[SOLVED] How to set up seagate external hard drive

[paris09]

Iplugged my new seagate 500gb in to my Os x mac . It opens but I can't load anything o to or open a new fold to load stuff on to it.
Help.

 

[wildwell]

It sounds like you need to format it:

Applications --> Utilities --> Disk Utility

Select the disk from the left. Click the 'Erase' tab. Select your format options and begin. Be sure to consider if you'll need to mount this drive on computers running different operating systems. (i.e. Windows?)

 

[foodlover]

If iI format it, will it erase all the other files and saved documents on it already?
Please reply as soon as possible.

 

[foodlover]

It sounds like you need to format it:

Applications --> Utilities --> Disk Utility

Select the disk from the left. Click the 'Erase' tab. Select your format options and begin. Be sure to consider if you'll need to mount this drive on computers running different operating systems. (i.e. Windows?)

If i format it, will it erase all the other files and saved documents on it already?
Please reply as soon as possible. Thanks!!

 

[wildwell]

Pretty much. A 'quick' format won't actually overwrite your data, but your drive will 'forget' that there's data there. It may be possible to recover some data from a re-formatted drive using an 'undelete' tool, but you won't know what or how much data (if any) is recoverable until after the fact.