Hi, I bought a new WD 2TB HDD for using to copy my edited video files from FCP and many other forms of data from my Mac to this drive. I want to use it with Time Machine too at the same time. I also want to be able to use it with Windows to read & write both on Windows OS and Mac OS anytime. is EXFAT the best option for me? Or are there any limitations?
Thanks.
MacBook Pro, OS X El Capitan (10.11.1)
Yyes, if you want to use it with Windows. Use a separate drive for Time Machine. Dont combined FCP libraries and Time Machine on the same drive.
So, there aren't any restrictions of file size, etc. with EXFAT right?
And is there any specific reason for not combining FCP & Time Machine?
Just to add, that if you want to use Time Machine on the WD drive, you should create a separate partition and format it as OS X Extended (journaled) and make that the destination drive for backups.
Russ
NO file size limit. The libraries do not work well and seem to often get corrupted, probably due to some indexing function that runs on a TM drive after back up.
I have 1080HD videos that take up a lot of space and they are EXTREMELY important. I also develop iOS Apps which are equally important.
Using my HDD with Windows is not 100% necessary for me, but it would be very helpful if i could.
What format do you think I should use?
I Don't know about developing iOS apps on ExFAT. If that works then use the ExFAT drive for that and FCP. Get a separate Mac drive for Time Machine. Or get separate drives for each of your primary tasks
A couple of years ago I had the idea of using ExFAT as superficially it sounded the perfect answer to my requirements but I was put off eventually by a number of doom-mongers suggesting that it wasn't as reliable a system as FAT32, NTFS or OS X Extended.
Same here.
craigsequeira wrote:
Same here.
You were essentially asking for a one-size-fits-all solution that included several requirements – one of which was Time Machine. My partition suggestion was an attempt to satisfy those requirements. See this support doc for drive formats that work with TM.
Russ
Is EXFAT the best option for me?
