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Hard drives advertised as being compatible with Windows and Mac OS may have misled you into thinking you could actually use one hard drive for both computers.

Most external hard drives (HD) are sold in a format called NTFS, which is designed to work with Windows.

The video and directions below will guide you through the process, but before you format your HD to FAT32, beware of these drawbacks: FAT32 offers no security, unlike NTFS, which allows you to set permissions.

If your HD gets into the wrong hands, that person will be able to access your data.

The max size for any given file stored on a FAT32-formatted HD is 4GB.

So, for example, if you want to store a 9GB movie, it will be impossible.

In general, FAT32 drives are more susceptible to disk errors.

Its not a huge issue, but FAT32 is less efficient at storing files.

Its large cluster sizes waste disk space, unlike the other HD storage formats.

Option 1: Format to NTFS, and use NTFS-3G to readwrite on Mac.

If you keep your hard drives out-of-the-box NTFS format for all the reasons FAT32 displeases, theres a workaround that will allow your Mac to read and write files to the drive.

NTFS-3G is an open-source program that, when coupled with MacFuse, will let you use your NTFS drive on your Mac.

However, it is an open-source program, so use it at your own risk.

Many have vouched for its success, but others complain about bugs.

The commercial solution, which will give you access to support and software updates, is Paragon NTFS.

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Its 20, offers Lion support, and you get a five-day trial to try before you buy.

Option 2: Format to HFS, and use HFS Explorer to readwrite on PC.

Conversely, you can format the HD to HFS and use HFSExplorer for Windows to read and write to the Mac-formatted hard drive.

To get started, youll first have to format the hard drive from NTFS to HFS.

Heres how: Plug your HD into the Mac and open Disk Utility, which can be accessed by searching for it in Spotlight.

In the Volume Format list, select Mac OS Extended (Journaled).

Any data you want to keep on that drive must be backed up elsewhere first.

Now that the hard drive is formatted to HFS, install HFSExplorer (free) on your Windows machine to get read and write access to the drive.

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