external HDD partitioning

**josella** · 12-18-2010, 11:16 AM

Hey everyone! Quick question.

I have a 320gb external hard drive which has a FAT32 format. I've used up 200gb already with movies and TV series. Now my friend gave me a bluray copy of a movie (around 13gb), which i cannot transfer because of the said format.

So i was thinking of making a new partition (possibly NTFS or exFat), but I'm not sure if my movies would be deleted. I don't want to transfer 200gb worth of movies back into my laptop, but if I really have to...

So yea, would my files be deleted if i partition my hard drive? THANK YOU!

**Sponsor** · 12-18-2010 11:16 AM

**joogieman** · 12-18-2010, 11:29 AM

i have the same prob for my 1tb wd... i cant transfer files from my mac kasi sa pc ko sya originally ginamit...

**MacSonic 779** · 12-18-2010, 09:37 PM

@Josella

It's possible your files might be deleted if you formatting it to ntfs. If you could try saving your files from your external HD to your internal HD first as backup. Then format your external HD as Mac OSX Journaled or NTFS if that is your plan.

**j.ramirez** · 12-18-2010, 10:32 PM

do not format!!! i suggest transferring ALL your files first to a safe HD for backup. Then reformatting.

I regret to inform you that, youll have to do it the hard way.

**melodicarvi** · 01-06-2011, 08:16 PM

Same problem, but yeah, i think we should backup our files first before reformatting our External Drive. Thanks!

**mackymd** · 01-06-2011, 10:17 PM

Reformatting will erase everything so you have to do it the hardway. Better yet I will buy a new external drive with a big capacity and use this for time machine and backup and will just use the old one for movies.

**alistair** · 01-06-2011, 10:26 PM

Note the OP didn't ask if the files would be deleted if he was to reformat his hard drive.

would my files be deleted if i partition my hard drive?

If your external HD was originally formatted in Windows, and has an MBR (master boot record) partition table, then you won't be able to repartition it using Disk Utility without reformatting it entirely. Then yes, like everybody else said, back up all your data first.

On the other hand, if it so happens that your drive has the GUID partition table (supported by most OSes, except Windows 32-bit, and the native partition table scheme used by OS X) then you're in luck.

Under GPT (GUID partition table) you can freely create new partitions, resize existing partitions, etc. In most cases, your data will remain intact.

**macdrive007** · 01-06-2011, 10:30 PM

Isn't it there are windows apps that can split an existing windows partition without deleting data? Escapes my memory now what app it was...

**alistair** · 01-06-2011, 10:37 PM

PartitionMagic? Yeah, I think I, 'evaluated', it before...

Still—nothings beats the convenience of Disk Utility and GUID partition tables...

**luisito** · 01-19-2011, 06:03 PM

Hi!

I'm planning to use an external HD to compliment my MBA. Previously, I had my old laptop's external HD partitioned this way:

300 GB = Mac OS X Extended Journaled (for Time Machine)
700 GB = NTFS (for Files Storage i.e. my huge movies collection)

My only problem is that the NTFS format is TOO SLOW for transferring to and from my laptop.

What format do you guys suggest I do for Files Storage? I want my File Storage to also be my extended HD for iPhoto libraries (gets really huge) and other processes that need fast transferring.

Also, can someone give me the pros and cons in using the Mac OS X Extended (Journaled) file system for an external HD?
Hoping for your advice.