Need Advice re: Samsung T5 2TB external HD

[Butlerkid]

OK....I just purchased 2 of these....one for hubby (Mac user) and one for me (PC user). B&H information.

We want to use them when traveling to back up his videos (destined for Mac processing) and for my images (destined for PC). When traveling, I will take his SD cards and File Explorer to copy video files to his T5 using my PC. Once home, he will take the files on his T5 and copy them to his Mac.

Can I just treat these like other portable HD's we have....meaning can I format both in exFAT?????? Any reason I need Samsung s/w on these things?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Clix Pix]

I believe they come already formatted ExFAT..... I don't pay much attention, since I am going to be reformatting anyway. Certainly it is easy and quick enough to reformat them. Since I am a Mac user, first thing I always do is to format them to the Mac system (APFS) before using them. As for the Samsung proprietary software, no, you don't need it, and I always get rid of it during the erasing/formatting process. I've been using Samsung external SSDs since the first one, the T1, through the T3 and now the T5. I love them! Tiny and fast and great for traveling. I carry a couple with me when I'm traveling -- one of them has files and such from my primary computer that I don't have on the travel 12" MacBook but might need for some reason, and the second one is deliberately kept blank so that I can put new files on it, whether they be photos or documents, etc., and then when I get home again I transfer the data right to the primary computer. On the occasions that I'm shooting a number of photos that way I've got backup of my image files -- on the SD card, on the computer and on the T5.

 

[Richard_M]

I have both the 500GB and 1TB T5 drives, and both work fine on Windows 10 and MAC computers straight out of the box.

EDIT: I use the 500GB as my Photoshop scratch drive, and the 1TB, along with the internal drive, to store and backup my images while on holiday.

 

[Growltiger]

Just plug them in and use them.
But when they arrive do test them. Make sure you can add a file on the PC and then read it on the Mac and vice versa. You don't want to find you have problems when you travel.

 

[Butlerkid]

I believe they come already formatted ExFAT..... I don't pay much attention, since I am going to be reformatting anyway. Certainly it is easy and quick enough to reformat them. Since I am a Mac user, first thing I always do is to format them to the Mac system (APFS) before using them. As for the Samsung proprietary software, no, you don't need it, and I always get rid of it during the erasing/formatting process. I've been using Samsung external SSDs since the first one, the T1, through the T3 and now the T5. I love them! Tiny and fast and great for traveling. I carry a couple with me when I'm traveling -- one of them has files and such from my primary computer that I don't have on the travel 12" MacBook but might need for some reason, and the second one is deliberately kept blank so that I can put new files on it, whether they be photos or documents, etc., and then when I get home again I transfer the data right to the primary computer. On the occasions that I'm shooting a number of photos that way I've got backup of my image files -- on the SD card, on the computer and on the T5.

I have both the 500GB and 1TB T5 drives, and both work fine on Windows 10 and MAC computers straight out of the box.

EDIT: I use the 500GB as my Photoshop scratch drive, and the 1TB, along with the internal drive, to store and backup my images while on holiday.

Thanks, Connie and Richard!

Just plug them in and use them.
But when they arrive do test them. Make sure you can add a file on the PC and then read it on the Mac and vice versa. You don't want to find you have problems when you travel.

So don't reformat them to exFat? Guess I'll do the testing you suggest first.

 

[Clix Pix]

It doesn't hurt to go ahead and reformat them and that can wipe off the unnecessary stuff that is taking up more space on the drives.... Even when I buy an external drive that is already formatted for Mac I usually just erase (wipe) and reformat anyway......

Yes, definitely test them prior to setting off on a trip -- you want to make sure that they will do what you need them to do and not have unpleasant surprises on the road somewhere.

It's been a while since I've bought a new T5 so I don't really remember what they come formatted with in the first place, but if nothing else, reformatting gets rid of the proprietary software that you really don't need or want to use anyway.

 

[Richard_M]

I just checked my 1TB on a Windows 10 machine, and its formatted exFAT

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

 

[Replytoken]

I believe that Samsung is very light with their files on the T5's. I only recall three small files on mine.

--Ken

 

[Growltiger]

Try them first. If the first thing you do is reformat them and then they don't work as you want or have other problems, you can't be sure if they are faulty and you need to send them back, or if they are OK and it is something you have done.
But I don't think there will be any need to reformat. If there are files you don't want, delete them. (I would keep them if they might be useful, e.g. diagnostics.)