The Pezman Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 I'm preparing to cross over to your camp (as soon as the Macbook Pro is redesigned), and I have a few questions (may add more as they come up): For Intel Mac users: If you use an external HD formatted for Mac, how can a Windows partition access it apart from formatting the drive into several partitions? I don't want several partitions because I don't want to set aside a fixed amount of space for Windows activities when I may need more or less. Instead, I want one pool of resources that both OSes can take from as they need it (though OSX will constitute a higher priority). I've asked other Mac users about drive defragmentation, and apparently there is no option to. Since defragmentation largely works at a hardware level (and should therefore be necessary regardless of the OS), how can OSX continue to access files in a timely manner? Supposedly Macs outlast PCs by a good margin. How long have you had your machine for? My PC is basically a hunk of junk. Every part was replaced last summer while it was under warranty and it still doesn't work very well. I got it in 2005. That's all I got so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Effef Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 Supposedly Macs outlast PCs by a good margin. How long have you had your machine for? My PC is basically a hunk of junk. Every part was replaced last summer while it was under warranty and it still doesn't work very well. I got it in 2005. Macs are PCs, so they last about as long as the effort you put into taking care of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Pezman Posted July 4, 2008 Author Share Posted July 4, 2008 There's more to it than that, though. I know my way around a computer. But some parts will just burn out sooner if they're inferior. So I guess it's a question of the quality with which it's all put togethe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Effef Posted July 4, 2008 Share Posted July 4, 2008 There's more to it than that, though. I know my way around a computer. But some parts will just burn out sooner if they're inferior. So I guess it's a question of the quality with which it's all put togethe. Very well AFIK. They'd better be, for how much they cost. I will tell you this though, the screens on the regular Macbooks are known to be awful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phill Posted July 5, 2008 Share Posted July 5, 2008 Couple of options for you, first format the drive as FAT32, both Win and OSX can read it and other then formatting it, nothing you need to do. Second format it as NTFS and get NTFS-3G for OSX. Third, format it as HFS+ and get HFSExplorer or pay for MacDrive7 and install it on the windows computer. I would pick either option two or three since FAT32 is a crappy file system when compared to NTFS or HFS+. Thanks to the new types of file systems (HFS+ NTFS EXT3 etc) defrags don't do much anymore. Its rare to get heavy fragmentation in files these days, and if you are having problems with it, it may be a sign of other problems. These Journaling file system are designed for quick access regardless of fragmentation. As for the life span question, it is all about the hardware quality, better it is longer it lasts. There are main frames, servers and desktop computer out there that have been running for years because they didn't use cheap hardware to build them, its not a matter of who makes them, its what their made of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyrion Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 Supposedly Macs outlast PCs by a good margin. When was the last time you Mac lovers bought a Mac specifically for gaming? This is why Macs "outlast" PCs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishy Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 I've partitioned my hard drive, and you can't use one external HD for both OS's. They use different file systems, it will just ask you to reformat it. You can afaik copy stuff from said hard drive onto either system, you just can't write to it... I think. Flash drives are no problem though, either can write to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phill Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 I've partitioned my hard drive, and you can't use one external HD for both OS's. They use different file systems, it will just ask you to reformat it. You can afaik copy stuff from said hard drive onto either system, you just can't write to it... I think. Flash drives are no problem though, either can write to it. ...Flash drives aren't a problem because they are FAT or FAT32 which both OSs and can read or write. Format any drive to that file system and both Windows and OSX will read/write it. Or install third party "drivers" on either Windows or OSX and you will be able to read HFS+ one windows and NTFS on OSX... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Pezman Posted July 7, 2008 Author Share Posted July 7, 2008 Couple of options for you, first format the drive as FAT32, both Win and OSX can read it and other then formatting it, nothing you need to do. Since my external HD is over 2 GB, that's not going to work. I've partitioned my hard drive, and you can't use one external HD for both OS's. They use different file systems, it will just ask you to reformat it. You can afaik copy stuff from said hard drive onto either system, you just can't write to it... I think. Did you check out the stuff Phill linked to? Pretty legitimate, from what I can see. When was the last time you Mac lovers bought a Mac specifically for gaming? This is why Macs "outlast" PCs. Your logic being what? Because I do intend to play games on this thing. Thanks to the new types of file systems (HFS+ NTFS EXT3 etc) defrags don't do much anymore. Its rare to get heavy fragmentation in files these days, and if you are having problems with it, it may be a sign of other problems. These Journaling file system are designed for quick access regardless of fragmentation. I was watching a video off a DVD image from my 750 GB NTFS drive last night, and it started skipping on me. Sure enough, I checked the drive and it needed a defrag. I use PerfectDisk for the task (BTW, when mentioning specific hardware/software it's nice to provide a link like I did). This wouldn't be so weird except for the fact that I had just defragged it maybe two days ago. I can't imagine what problems my drive would have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schwaltzvald Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 Your logic being what? Because I do intend to play games on this thing. Macs aren't renowned as a gaming platform. Unless you plan to play just WoW don't expect to have ease in playing games as most windows based pcs have. May even be forced to use Bootcamp... May as well go with a windows based PC if you plan to game and save your self the hassle to run multple apps in order to play one game... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Pezman Posted July 7, 2008 Author Share Posted July 7, 2008 Macs aren't renowned as a gaming platform. Unless you plan to play just WoW don't expect to have ease in playing games as most windows based pcs have. May even be forced to use Bootcamp... Teh horrorz!! Not Bootcamp! May as well go with a windows based PC if you plan to game and save your self the hassle to run multple apps in order to play one game... No no no no no no. I stuck with Windows for 21 years and I have seen it go down the shitter. And, though I don't like to admit it, I have seen Mac rise to increasing prominence. Of course, I didn't pay them any attention until the Intel surge, when a major roadblock to a switch was lifted. And now I've waited two years after that while things just kept getting better and better. As far as I understand games work just fine under Boot Camp (or Parallels, or VMWare). So I fail to see the problem. Or how that answers my question to Pyrion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HalcyonSpirit Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 Couple of options for you, first format the drive as FAT32, both Win and OSX can read it and other then formatting it, nothing you need to do. Since my external HD is over 2 GB, that's not going to work. I think you're confusing file system size limits and individual file size limits. FAT32 can be implemented on a volume up to 2 terabytes large, but the individual file sizes are limited to 4GB or smaller. So unless you plan on having lots of files larger than 4GB, you'd be fine with using FAT32. But like Phill said, that file system is crappy compared to the newer ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schwaltzvald Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 Teh horrorz!! Not Bootcamp!No no no no no no. I stuck with Windows for 21 years and I have seen it go down the shitter. And, though I don't like to admit it, I have seen Mac rise to increasing prominence. Of course, I didn't pay them any attention until the Intel surge, when a major roadblock to a switch was lifted. And now I've waited two years after that while things just kept getting better and better. As far as I understand games work just fine under Boot Camp (or Parallels, or VMWare). But why would you need bootcamp/parallels/WMware just to place game that are native to windows in the first place..? Is it for security or simply you feel more comfortable with the OS in general..? Music or art purposes I can understand an interest in the switch, but for gaming, poor choice; but hey it's your money Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Pezman Posted July 7, 2008 Author Share Posted July 7, 2008 But why would you need bootcamp/parallels/WMware just to place game that are native to windows in the first place..?Is it for security or simply you feel more comfortable with the OS in general..? Music or art purposes I can understand an interest in the switch, but for gaming, poor choice; but hey it's your money It is music and art purposes. I'm not buying this JUST for gaming, no no. All I said is that I want to play games on it. I want to get down with Final Cut Pro, Ableton, Photoshop, Flash, Maya, Reason, Logic, and audio drivers which have nearly no latency. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phill Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 Since my external HD is over 2 GB, that's not going to work. Like GA Jedi Knight mentioned, FAT32 is not limited to 2GB I was watching a video off a DVD image from my 750 GB NTFS drive last night, and it started skipping on me. Sure enough, I checked the drive and it needed a defrag. Like I said, heavy fragmentation is not the issue it once way, and if you are having issues with it, it might be caused by something other then typical writing of files. You always get some fragmentation, its a given, but it is rare to have it slow down your computer. (BTW, when mentioning specific hardware/software it's nice to provide a link like I did). I'm not your mom, do your own searches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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