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You just have to make sure the files will work on the filesystem. In terms of can be stored on the filesystem.<br />
I.e. If your files are binary VM files, your external drives filesystem must be able to handle the files/their size.<br />
<br />
What system are you connecting the drive to and to what system will you be transferring the sata to?<br />
You could format the external as XFS.
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You just have to make sure the files will work on the filesystem. In terms of can be stored on the filesystem.
I.e. If your files are binary VM files, your external drives filesystem must be able to handle the files/their size.

What system are you connecting the drive to and to what system will you be transferring the sata to?
You could format the external as XFS.

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Hi Arnold, the systems are primarily Apple - maybe I should format the drive HFS+? ( no sign of VM files on device)
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Hi Arnold, the systems are primarily Apple - maybe I should format the drive HFS+? ( no sign of VM files on device)

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If the files are to be used by your own systems use HFS+ is fine, often external drive can be reformatted &nbsp;to the filesystem type you need.
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If the files are to be used by your own systems use HFS+ is fine, often external drive can be reformatted  to the filesystem type you need.

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Great! so files from a XFS volume to a HFS+ one should be ok right? Should be not &quot;lost in translation&quot; problems?
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Great! so files from a XFS volume to a HFS+ one should be ok right? Should be not "lost in translation" problems?

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ok cheers Arnold. I will post back on results tomorrow.
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ok cheers Arnold. I will post back on results tomorrow.

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All files transferred from the XFS volume to the HFS one perfectly.<br />
<br />
Thanks for your help Arnold.
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All files transferred from the XFS volume to the HFS one perfectly.

Thanks for your help Arnold.

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I need to get files from an XFS formatted drive to an external hdd but what format do i use (on the external hdd)?
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I need to get files from an XFS formatted drive to an external hdd but what format do i use (on the external hdd)?

XFS files to external drive but which file system?

Computer data storage, often called storage or memory, is a technology consisting of computer components and recording media used to retain digital data. In addition to local storage devices like CD and DVD readers, hard drives and flash drives, solid state drives can hold enormous amounts of data in a very small device. Cloud services and other new forms of remote storage also add to the capacity of devices and their ability to access more data without building additional data storage into a device.

Storage

Storage devices include any device used for storing and retrieving digital information. Hard disk drives (HDDs) use one or more rigid ("hard") rapidly rotating disks (platters) coated with magnetic material. Data is accessed in a random-access manner, meaning that individual blocks of data can be stored or retrieved in any order and not only sequentially. The primary competing technology for secondary storage is flash memory in the form of solid-state drives (SSDs), but HDDs remain the dominant medium for secondary storage due to advantages in price per bit and per-device recording capacity. CD-RW (Compact Disc-ReWritable) is a digital optical disc storage format that allows information to be stored outside the mechanical HDD.