Reformat hard drive

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Reformat hard drive

Hi,

I bought a Toshiba E.store Canvio external hard drive (3TB) and I have to reformat it for my Macbook pro (with Snow Leopard).
When I open the Utility Disk, I have to choose the format, but I don't know which format of the pop up window is better for my needs.

For example, which is the difference between the 'journaled' and the case - sensitive formats?

(I want to use it to back up my computer, or just to save pictures, videos or files made with the adobe suite).

Thanks

Alberto

MacBook Pro (17-inch 2.4 GHz), Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Jan 19, 2014 6:23 AM

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Answer 1

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clintonfrombirmingham

Level 7

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Jan 19, 2014 6:25 AM in response to berth_

Just format it as "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)" with a single GUID partition and you'll be fine.

Clinton

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Answer 2

berth_ Author

Level 1

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Jan 19, 2014 9:29 AM in response to berth_

Thank you Clinton,

But, just to be aware, what are the other formats?
I didn't specify in my question, but, if I want to open / copy some files from / to the hard drive with a windows pc, I can do it with the format you suggested me?

Thank you again,

Alberto

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Answer 3

Jan 19, 2014 9:37 AM in response to berth_

They're just different files formats - some Unix based, some Microsoft based.

No, you can't use Time Machine, for instance, on a drive that you would also use for your PC. If you want a format that both can read, format as ExFAT, but do it on the PC side. Using ExFAT both your Mac and your PC will be able to read and write files to the same drive without the use of third-party software.

But DON'T format as ExFAT if you're going to be using the drive as a Time Machine backup drive!

Clinton

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