Can I format an old hard drive with my Mac without losing everything?

best external hard drive in 2011 image

I own a Seagate Freeagent external hard drive. I once used it with my PC, but now I have a Mac, so I can't write anything new onto it. I'd like to reformat so that I can start backing up again, but what I've been reading says that I can't do that without losing everything already on the drive. I can't backup onto my Mac, either, because there's not enough room. So, what are my options here?

Answer
No, formatting a drive erases everything on it.

I haven't tried this myself because I don't own a Mac but there seems to be some work-around solutions that will allow your Mac to use an external Windows NTFS format drive. However, attempting this is entirely at your own risk.
http://www.yourdailymac.net/2011/06/how-to-read-and-write-ntfs-harddrives-under-mac-os-x/
http://code.google.com/p/macfuse/

Does have an idea of when the price of hard drives will drop down again?

Johnny

I was planning on purchasing an external terabyte hard drive and saw that the price dramatically increased within a fairly short time. I've read that there was a flood where the drives are manufactured and they weren't able to produce as many as they originally planned, so the prices were raised. I'm guessing that in early 2012 the supply will meet the demand and the price range will return to its Summer 2011 range. Does anyone know any more about this? Thanks!

Answer
Experts predict that the floods will affect drive prices until 2013, but practically you should see consumer drive prices down to about where they were before the floods by mid 2012. I'd say wait at least until March before getting a large drive, though it's up to you if you need the storage now or later.

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

What is the best way to back up all of my music on my computer?

portable hard drives on amazon image

Jellybrick

I have 20 GB of tunes on my computer. Should I get a portable hard drive? Amazon Cloud? Basically, I'm scared my old computer is going to crash and completely wipe out my music collection.

Answer
20gb isn't a great deal so a big honking external drive could be considered overkill. If you don't see your collection growing beyond 32gb in the near future, I'd simply buy a cheap USB memory stick. 32gb sticks are pretty cheap now. These are so much easier to handle, a tiny little stick that you can carry in your pocket and leave plugged into a PC/laptop when needed. I don't know where you are in the world but here's a few sites

UK
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Integral-Speed-Courier-Flash-Drive/dp/B001TVF6HG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1315692143&sr=8-1
£20 for a 32GB High Speed USB Flash Drive

US
http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Cruzer-Flash-Drive-SDCZ36-032G-A11/dp/B001T9CTS2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1315692231&sr=8-1
$37 for a 32GB High Speed USB Flash Drive

For greater future proofing, consider a 64gb flash drive.

http://download.cnet.com/windows/backup-software/
A list of free software for backing up

Now you'll be able to automate the backup so you don't have to think about it.

For even more security, you could consider backing up online on a less regular basis as it is a bit of a hassle to do all the time. I wouldn't pay for any service with the kind of backup size you want. Windows own cloud storage service is free and offers 25gb. Combine that with some other free services and you're set to go.

http://freenuts.com/top-10-free-cloud-storage-services-for-you-to-back-up-and-sync-files/
List of free cloud storage services.

What portable hard drives work with macbooks?

One is Too

Well im looking for a portable hard drive that can work with a macbook. I thought every hard drive works with and type of computer but i looked on the back and it said only windows vista, windows 7 or windows xp... so what can work for a mac book

Answer
You can consider buying
1)Iomega eGo Helium 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive 34709
*Ultra Thin - Thin and lightweight (.44 lb.) USB 2.0 portable hard drive
*Stylish - Perfect match for the new MacBook Air notebook (HFS+ formatted); compact silver design slips easily into a purse or briefcase
*Rugged- The Drop Guard feature protects the drive when dropped up to 51-Inch (40% above the industry average!)
*Secure -EMC Retrospect software and MozyHome Online software included for backup (via download)
*3 year warranty with product registration
http://www.amazon.com/Iomega-Helium-Portable-External-34709/dp/B002L16KVE/?tag=best-laptops01-20

2)Western Digital My Passport for Mac 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive WDBAAB5000ACH-NESN (Charcoal)
*Compatible with Apple TimeMachine
*Automatic, continuous backup software included
*Password protection and 256-bit encryption
*Visual drive control center
*Securing private or sensitive data
http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Passport-Portable-WDBAAB5000ACH-NESN/dp/B002KG0JOE/?tag=best-laptops01-20
Hey you can visit below link you can find more options here :
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=external+hard+drive&x=0&y=0&ih=1_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0_0.3445_1&fsc=-1&tag=best-laptops01-20
or
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?ff3=4&pub=5574865779&toolid=10001&campid=5336686710&customid=laptop+best+deal&mpre=http%3A%2F%2Fshop.ebay.com%2Fi.html%3F_nkw%3Dexternal%2520usb%2520hard%2520drive%26_trksid%3Dp3286.c0.m282

Powered by Yahoo! Answers