In a recent Members Update Newsletter (for subscribers of CasablancaExpert.com) I shared news of a sale on Western Digital MyBook Essential 1TB External Hard Drives. I use the MyBook HDD for the Bogart HD-Backup feature. In that newsletter I also mentioned that I still use my LaCie 1TB External Hard Drive for Storyboard Archives.
I should clarify that I _only_ use my MyBook drive for the Bogart HD-Backup. I use a Kingston Data Traveler (4GB) USB Flash Drive for transferring JPEGs between my Casablanca editors and my computers (both Mac and Windows). For transferring projects between my S4000 PRO (Media Manager) and my computers I use the LaCie HDD for longer projects and a USB Flash Drive for shorter projects... shorter being up to 30 minutes).
If you are using an external HDD - it must be formatted to what is known as FAT32 (FAT = File Allocation Table). The LaCie HDDs purchased and shipped from MacroSystem US are supposed to be pre-formatted to work instantly with your Casablanca.
If you are using a different HDD, you can and must format the HDD to ensure compatibility. If you are using a Casablanca II running the Smart Edit OS and wish to use the Storyboard Archives function - you must format the HDD to FAT32 prior to use. If you are on a Casablanca running the Bogart OS - you can run the Bogart HD-Backup which will format the HDD automatically (as long as you have not used the drive previously).
If you have used the HDD previously, you will need to re-format or if you wish to use the un-formatted.
Listed below are two different options, based on the computer you will use to format your HDD Windows or Mac.
In my search for a good tool for those on a Windows PC - I discovered software called 'SwissKnife', and this is freeware - no charge for download and use! Apparently you can use Windows XP tools will let you format an external HDD in FAT32 but only up to 32GB. Details and free download of the Swiss Knife software can be found here: http://www.compuapps.com/download/Swissknife/swissknife.htm
If you would like an easy to follow tutorial for formatting your external HDD using SwissKnife, I recommend this tutorial from Online Tech TipsSoftware review by CNET Staff:
"You'd expect a program called SwissKnife to do all sorts of things, but this tiny application does only two: creating and quickly formatting disc partitions that can be read by Mac, Windows, and Linux systems. It can't resize, move, or even delete created partitions, nor can it work with partitions on the boot disc. It can, however, make FAT32 partitions larger than 32MB--something Windows 2000 and XP can't do. For swapping an external drive between platforms, CompuApps SwissKnife is just what you need."
The easiest way to format your external HDD while connected to a Mac (Apple) computer is to use the Disk Utility software (which comes with your Mac).
You'll find the Disk Utility software in the Applications folder, hidden in the 'Utilities' folder.
Once you boot up this software, you should find your external HDD listed in the menu at left. Click on that drive and then select 'Erase' from the center buttons (4 buttons near top, but not at top).
Ensure the pull-down menu 'Volume Format' is set to MS-DOS (FAT). Then click the 'Erase' button at bottom right. This will erase the hard drive and re-format it in the FAT32 that Casablanca requires.