iPod formatting: NTFS versus HFS+
The obvious benefit to having one's iPod formatted in NTFS is that with this filesystem, the iPod may be used as an external disk for transfering files between any computer: Mac or PC. Whereas, if one's iPod is formatted in HFS+, then Windows will not recognise the drive (well, it will ask to format the iPod drive "properly").
What I'm wondering is the following: suppose that one was reasonably sure that they would not need to use their iPod as an external disk, or that they would only need to use it as such for transfering files between Macs. Is there any down-side to having the iPod formatted as an NTFS drive *just in case* one needed to transfer a file to a PC? And if there is a trade-off, is it really worth considering to avoid NTFS for that reason, or is it simply so minor as to hardly even be worth mentioning?
What I'm wondering is the following: suppose that one was reasonably sure that they would not need to use their iPod as an external disk, or that they would only need to use it as such for transfering files between Macs. Is there any down-side to having the iPod formatted as an NTFS drive *just in case* one needed to transfer a file to a PC? And if there is a trade-off, is it really worth considering to avoid NTFS for that reason, or is it simply so minor as to hardly even be worth mentioning?
Comments
At least with Tiger and earlier, NTFS mounts as read-only so you cannot write to it from the Mac side. I don't know if Leopard is going to change this or not.
This is not true. My partner is running Tiger on her iBook and Panther on her iMac; I reformatted her Mini on my Dell in October, and she is able to read and write to the disk (through iTunes and in disk mode).
This is not true. My partner is running Tiger on her iBook and Panther on her iMac; I reformatted her Mini on my Dell in October, and she is able to read and write to the disk (through iTunes and in disk mode).
Then that disk doesn't use NTFS.
Then that disk doesn't use NTFS.
Then do iPods on Windows machines get formatted in FAT32? -- It seems that the answer is yes. My bad on the NTFS.
The point of my question is that an iPod that is formatted (and set-up) on a Windows machine will be usable (for read and write) on PCs and on Macs. This is a major up-side, as if it is formatted on a Mac, it will only be usable on Macs. The question is whether there is any down-side to having the an iPod set up on a PC if it is used exclusively on a Mac. For instance: does it sync more slowly? does it use the battery more quickly? is the life of the drive affected?
The point of my question is that an iPod that is formatted (and set-up) on a Windows machine will be usable (for read and write) on PCs and on Macs. This is a major up-side, as if it is formatted on a Mac, it will only be usable on Macs. The question is whether there is any down-side to having the an iPod set up on a PC if it is used exclusively on a Mac. For instance: does it sync more slowly? does it use the battery more quickly? is the life of the drive affected?
That's the principle behind why I formatted my 80GB video iPod on Windows and update on my Mac.
I don't exclusively use Mac although I prefer using Macs...so I can't see the downside yet.
The sync speeds are more or less the same on equal power processors. The batteries last just as long.
The only thing, is, I've deleted all my playlists on my Windows PC in order to free up memory space, so I haven't risked reconnecting the iPod to Windows since - I've been using the iPod exclusively on the Mac, although don't exclusively use a Mac, if that makes sense...