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Hard drive help

PhantomWizzrobe

Hello!

 

I have a dead MacBook Pro (I know, sorry. I'm not a part of the PC master race) and it has a lot of important files on the hard drive. I am looking to upgrade to a Windows laptop (Dell XPS 13). I want to transfer the files from the internal Mac hard drive to an external hard drive. Would I have to get a hard drive and format it to use both OS's or could I buy a Windows external hard drive since the hard drive wouldn't be directly interacting with OSX. I don't have the proper equipment to do this myself so I would find a computer shop or something to do this for me. 

 

I want to fully understand how to do this before I buy the laptop. Thank you so much!

 

-Phantom

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Hello!

 

I have a dead MacBook Pro (I know, sorry. I'm not a part of the PC master race) and it has a lot of important files on the hard drive. I am looking to upgrade to a Windows laptop (Dell XPS 13). I want to transfer the files from the internal Mac hard drive to an external hard drive. Would I have to get a hard drive and format it to use both OS's or could I buy a Windows external hard drive since the hard drive wouldn't be directly interacting with OSX. I don't have the proper equipment to do this myself so I would find a computer shop or something to do this for me. 

 

I want to fully understand how to do this before I buy the laptop. Thank you so much!

 

-Phantom

What model MacBook is it? Is it a hdd or ssd?

Intel i7 3770k @ 4.5GHz, Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H, Gigabyte GTX 770 4GB Windforce, 16GB G.Skill - NT 1600MHz, 250GB Samsung Evo SSD, 2x 1TB Seagate HDD, Corsair H100i CPU cooler w/Noctua Fans, 4x SP120, Fractal Design Define R4, LG W224T, Func MS-3, Apple Numeric Keyboard


-   BBR4 Hackintosh   - Server Rig

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~snip~

 

Hey there PhantomWizzrobe,
 
If it's simple files that you want to save, you can get a regular external drive with a USB cable, format it as exFAT and it can be read and written on by both Mac and PC setups. :) Like FAT32, exFAT can be used on both system types without the need for reformat or data loss. The advantage of exFAT over FAT32 is the much larger volume size limit (128PB compared to 8TB) and the larger maximum file size (16EB compared to 4GB with FAT32). This should help you with your transfer.
 
Another option is to transfer the files via a NAS or an online cloud service. 
 
If you are looking for a good, simple and inexpensive external drive, I could suggest checking out WD Elements Portable. It is pre-formatted for PC usage, but you can easily reformat it. Here's a link with more info: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=0tpaed
 
Captain_WD.

If this helped you, like and choose it as best answer - you might help someone else with the same issue. ^_^
WDC Representative, http://www.wdc.com/ 

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Hey there PhantomWizzrobe,
 
If it's simple files that you want to save, you can get a regular external drive with a USB cable, format it as exFAT and it can be read and written on by both Mac and PC setups. :) Like FAT32, exFAT can be used on both system types without the need for reformat or data loss. The advantage of exFAT over FAT32 is the much larger volume size limit (128PB compared to 8TB) and the larger maximum file size (16EB compared to 4GB with FAT32). This should help you with your transfer.
 
Another option is to transfer the files via a NAS or an online cloud service. 
 
If you are looking for a good, simple and inexpensive external drive, I could suggest checking out WD Elements Portable. It is pre-formatted for PC usage, but you can easily reformat it. Here's a link with more info: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=0tpaed
 
Captain_WD.

 

Can you please send me a tutorial on how to format to exFat? Thank you so much!

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Can you please send me a tutorial on how to format to exFat? Thank you so much!

 

This should provide you with enough info on how to do it: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=mcu0aX :) 
Feel free to ask if you happen to need more help or have other questions that I might be able to help with. 
 
Captain_WD.

If this helped you, like and choose it as best answer - you might help someone else with the same issue. ^_^
WDC Representative, http://www.wdc.com/ 

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