It is very important to backup your files to another hard drive before editing. In order to do this, the formats of your drives must match. If you order .avi or High Definition files from us, your drive will be in NTFS format, which is standard for PCs. However, many external hard drives come setup in FAT32 format. In order to use these drives, you must format them in NTFS, because FAT32 limits files to 4GB in size, and your film transfer files will be larger than 4GB. To format your drive, follow these steps:
1. Double-click on the "My Computer" icon on your desktop
2. Right-click on the icon of the drive you want to format and select "Format..."
3. In the drop-menu under "File System" choose "NTFS"
4. In the text box under "Volume Label" type in a name for your drive
5. Click the "Start" button
WARNING: Do NOT format a drive until you have backed up any important files it may contain. Formatting a drive erases all data on the drive!!!!
NTFS format drives are read-only on Macs, which means that using a Mac, you will be able to open and copy the files, but you will not be able to save anything to a NTFS drive.
If you order standard definition .mov files from us, your drive will be in Mac format, and will NOT be readable on PCs.
To format a drive for Mac, follow these steps:
1. Open the "Disk Utility" application
2. Select the drive you want to format from the menu on the left-hand side of the screen
3. Select the "Erase" tab
4. In the drop-menu labeled "Volume Format" select "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)"
5. In the text box labeled "Name" type in a name for your drive
6. Click the "Erase" button |
