Hello everybody. I am in need of a portable data solution. At first I was going to buy an external Seagate 300gb HDD, but then I realized I can get an internal 500 for the same price or cheaper and then just lock it up in an enclosure! This harddrive will mainly be used to hold various forms of media. They will probably be accessed frequently, but mainly just 'read.'
I am leaning towards the Seagate .10 drives the moment, but might also jump on either of the WD 500gb models. They are all pretty solid, correct? I'd like a drive + enclosure combination that would not run into any problems with TEMPERATURE. Are there any recommendations? I will be using a USB 2.0 connection, so the enclosure must have that. I guess SATA also.
Here are some things I am worried about:
1) This HDD must be shared between a MAC and a PC. If I format it FAT32, do I need to break it down into multiple 137gb partitions? FAT32 cannot be one big partition? Are there any alternatives? How successful would EXT3 be? There is software out there so that Windows XP can read/write EXT3 fine. How about on the Mac? Does EXT3 have the 4gb limitation on files? I am really concerned about this issue!
EDITED IN: A quick question. I am now reading about Macdrive. It seems like a nifty program for Windows. Is it able to deal with a hefty amount of files? I will be formatting my hdd on a PC, not a MAC. Is there any program that can actually format in HFS+ from a PC? If Macdrive is a good solution, I am thinking of going HFS+. If not, I will look into ext3. FAT32 is something I would really like to avoid. I suppose another solution could be partitioning the drive into NTFS, HFS+, and a small FAT32 to swap. Ughhh... file systems are so annoying. :x
2) I will be loading the drive up with data from my desktop and bringing it with me on a cross-country plane trip. As long as it is packed in snuggly and securely, will the flight/x-rays possibly damage the drive at all?
Thank you very much!
I am leaning towards the Seagate .10 drives the moment, but might also jump on either of the WD 500gb models. They are all pretty solid, correct? I'd like a drive + enclosure combination that would not run into any problems with TEMPERATURE. Are there any recommendations? I will be using a USB 2.0 connection, so the enclosure must have that. I guess SATA also.
Here are some things I am worried about:
1) This HDD must be shared between a MAC and a PC. If I format it FAT32, do I need to break it down into multiple 137gb partitions? FAT32 cannot be one big partition? Are there any alternatives? How successful would EXT3 be? There is software out there so that Windows XP can read/write EXT3 fine. How about on the Mac? Does EXT3 have the 4gb limitation on files? I am really concerned about this issue!
EDITED IN: A quick question. I am now reading about Macdrive. It seems like a nifty program for Windows. Is it able to deal with a hefty amount of files? I will be formatting my hdd on a PC, not a MAC. Is there any program that can actually format in HFS+ from a PC? If Macdrive is a good solution, I am thinking of going HFS+. If not, I will look into ext3. FAT32 is something I would really like to avoid. I suppose another solution could be partitioning the drive into NTFS, HFS+, and a small FAT32 to swap. Ughhh... file systems are so annoying. :x
2) I will be loading the drive up with data from my desktop and bringing it with me on a cross-country plane trip. As long as it is packed in snuggly and securely, will the flight/x-rays possibly damage the drive at all?
Thank you very much!
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