Photo Storage Question: I currently use an Apple Mac that needs upgrading as it is really slow using photo processing software(in fact it’s slow running anything). I am thinking about...

TonyBrown

I currently use an Apple Mac that needs upgrading as it is really slow using photo processing software(in fact it’s slow running anything). I am thinking about changing to a Windows based computer. However, I use two external hard drives for photo storage, both of which are formatted for a Mac and both of which contain the same folders for backup. My question is will I still be able to access my photos on the external drives and process them if I switch to Windows? I should add that I no longer store many photos on my Mac and use the hard drives to save and access my pictures. The external drives contain thousands of images and I want to try and avoid having to reformat them as I am worried about data loss. I am also not sure how you go about reformatting an external hard drive for a different operating system.

Dik

Go>Utilities>Disk Utility
Format one of the two identical Mac formatted drives as ExFat.
Drag and drop folders from Mac HD to ExFat HD.
ExFat HD is useable by both Windows and Mac.

scubadoc Loc: Sarasota, FL

If the external drives are formatted as a Mac volume, they may not be recognized by the Windows OS. You can determine how they are formatted by using Disk Utility, which is installed on every Mac. If they are formatted as a Mac device only, you may have to transfer those files to a Windows formated external drive.
This begs the question why do you want to switch to Windows. Apple has many computers that will suit your needs and can be as fast as any off the shelf Windows device. A slow and outdated Mac is not a good reason to switch, unless there are other more compelling reasons.

Ron Dial Loc: Cuenca, Ecuador

There is a software program that allows MAC. Formatted drives to be used on windows.

TonyBrown

My Mac has got very slow and most people I know run Windows pc’s so support would be easier.

TonyBrown

Can I reformat one of the Mac formatted drives to Windows format then copy across the jpeg and raw files from the other drive. Once I have the files on a Windows formatted drive can I then reformat the other drive to Windows and copy the files back over?

Dngallagher Loc: Wilmington De.

TonyBrown wrote:

My Mac has got very slow and most people I know run Windows pc’s so support would be easier.

Typically a Mac gets “slow” for a couple of reasons...the drives are slow or full, or it does not have enough memory.

I run a 27” imac, boot from an SSD, keep 3 years of images on another SSD as a working disk, and have 32 GB of ram. Things are quite fast.

You might do better to take a look at what you have, and if it is properly configured for your use, that would involve mentioning what the specs are.

As a start, make sure your boot disk is not overly filled and you have enough ram for your use.

johngault007 Loc: Florida Panhandle

TonyBrown wrote:

Can I reformat one of the Mac formatted drives to Windows format then copy across the jpeg and raw files from the other drive. Once I have the files on a Windows formatted drive can I then reformat the other drive to Windows and copy the files back over?

Yes you can. That is probably the easiest way.

scubadoc Loc: Sarasota, FL

Depending on the size of your photo library, you may consider uploading your library to a cloud server and then download back to a WI downs formatted HD. How long this process may take will depend on the speed of your internet connection and the size of your library.

therwol Loc: USA

TonyBrown wrote:

Can I reformat one of the Mac formatted drives to Windows format then copy across the jpeg and raw files from the other drive. Once I have the files on a Windows formatted drive can I then reformat the other drive to Windows and copy the files back over?

See the reply from Dik. You can format an external drive exFAT, even in Windows. Macs and Windows machines will both recognize exFAT. You can use an existing drive and copy over to it or buy a new drive or two and format exFAT and then copy everything over.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Dik wrote:

Go>Utilities>Disk Utility
Format one of the two identical Mac formatted drives as ExFat.
Drag and drop folders from Mac HD to ExFat HD.
ExFat HD is useable by both Windows and Mac.

If you have room to move everything to one drive and format the other as ExFAT and then copy everything back to the ExFAT drive, this is a good answer. If both drives are full or nearly so, there are several utilities that will allow a Windows machine to read HFS+ or AFS file systems, including Paragon, HFSExplorer (free) and MacDrive 10.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

TonyBrown wrote:

I currently use an Apple Mac that needs upgrading ... (show quote)

I put my best shots on thumb drives, I use three thumb drives and each one has my best shots for the year. I do this each year, my original shot stays on the memory card for retrieval when needed.
That is all I have ever used for the past 15 years. Have not had one thumb drive die yet. YET being the operative word.

smada2015

Do not format one of your current drives, that leaves you with one and only one copy of your stuff, bad idea, I did similar thing and lost the contents of the drive, a mistake I deeply regret. Buy new drive, format fat32, it can be read by the mac. Transfer your stuff to it then format one of the others and copy again for your duplicate. Never sacrifice your copy before having another. I use macs everyday as well as 3 versions of windows. I have used the software that allows your pc to read the mac volume, downside is if you take the drive anywhere or use it with multiple computers you have to have the software on all or you can't read it. Any drive I have attached to a mac is formatted fat32 with the exception of the disk used for the mac time machine backups, that should be formatted for the mac.

Picture Taker Loc: Michigan Thumb

Before you spend the money call the Canon Tech Svs. and have them clean it up. That should help. They helped me, and it worked.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

TonyBrown wrote:

My Mac has got very slow and most people I know run Windows pc’s so support would be easier.