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    How can I use my Windows HD as a MacBook external?

    Discussion in 'Apple and Mac OS X' started by raymondmiecz, May 21, 2012.

  1. raymondmiecz

    raymondmiecz Newbie

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    Hi everyone!

    I am currently making the switch from Windows, I can't wait for my MacBook to arrive. My lovely Dell currently has a 320 GB HD that would prove a very nice external backup storage unit. So, I plan to remove it and find a case to mount and use it as such!

    Only problem is, I'm fairly certain that I'll run into some compatibility issues and have never used an external HD. I'm unsure of how the process works. This is the HD in my personal laptop (only PC I own), so it's not like I have it hooked up to play around with as an external at the moment.

    The Hard Drive is a Toshiba MK3255GSX (SATA): Amazon.com: Toshiba MK3255GSX 320GB SATA/300 5400RPM 8MB 2.5" Hard Drive: Computers & Accessories


    - Can I connect with FireWire (or Is that dependent on my hard drive, or do I get a cable converter)?
    - When/how do I partition it?
    - Since this is my personal home use PC, it's loaded with a bunch of programs/Win32/cache/temp files/garbage. Can I just access/delete these from the Mac?

    Even if you can't give me a full guide on the procedure, any tips or things to keep in mind are GREATLY appreciated. I expect to pick this up little by little.

    Thanks again!
     
    raymondmiecz, May 21, 2012
    #1
  2. dmk2

    dmk2 Notebook Evangelist

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    The connection type depends on the enclosure you put it in. The enclosure will include a chip that bridges between the drive's SATA interface to USB, eSATA, and/or FireWire. USB 2.0 enclosures are cheap and easy to find anywhere. FireWire 800 are harder to find and more expensive but a lot faster. You'll probably have to order online. Don't bother with USB 3.0 and eSATA as they don't work on a Mac.

    The filesystem on the drive will be NTFS, which is readable by OS X but you won't be able to write to it. So you should be able to get your files off, but then you'll need to reformat it in OS X to use it as a backup drive.
     
    dmk2, May 21, 2012
    #2
  3. kornchild2002

    kornchild2002 Notebook Deity

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    There are third party plug-ins to get OS X to write to NTFS formatted media but, in my experience, they aren't really that reliable. I agree with dmk2 that you should copy all of the data you need off of the HDD. Then you can use the Disk Utility built into OS X to format it using exFAT. exFAT is a file system that both Windows and OS X can read and write to without issues.
     
    kornchild2002, May 21, 2012
    #3