# external usb case and 500gb hard drive help.



## mydssbin (Jan 23, 2006)

i have a external usb case and a seagate 500GB hard drive. what i want to do is install HD into the case and connect it to my friend's mac book. Will this work and what do i need to do to format it and make it work?

Thanks


----------



## Serge_N_Gin (Sep 7, 2004)

Sure it'll work mydssbin  All you need is the case and then fitting the drive into the case if fairly straight forward. You just connect two cables at the rear of the drive and then secure it with the provided screws before closing the case. This is what I have done myself.


Click to enlarge


Click to enlarge


Click to enlarge

Then once connected to the MacBook it should appear on the Desktop as an Untitled Volume.


Click to enlarge

Next step would be to launch Disc Utility (Applications Folder ~> Utilities Folder) and check that the Drive appears in the left column.


Click to enlarge

Highlight it and click the Partition Tab


Click to enlarge

Choose "Mac OS Extended (journaled)" from the pull-down menu or MS-DOS if you want to share the drive between a PC & a Mac.

Name the drive and you can add a second or third partition (or keep it to the single partition like I did), by dragging the slider in the window to the left of the pull-down menu.

Then when you've finished deciding what you want just hit the Partition button and it shouldn't take very long.


----------



## Headrush (Feb 9, 2005)

Also, make sure the HD is set as Master drive. (little push pin shorters on end)
Some cases have issues if this is not set right.


----------



## mydssbin (Jan 23, 2006)

wow! thanks i will try it!!

Thanks for your help.


----------



## mydssbin (Jan 23, 2006)

I have some various SATA hard drives. I just bought external USB case that takes SATA drives. On the box it says SATA drive will not work? 
Question:
Is that true?
Do I need to change it to IDE drives and USB external case with internal IDE connector?

Thanks


----------



## TD912 (Jun 23, 2008)

> I just bought external USB case that takes SATA drives. On the box it says SATA drive will not work?


Sorry, I don't understand what you are saying. It takes SATA, but it doesn't work with SATA? That doesn't make sense.

There are different types of ATA connectors. PATA (sometimes called IDE), has those flat cables, something like this:









SATA is the newer, thinner type of ATA connector, which is like this:









You cannot connect one type to the other type.

Which type of drive and case do you have?


----------



## mydssbin (Jan 23, 2006)

I have an empty external USB case that take SATA HD. 
What I want to do is install SATA HD in the USB external case and use it with a MAC. 
Will that work?


----------



## TD912 (Jun 23, 2008)

Yes, Macs are compatible with pretty much any USB drive. Just install the drive into the enclosure, and format it as "Mac OS Extended (Journled)" if you will be only using it with a Mac. Format it MS-DOS if you will be also using it with a PC.

Note that MS-DOS format drives can't hold files larger than 4GB, and can't have long file names due to some limitation that I don't understand too well, so I recommend you format it as Mac OS Extended instead.


----------

