Formatting a drive for a Dell using my MacBook?

Question

MacBook Core 2 Duo

Model A1181: 1.83, 2, 2.1, 2.13, 2.16, 2.2, or 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo processor

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Majesty @majesty68214

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crwdns2931729:0crwdne2931729:0: Kho 12, 2010

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Formatting a drive for a Dell using my MacBook?

Ok, a friend of mine who is even less technically savy than I am asked me to help her install a new hard drive on her Dell Dimensions 4600 Desktop. Being that her Dell wont boot into her old drive, which is completely useless by the way, I was wondering if I can use my MacBook to format her new drive? If so, how should i proceed? If that isnt possible, how can I format the new drive using her Dell?

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Chris Green @chrisgreen

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crwdns2931729:0crwdne2931729:0: Kho 12, 2010

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I would try using an external disk enclosure to connect it to the MacBook, since the dimension 4600 uses 3.5" IDE or SATA Drives (we used to have a Dimension 4600) then use Disk Utility to format it in the FAT, or NTFS filesystems. (Depending on what you want to do with it, FAT is more mac-compatible, but doesn't support files above 4GB in size, and NTFS is faster and supports larger files, but in Mac OS X it's read-only)

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Thanx Chris. Well, the Machine is in her business and it's only for Windows use. Can u Explain a litle bit further what I would have to do.

crwdns2934271:0Kho 12, 2010crwdnd2934271:0 Majesty crwdne2934271:0

I mean as far as installing The OS on the drive.

crwdns2934271:0Kho 12, 2010crwdnd2934271:0 Majesty crwdne2934271:0

Go with NTFS, FAT is older and with limitations, although NTFS is read-only for Mac's, there are ways to enable read/write capabilities.

crwdns2934271:0Kho 12, 2010crwdnd2934271:0 rab777hp crwdne2934271:0

Once you format the drive, you can put it in the computer and boot of of the operating system CD. You may want to go into the computer's BIOS and turn on "OS Install Mode" I've never used it, but it probably makes it easier to install the OS in some way. Once the computer boots into the OS install menu, it will guide you to what you want to do.

Also, I wouldn't recommend putting Windows 7 or Vista on it. I ran windows 7 on ours for about a week, before realizing that it was way to slow. Even with 1.5GB of RAM, and a 2.8Ghz P4, it wouldn't run fast at all.

crwdns2934271:0Kho 12, 2010crwdnd2934271:0 Chris Green crwdne2934271:0

Also, the OS install disk can format the drive too, you might not even need to format it on the MacBook

crwdns2934271:0Kho 12, 2010crwdnd2934271:0 Chris Green crwdne2934271:0

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Thanx Chris. Well, the Machine is in her business and it's only for Windows use. Can u Explain a litle bit further what I would have to do. — Majesty
Go with NTFS, FAT is older and with limitations, although NTFS is read-only for Mac's, there are ways to enable read/write capabilities. — rab777hp
Once you format the drive, you can put it in the computer and boot of of the operating system CD. You may want to go into the computer's BIOS and turn on "OS Install Mode" I've never used it, but it probably makes it easier to install the OS in some way. Once the computer boots into the OS install menu, it will guide you to what you want to do.

Also, I wouldn't recommend putting Windows 7 or Vista on it. I ran windows 7 on ours for about a week, before realizing that it was way to slow. Even with 1.5GB of RAM, and a 2.8Ghz P4, it wouldn't run fast at all. — Chris Green
Also, the OS install disk can format the drive too, you might not even need to format it on the MacBook — Chris Green