Drag and Drop Files Onto Seagate External Hardrive

If you bought your external 1TB HD from a store other than Apple Store, it's likely formatted for Windows (NTFS) and you need to reformat it to Apple (UNIX):

1.Be sure your drive is attached and mounted.

2.If you have already written any data to the drive, back it up before proceeding to the next step.

3.In the Finder, choose Go > Utilities. The /Applications/Utilities folder will open.

4.Launch Disk Utility.

5.Click the icon for your external hard drive in the sidebar on the left.

6.Click the Erase tab along the top of the window.

7.From the Volume Format menu, choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled).

8.Enter a name for the external hard drive in the Name field.

9.Click the Erase button.

Hello computer people.

I just bought a seagate backup plus slim 1T drive, on 11/26/14.

At first i was unable to drag and drop.

After putzing about for over two hours, looking on this help forum and on others, i noticed on seagate's home page for my product a download link for 'NTFS driver for mac os'

it was an installer for some 3rd party program which allows NTSF ( not suitable for work? no, its some kind of formatting ) devices to be read AND WRITTEN to on mac os.

i installed it, restarted my computer, and then I could drag and drop ( aka write). PROBLEM SOLVED

But why did this take so long?!!

because;

While installing the seagate backup plus on my mac originally, i was given two options;

1- format it for use on windows AND mac

2- format it for mac ONLY

I chose option one, because i use a mac AND a pc, and i want to move files between the two, which is what this drive is advertised to do!

But instead of say, mentioning on the box -- or in the instruction booklet, or on their own help pages on their website -- that you need to download this file if your mac does not already have it for some unknown unlikely reason, Seagate merely list it as a download on their website with no intuitive obvious description of what it is or why you might need it.

my theory on why they don't broadcast this crucial information? 1- they are known to have poor customer service, in general. 2- 'Use between Mac and Windows' is much catchier ad copy than ' Use between Mac and Windows if you have NTFS driver for Mac OS installed!'

I, like many non-tech people, find my eyes glazing over when i read words such as driver, reformatting or partition.

So, better to keep the ad copy simple for a quick sale and then let the customer fumble around pulling out their hair for hours after the purchase.

Keep it classy Seagate, keep it classy. You really suck. SMH.

DaxxMojoux

I got the first part, but how do I verify the format of my external harddrive

Applications > utilities > disk utility

go to DISK UTILITY and verify what it says your HD is formatted as under the "ERASE" tab

see from mine below, HD on left selected, .......ERASE tab highlighted.... and middle right roughly, it says "MAC OSX EXTENDED JOURNALED"

thats the format, but yours may be different of course

bottom right ERASE tab lets you erase/ FORMAT your external as you like (remember this erases all data ON THE HD!)

highlighted in RED Erase.......format (middle) ...........erase ACTION to Erase/Format (bottom)

Both are correct, technically there is no such thing as a PC hard drive or a MAC hard drive

they can come formatted for EITHER one (not both)

Either way it literally takes 5 seconds to format ANY HD

But of course you have data on THIS drive that you dont want to lose

Offload the data onto your PC OR buy another hard drive and format it new from box for your Mac (Mac OSX extended journaled)

Whatever fluff and nonsense you see on a HD cardboard box, most of it is fluff other than the size of the HD

any HD can be formatted for a MAC you buy at a local retail store

"FOR PC OR MAC" is of course correct it can be formatted for either one 😉

All hard drives are just blank bricks, everything else is just fluff. Any "brick" (HD) can be formatted for PC of MAC

DaxxMojoux

I just want a simple drag and drop so I can free up some space on my computer.

Understood, ... go into FINDER at top then PREFERENCES then GENERAL tab

then check "hard disks" and "external disks"

THIS WILL PUT A HD ICON ON YOUR DESKTOP YOU CAN OPEN AND DRAG AND DROP FILES TO

THEN verify the format of your external HD

go to DISK UTILITY and verify what it says your HD is formatted as under the "ERASE" tab

HFS+ above is the "mac format" however do NOT erase / format the HD, since this will erase it.....UNLESS you want to do this

Format (erase) it in "mac osx Extended journaled"

AFTER THIS YOU CAN DRAG AND DROP FILES AS YOU LIKE 😍

What is the drive formatted as? this is extremely likely the issue.

FORMAT TYPES

FAT32 (File Allocation Table)

• Read/Write FAT32 from both native Windows and native Mac OS X.
• Maximum file size: 4GB.
• Maximum volume size: 2TB
• You can use this format if you share the drive between Mac OS X and Windows computers and have no files larger than 4GB.

NTFS (Windows NT File System)

• Read/Write NTFS from native Windows.
• Read only NTFS from native Mac OS X
• To Read/Write/Format NTFS from Mac OS X, here are some alternatives:
  • For Mac OS X 10.4 or later (32 or 64-bit), install Paragon (approx $20) (Best Choice for Lion)
  • Native NTFS support can be enabled in Snow Leopard and Lion, but is not advisable, due to instability.
• AirPort Extreme (802.11n) and Time Capsule do not support NTFS
• Maximum file size: 16 TB
• Maximum volume size: 256TB
• You can use this format if you routinely share a drive with multiple Windows systems.

HFS+ ((((MAC FORMAT)))) (Hierarchical File System, a.k.a. Mac OS Extended (Journaled) Don't use case-sensitive)

• Read/Write HFS+ from native Mac OS X
• Required for Time Machine or Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper! backups of Mac internal hard drive.
• To Read HFS+ (but not Write) from Windows, Install HFSExplorer
• Maximum file size: 8EiB
• Maximum volume size: 8EiB
• You can use this format if you only use the drive with Mac OS X, or use it for backups of your Mac OS X internal drive, or if you only share it with one Windows PC (with MacDrive installed on the PC)

EXFAT (FAT64)

• Supported in Mac OS X only in 10.6.5 or later.
• Not all Windows versions support exFAT.
• exFAT (Extended File Allocation Table)
• AirPort Extreme (802.11n) and Time Capsule do not support exFAT
• Maximum file size: 16 EiB
• Maximum volume size: 64 ZiB
• You can use this format if it is supported by all computers with which you intend to share the drive. See "disadvantages" for details.

You saved me too waughwoolf!!! I experienced this after upgrading to Sierra, you're so right there was no need to re-format just install and restart BAM! I'm able to write to my seagate again from my MacBook Pro & Windows PC THANKS big time!!!🙂

http://www.seagate.com/support/downloads/item/ntfs-driver-for-mac-os-master-dl/

Paragon Driver for Mac OS (10.9. and above)

This driver provides write access for Seagate external drives in Mac OS without having to reformat.

Yes please!

I just purchased the Seagate Backup Plus HD.

Its purpose:

- to transfer movies from my Mac onto the HD

- then give the HD as a gift, which will be used on Windows PC's and probably plugged directly into their TV.

I have had a go following the previous comments, but haven't had any luck.

Seagate external drives come with drivers that you need to install to be able to write to them on Macs. You won't need to reformat your drive. Just mount the "Seagate Dashboard Installer.dmg" and go through the install process.

From inference by the OP comment below:

"But Seagate just seems to just seems to say xxx you, we're gonna do it backwards"

it would be presumed the format is incorrect on the external Seagate

OR (as per the second comment) that the OP does not know the location for opening up the external HD for "dragging files to" as he wishes.

Hence the second post with step by step simplicity

You are the only one that can push the solved button, it does not happen otherwise. No matter, you need to verify the format of the drive, and (if the format is MSDOS) the file size.

Follow Veritas's instructions as to finding the format, post back with the answer.

You plugged a Windows drive into your Mac, and I don't need to hear about crap etc. did you check before getting this drive?

It needs reformatting and as that will erase it you will need another place to store all the stuff that is on it.

OK?

Or just buy a drive formatted for a Mac.

Most hard drives come formatted for Windows out of the box. That is how the manufacturers do it.

So, if you want to use your drive with a Mac, it needs to be re-formatted.

That is the first thing I do when I get a new external hard drive: Plug it in, erase and format. Done.

Would you like step by step instructions on how to do it?