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User profile for user: lindababy
lindababy Author
User level: Level 1
5 points

mac mini running 10.6 - what is the max external HD space supported

I would like to purchase a mac mini and would like to attach 2 external drives in enclosures for data/mirroring. Does anyone know the max HD size supported by the mac mini running 10.6?

Thanks!

mac mini, Mac OS X (10.6)

Posted on Jun 14, 2010 7:50 PM

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6 replies
User profile for user: R C-R
R C-R
User level: Level 6
17,782 points

Jun 15, 2010 4:40 AM in response to lindababy

The maximum HD size is for all practical purposes the total that its file system(s) support. For HFS+ file systems, that would be close to 8 exabytes per volume. (See Mac OS X: Mac OS Extended format (HFS Plus) volume and file limits for more about this.)

IOW, you will not have to worry about hitting the limits with any HD's available in the foreseeable future!
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User profile for user: mohaas05
mohaas05
User level: Level 1
120 points

Jun 15, 2010 4:41 AM in response to lindababy

The limitation would be the limits of the filesystem the drive is formatted to. The only one I can think of that would pose a problem would be FAT32, which is limited to 2TB.

However, if you are using the default HFS Plus (aka Mac OS Extended), then the limit is 8 Exbibytes, which is about 8.5 billion gigabytes.

So you don't have much to worry about.
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mac mini running 10.6 - what is the max external HD space supported

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