Modern Mac computers use the HFS+ file format, which has a maximum file size limit of about eight billion gigabytes. Therefore, about the only time you cannot transfer files larger than 4GB on a Mac is when trying to copy data to an external hard drive formatted with the FAT32 file format. FAT32 has a file size limit of 4GB, and if you attempt to transfer a file larger than that, an error occurs. To overcome the 4GB size limitation, you must reformat the external drive using the HFS+ file format. 6 Click the 'Erase' button, and then wait for OS X to reformat the drive with the new file system.

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Most Mac users will be better off formatting external drives with exFAT, ensuring they work well on both Windows and Mac OS X without any extra work. If you must write to an NTFS drive, one of the paid, third-party drivers will be the easiest option with the best performance and least risk of file corruption.

Return to the Finder window, open the folder where you saved the files from the external hard drive and press 'Command-A.' Press 'Command-X' to cut the files to the clipboard. Open the external hard drive in the Finder window, and then press 'Command-C' to move the files and folders from the system drive to the external drive.

After you reformat the external hard drive using the Mac OS Extended (Journaled) file format, you will no longer see errors when copying files larger than 4GB.