How do I create a new folder in my hard drive - free agent go flex drive - on the mac book air?

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You cannot write in the external drive, and this probably means that it is formatted in NTFS. OS X cannot write in NTFS disks.

To create a folder and move files to the external drive, you have got two options:

1. Format the external drive in a different format than NTFS: OS X can write in FAT32, exFAT and HFS+ (you will see this last one labelled as "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)") drives, so you can use Disk Utility to format the external drive in one of those drives, or;
2. A valid option for most users: get an application that allows you to write in the external drive without having to format it. There are different applications like Paragon NTFS for Mac.

If you choose the first option, copy your files from the external drive to your Mac before doing anything. You can format the external drive with Disk Utility (in /Applications/Utilities) > http://pondini.org/OSX/DU1.html

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.

Just create a folder on your desktop and drag it into your external USB HD.

😊

DONT format your external HD, since this will erase everything on it.

Offload all data onto the PC you put it on with, or easier still just get another HD for your Mac use specifically or same formatted in Exfat for file transfers between both PC and Mac read/ write.

If there is nothing of any importance on it, or otherwise, THEN you can format it.

Bomanda wrote:

Thank you for the advice. I will try to format the hard drive, as I have tried to create a new folder and drag it, but that does not work.

Thanks.

Copy all the files from the external drive to your Mac first, or you will lose everything.

Also, I do not recommend you to use exFAT if you are going to use the external drive with other computers.

You are welcome