Can't move or copy files larger than 5GB off my MBP hard drive.

Question

Can't move or copy files larger than 5GB off my MBP hard drive.

I'm trying to copy large video files I've recorded on my MBP on to my external hard drive. The problem is with the files that are larger than about 4.5GB. The smaller files copy just fine but the larger ones give me an error and don't copy. I have my external hard drive hooked up through my airport extreme network but I have tried hooking it up directly through the USB and it didn't work either.
Thanks.

macbook pro 2.2, Mac OS X (10.5.2)

Posted on Aug 20, 2008 4:03 PM

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Answer 1

Aug 20, 2008 4:24 PM in response to Courcoul

Yeah, if your drive is formated as FAT32, then you have run into the 4gb file size limit, and to save the files you would need to reformat the drive to one of the formats that Couroul has listed above.

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Answer 2

Aug 20, 2008 5:50 PM in response to john_powers

Thanks, I think you solved my problem. I had no idea there was a size limit like that. Info on the drive says its SMB(FAT) formated. I originally used it with my PC. It's getting full so I guess I'll get a new one. How should my new drive be formatted to avoid this?
Thanks again for the quick help.

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Answer 3

Aug 20, 2008 6:31 PM in response to steve charter

If you are going to use the drive solely with a mac, then you should format it as apple extended journal formatted (HFS+) so that you can avoid the file size limit. If you are going to be using it with a Pc and a Mac then you will need to partition the drive with one partition for windows and one for mac. Both HFS+ and NTFS will avoid the file size limitations, but HFS+ can only be utilized by a Mac, and NTFS can only be utilized by Windows, in terms of reading and writing.

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Answer 4

Courcoul

Level 6

18,684 points

Aug 20, 2008 4:17 PM in response to steve charter

How is the external drive formatted? Apple Extended (aka HFS+), FAT32 or NTFS?

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Answer 5

Courcoul

Level 6

18,684 points

Aug 20, 2008 9:01 PM in response to steve charter

How should my new drive be formatted to avoid this?

[This writeup should help|http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=7783365#7783365].

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