of it.

It's buggy software, and don't use DAEMON Tools with it, it makes things really bad. But this is what you want, I'm sure there's other programs but this works perfectly for me. Even sample libraries. Even DMG files.

[espasonico]

If you upgrade PT to version 7.4 it comes with the MacDrive utility included.

[andsonic]

Sorry about the hijack. I just installed MacDrive. It seems to work well. Does it work well when recording?

[thyhorrorcosmic]

on a similar note, i have an old busted windows laptop with alot of music. Can i copy the music to my mac formatted external and transfer to my macbook? What format do i need? thanks, mark.

[LewisWu]

as others have mentioned, the FAT32 format is the bridge between the two. but keep in mind hte 4gb file size limitation.

[7thangelz]

+1 for macdrive

[Lorddiagram]

cool - i'm going to upgrade to 7.4..

Thanks for the advice and heads up.

lD

[junior]

Originally Posted by LewisWu

as others have mentioned, the FAT32 format is the bridge between the two. but keep in mind hte 4gb file size limitation.

This topic comes up from time to time. There are a few other negatives for FAT32 other than file size limitations. Please use the search function.

BTW, larrygates is right on the money about formatting HFS+ and using MacDrive - it's the best solution you'll find.

Good luck!

[LewisWu]

i just kicked myself

[fizzler]

i am using macdrive for years - never had any problems with it
- fizzler

[Lagerfeldt]

Originally Posted by junior

There are a few other negatives for FAT32 other than file size limitations.

It's much slower.

[esaias]

I just wrote an article about this to the Tip & Articles, please feel free to comment when it shows up (moderation delay).
I realized that I probably should have included some networking scenarios too to it.

-Tomi

[Clayphish]

Originally Posted by Lagerfeldt

It's much slower.

I didnt hear the slower one.. maybe less reliable too. The one I know is that Fats32 partitions are limited to 32gb.

[esaias]

Actually FAT32 is faster when handling (and properly defragged) dealing with large files and NTFS is faster when there are directories with thousends of small files.

Anyways, these performance differences are marginal, one should not compare FAT32/NTFS/HFS from the speed point of view. Anyways, take the NTFS if you're on the Windows side, it is better, don't listen to too much details :)

And oh, I hope nobody starts talking about about outer rim vs. inner rim of HD platter read/write speeds. This issue is nothing but confusing, there is a difference but average DAW builder should not even think of this issue when choosing components.


-Tomi

[Lorddiagram]

Whoaa.. I think this must be a coincidence, but wanted to see if anyone else has experienced this?

1. Upgraded to Pro Tools 7.4 to be able to read my mac drive
2. After the install, my mac drive showed up in Windows explorer with a little apple on the icon indicating it was working with the Mac drive utility.
3. I try to transfer a file and the drive freezes

4. DRIVE is DEAD! unmountable, unreadable on both my mac and PC.. all my latest tunes..dead. (yes i should have backed-up, but it was a new OWC Elite drive!)

lD

[PlatinumSamples]

Run DiskWarrior on the Mac -- MacDrive has had a few updates.. make sure you have the most recent version.

Rail

[Lorddiagram]

I looked at the Macdrive homepage and this seems to have been a known issue.


Mediafour | MacDrive 7

About MacDrive 7.1
"Fixed: Corrupt journal caused "The disk structure is corrupt and unreadable." error"

This is the exact error I am getting.


I called MacDrive tech support and they were not helpful at all and a bit rude. They said to call Digidesign. I called Digi and they are great - very helpful, have called me back one and are trying to find a resolution. Digi tech recommended I hold off on using Diskwarrior.