Format Lacie HD for PC and Mac ?

[Matt Whritenour]

so my friend just got a 17" powerbook Mbox and a 200 Gig Lacie D2 Harddrive
so i was helping him get everything up and running today, so we had no problems
with the Mbox but with the harddrive it comes formatted as HFS+ already so i
had my Toshiba Qosmio laptop with me so that i would be able to format it at his house
so when i went to format the drive there was no option for Fat32 only NTFS so i tried
that and before i hooked it up to the Mac i copied some MP3's onto it to see if the mac
could read it, then we hooked it up to the mac and it read everything fine, next we hooked
the lacie back up to my computer along with my 200 gig Maxtor Harddrive in a bytec
external enclouser and copied some PT sessions over to the lacie to test out,
and when we tried to open them it wouldnt read the audio files, or draw the waveforms
although it did put the regions in place, so i went to my workspace to see if it was set
to a record volume but it was set to "T" so i tried to set it to "R" and it wouldnt allow me
so then i went to the desktop and clicked on the harddrive then went to File - Get Info
then went to some privilage thing that i can't remember the name of off the top of my head
and it was set to Read Only and it woulnd't let me change it, so then after that we tried
my harddrive that is formatted as Fat32 and that would not work either,

so if anyone know's what i need to format the harddrive as and what options to set that
would be great, i am going to post this in both the mac and pc forum so hopefully someone
that knows what to do won't miss it

-matt

[Rock_Artist]

OK here are the guidelines you should know .

Formats being used:

NTFS - 2000/XP Microsoft's File System.
----
Win2k/XP: Fully read/write 100% compatible.
OS X: Read pretty good with updated 10.3.x

FAT32 - DOS/Win9x/WinME PC Format.
-----
Win32 Systems: 100% Compatible
OS X: Pretty good comptability.

HFS+ - Being used today mostly by Apple.
----
OS X: 100% Compatible.
Windows: Only through MacDrive or such products.


Pro Tools:
PT should be able to record only on 100% Supported File System in the OS you're using.
On Mac only HFS/HFS+ gives fully recordable media.
On PCs... FAT32 & NTFS.

Some versions of Pro Tools makes it possible to open HFS+ (Using MacDrive or other alternatives) directly from the drive in "P" (Playback) status.




Transfer Drive:
You cannot use a single drive for BOTH - Recording on PC & Recording on Mac.
You must use a specific File System and the drive will be able to record only on one system and on the other you'll be able only to read/write*.

Splitting a Drive into 2 Partations 1 HFS+ & 1 FAT32 is possible though from my exprience it's UNRELIABLE and Pro Tools won't be able to record on the drive reliably. from my exprience at least.

So there are 2 options you have:

1. HFS+ drive:
Mac will be able to record/playback.
PC will be able to transfer/playback with 3rd party solution.

Benefits: 100% Mac compatible including Resource Fork.
Large Size HD with no hassle.
PC Comptability almost perfect with 3rd party solution.


2. PC Drive:
I usually do it like that...
Create 30-20GB FAT32 Partation.
Fill the rest with 50-80GB (depends on need & size) of NTFS Drives.

Benefits: 100% PC Compatible.
No Extra software required.
FAT32 Drive is also writable under OS X.

At this method I can use the PC Drive anywhere and the 20GB is being used mostly for gettings sessions from the Mac.

The 20-30GB size is especiall because Microsoft limit the FAT32 size under XP so you cannot create big drives in FAT32... it's possible though...


Last note:
Always check the PC HD on the Mac before using it.
You should verify all Partations mount on the Mac.
Sometimes Mac cannot see them all and you should try repartation it in a manner that OS X will be able to see them all.

[Rail Jon Rogut]

If you decide to use FAT32 formatted drives... be aware that if the session uses sd2 sound files, they will have their resource forks stripped off if transferred to a FAT32 formatted drive.

I personally recommend using HFS+ formatted drives and MacDrive from www.mediafour.com -- I go between systems all day long.

Rail

[Matt Whritenour]

ok thanks alot, you both cleared a lot of things up for me,
i will have my friend format his HD back to HFS+ and in a
week or 2 i will pick up MacDrive, i will probalby go for
the 2 pack considering i have 2 computers and it's only
10 dollars more.

so would u guys recomend Formating all my recording drives as
HFS+ if i am going to be running MacDrive, that way my drives
are compatible with both PC and Mac? also from reading there
site it seems that MacDrive will allow me to format my
Harddrive's as HFS+ so that way i don't have to bring my
harddrive over to a mac and format it?

thanks again
-matt

[Rail Jon Rogut]

You can only record to a native formatted drive... so format your regular audio record drives as either HFS+ (for the Mac) or NTFS (for XP).

Rail

[Matt Whritenour]

so if i recorded something on an HFS+ drive on a mac then wanted to do some work someplace
on a PC i would have to transfer it to an NTFS format, then after that when i would wanna
go back to the mac i would have to trasnfer that back to the HFS+ harddrive and MacDrive is
only so i can read the HFS+ harddrive so i can read and write onto it but i can not record
with pro tools on to it?

is everything i stated correct correct?

[Rail Jon Rogut]

Correct. MediaFour have said they're trying to get MacDrive and Pro Tools to work together so that'll change.. but there's no guarantee that they will (or can).

Rail

[Matt Whritenour]

ok
thanks very much, looks like we'll be formatting my friend HD back to HFS+
and i'll pick up a copy of MacDrive,
i wonder if it's ok to put it on both of my computers because i would only
be using it on one computer at a time, not on both at the same time,
or if i have to buy 2 liscences

-matt

[Rail Jon Rogut]

You'd have to check the license details at http://forums.mediafour.com/

Rail

[kilcamel]

I am using a Lacie external firewire drive with a powerbook G4. The laptop can see the drive, but when I try and open a new PT session and save to the external drive, I get an error message. The message is 'SESSION MUST BE ON AN AUDIO RECORD VOLUME'. Does anyone know how to fix this problem?