Windows 8 does not recognize a previous Mac-oriented external hard drive

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CG Lefty 15

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Aug 20, 2011
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I purchased a Seagate 2TB external hard drive a couple years ago. At the time, I had a Macbook, so I naturally set it up for the Mac iOS. Fast forward two years and I have bought a Lenovo Y500, and the hard drive will not communicate with Windows 8.

When I plug the hard drive in via USB 3.0, it makes a noise, and the hard drive lights up, but it will not show up in my files, or my devices. Is this as simple as downloading a driver from the Seagate site? Or is it a little more complex?

Thanks
 
Solution
RealBeast
The file formats are incompatible, Windows cannot use HFS formatted drives without help, more help than just a driver.

You can mount the drive and get the data off then reformat and reload the data if you use HFS for Windows. They have a free 10 day trial. Your other option is to mount on a MAC and move the data off, then reformat to FAT or exFAT that both can access.
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RealBeast

RealBeast

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The file formats are incompatible, Windows cannot use HFS formatted drives without help, more help than just a driver.

You can mount the drive and get the data off then reformat and reload the data if you use HFS for Windows. They have a free 10 day trial. Your other option is to mount on a MAC and move the data off, then reformat to FAT or exFAT that both can access.
 
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Solution
C

CG Lefty 15

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Aug 20, 2011
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18,510
Actually, I asked a friend about it, and he pointed me to HFS Explorer, it reads the files, so I think it should be good to go. Unless you know of a problem potentially sprouting due to my iTunes library as an HFS file. Will I be able to add files to it from my PC?
 
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