Unable to save to external hardrive

[Rae]

I have just moved from a PC to a Mac. I tried to save an image today on to the external hard drive containing all my images from the PC but it comes up with this error message : Could not save as “Bella New.psd” because write access was not granted. What am I doing wrong?? 

[Brian]

By default, the MacOS will READ and Windows Formatted HD, but NOT WRITE TO IT. You aren't doing anything "wrong," except trying to write to a Windows EHD.  

This way makes it easy to convert from Windows to Mac. But if you want to go back and forth between the two worlds, you will need software to act as a translator, but I will warn you, this type of software isn't 100% fool proof. In reality, Apple wants you to pick a platform (Windows or Mac) and stick with it.

Honestly? What I would do is invest in a new EHD, format / partition it to use with the Mac and save your images that you edited on your Mac to the Mac EHD. Going back and forth between Windows and a Macintosh is a bit of a PITA.

[Rae]

Oh thank you!! Can't tell you how relieved I am that it's such a simple thing.  Right, I'm off to read your recommendations for an EHD now.  Thank you  Brian

[Brian]

If you can afford it, I highly recommend (and own) a Thunderbolt 3 G-Drive. If you have a brand new iMac, and it sounds like you do, it is in your best interest to get a Thunderbolt 3-based EHD. The nice part with the G-Drives is they include all the necessary cables, and have high-quality hard drives contained inside. Meaning, they are NOT the $79 Special from Best Buy. Those drives I never recommend. Also, G-Drives are formatted for use with the Mac by default. Meaning all you have to do is hook it up and start working.

The only downside is they are a bit pricey. But in my humble opinion, out of all the things you don't want to cheap out on, it's the hard drive that your data will reside.

Here is where I bought my 12TB G-Drive, which has been replaced by the 14TB model.

Personally, I'd get at least 6TB, and if you can swing it, something larger like 10TB or even 14TB.

Edit: Why a TB3 EHD instead of a USB 3.0 model? In a word: Speed. TB3 is FAST. In fact, TB3 is so fast that I actually work off my External HD when editing photos rather than the main drive. A TB3 EHD is really like an extension of your computer.

[Rae]

Brian I will definitely take your advice on board and I agree, not something I want to skimp on! I do have backup in place with a HD but what you say about the quality and speed makes a lot of sense so I’ll be purchasing forthwith! Thank you.