[TheOneAndOnly]

hello all, just wondering if using an external hd is like using a flash drive. do just just plug it in and drag files to it via removable mass storage and devices?

[alex]

Short answer: Yes.

If you're going to be transferring large files I'd recommend formating the drive to NTFS.

[TheOneAndOnly]

thanks

[spot]

I'm not convinced, Alex. The whole point of NTFS is that it has ownership restrictions built in that other Microsoft Operating Systems will adhere to and refuse to allow reads, writes and deletes on unless the permissions are wide enough. The great advantage of FAT32 on external drives is that anyone can read or write anything to them. Microsoft tried to bully people into using NTFS by restricting FAT32 Formatting to 32GB but that limit's only built into the Format program, not the filesystem - that's why external drives off the shelf can be 1 Terabyte FAT32, because they're formatted with non-XP/Vista utilities.

[alex]

I agree Spot. No argument here whatsoever.

But you have to remember I have to tailor my answers to the knowledge base of the thread starter.

For ease of use and ease of understanding (considering the way the original question was phrased) my determination was to promote NTFS in this instance.