How to format an external drive for mac compatibility. Check if an external hard drive is ntfs formatted in the finder. Find out how to recover formatted hard drive on mac. If you want to create multiple partitions on your external hard drive in fact, you should for better file organization, heres a stepbystep guide. Click the erase button or tab, then complete these fields. Macclean360 is one of the best disk cleaning and management software for mac os. Mar 15, 2018 to format the drive in windows, rightclick it in the file explorer window and select format. The format apple support for mac owners for time machine is mac os extended journaled fat32.
Make your mac feel like new again with a fresh install of os x. This insures that you will have a compatible hard drive with. Launch the app and select the formatted drive from the disk list. Run aweeraser for mac choose erase hard drive select hard drive click on erase button format the selected hard drive. Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with windows and mac. In this video i show you how to reinstall mac os x on your apple computer. Formatting an external hard drive would erase everything on it. There are three common filesystems that are used today. How to format a hard drive windows 10, 8, 7, vista, xp. This site contains user submitted content, comments and opinions and is for informational purposes only. However, when you format your hard drive with super eraser for mac, all your data will be permanently lost.
The command line approach to disk erasure in macos is a bit different and it requires precise syntax to insure that you are erasing the proper disk, making this. How to format external ssd for mac time machine mashtips. Aug 30, 2016 some mac users may require the ability to erase a disk or erase a hard drive from the command line on mac os, a task which is typically performed through the disk utility application from the gui. Heres how to format a drive if you are planning to use it with a mac. Highlight your drive and click partition in disk utility. For instructions on how to format your hard drive on a mac, please reference the following links. Open disk management tool by rightclicking on start menu icon and then select disk management. The easiest way to do that is hit cmd and the spacebar at the same time and type in disk utility to find the program. Instead, a grey folder with a question mark will flash on the screen. How to format external hard drives for mac and windows.
To use hfsexplorer, connect your mac formatted drive to your windows pc and launch hfsexplorer. How to format external hard drive for pc, mac and linux. The mac os extended journaled format file system is the default file system for macos sierra and earlier. Formatting an external hard drive will delete any information on the device, likewise reformatting your system will essentially bring your mac back to a clean factory state, thus removing all. Also you can enter a name for the drive under volume. Rightclick on the external hard disk and select format option from context menu. This is a great thing to do when you first purchase a drive or when you are looking to. Use disk utility to erase format a hard disk, ssd, flash drive, or other storage device. Choose the exfat file system in the list and click start. You have just purchased a brand new hard drive for your mac.
Hence, you must backup your important files before reformatting the drive if you want to save them. Using it, you can erase a hard drive, create new partitions, and even repair your disk as well. When the application is open, select the files you want to retrieve from the formatted drive. Dec, 2019 open disk management tool by rightclicking on start menu icon and then select disk management. And it also wipes out all the bugs and harmful files that might harm your mac.
All is set, then you can go ahead to format the drive on your mac. It will automatically locate the connected drive, and you can load it. Format an external hard drive or usb flash drive for mac os x. The videos below demonstrate the complete process of formatting an external hard drive for full mac os x compatibility, this uses the. Quickly format an external hard drive for mac and windows pc. How to format external hard drives on a mac sweetwater. Your backup plus desktop is formatted as ntfs for compatibility with windows out of the box. Today, we will talk about how to format or reformat ssd on mac. It could be an internal drive but most likely it is an external hard drive that has firewire 400, firewire 800, usb 2.
Now right click on the external drive and click on format option doublecheck the drive name and capacity to make sure you are going to format the right drive. How to format wd external drive for mac apple community. May 01, 2020 click the erase button or tab, then complete these items. As earlier stated, you need to first back up your usb drive before formatting the drive as you may not be able to recover the contents again. You can also check this in the finder with a few clicks. The 4 disk formatting software for mac above can help you easily format hard drive, usb flash drive, memory card, and other storage media under mac os. Fat32 is the crossplatform format for windows and mac os x. You can use lacie setup assistant to format your lacie hard drive when it is first connected to a computer windows or mac. Just like windows, macos also gives us a seamless option to format hard drive for mac and pc. The mac os x extended volume format is optimal for macs. Windows uses ntfs and mac os uses hfs and theyre incompatible with each other. Apple may provide or recommend responses as a possible solution based on the information provided.
Fix a corrupted external hard drive without formatting. So, if you want to use an external hard drive on both windows and mac, you need to format it to a filesystem that is compatible with windows pc and mac. How to format or partition an external hard drive for mac. Once disk utility is open youll see the list of available drives on the left. Now, the erase dialogue window appears, here select the volume format dropdown list and choose msdos fat or exfat file system. The easiest way is to drag it from one drive to another. Now enter the volume label as you need and change the file system for exfat and click ok. It is the reliable disk formatting tool for windowsmac. The command line approach to disk erasure in macos is a bit different and it requires precise syntax to insure that you are erasing the proper disk. Dec 08, 2016 in this video i show you how to reinstall mac os x on your apple computer. Os x, windows, and linux all use different hard drive formatting for normal system operations.
If youre lucky, you can just rightclick each partition on the mac drive and select delete volume to remove the partitions. Mar 22, 2012 the best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. A vast majority of video production will be done on a mac or windows operating system, so we arent going to cover linux. However, you can format the drive to work with both windows and mac by using the exfat filesystem. Download disk formatting software for mac doyourdata. Disk utility shows the recommended mac format by default. How to format an external hard drive for mac and windows. How to solve external hard drive readonly without formatting on mac. When you get a new hard drive, it may already be formatted for windows or mac. Need to format an external hard drive for mac and windows. Before using an external hard drive on a mac, you should format it using disk utility.
A solid state drive is primarily used on mac machine. So please back up your important files before you run super eraser for mac to format. Learn how to use macos recovery to reinstall the mac operating system on your builtin drive or an external drive. If your external hard drive is readonly on mac because it was formatted with microsoft ntfs file system, you can free download iboysoft ntfs for mac and feel free to copywriteeditdelete and transfer files on this drive without formatting it. Dec 29, 2015 windows uses ntfs and mac os uses hfs and theyre incompatible with each other. If your mac internal hard drive has startup problem, it means that the drive will be formatted once and for all. Some mac users may require the ability to erase a disk or erase a hard drive from the command line on mac os, a task which is typically performed through the disk utility application from the gui. You can choose to copy and paste those files to other external devices or internal hard disk of windows, but it will cost much time.
Guid hidden efi firmware partition hidden macintosh hd visible bootcamp windows if enabled, visible recovery hd os x. Well show you everything you need to know about the. Lacie setup assistant helps you to quickly format the storage device according to your needs. Mar 31, 2020 if you buy a new external hard drive, you may notice that working between mac and pc is an often difficult but it doesnt need to be.
Remember, this will erase all the files on the drive. Open the disk utility app and highlight your external hard drive. Now, click the erase, button and wait a few minutes and let the macos. How to solve external hard drive readonly without formatting. Jun 02, 2017 in this video we look at the process of formatting a hard drive, flash drive, or ssd on an apple computer. Now, you can follow the steps to be highlighted below to get it successfully formatted. Seagate backup plus desktop user manual optional formatting. On the formatting window, select quick format option, choose file system format, and click start. You can run it on your mac, and use it to format external hard drive or device on your mac. Guid hidden efi firmware partition hidden macintosh hd visible bootcamp windows if enabled, visible recovery hd os x base install, if on os x 10.
The best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. However, if you want to convert ntfs to exfat to make external hard drive compatible with mac and pc, 3 steps are required. Click the erase tab, choose a volume format from the dropdown menu and then type a name for the drive. Launch disk utility and then click to select the external hard drive listed on the left. February 1, 2010 formatting a hard drive for the mac by ken stone. Please note that once the hard drive is formatted by aweeraser for mac, all the data on the hard drive will be permanently erased, cant be recovered by data recovery software or. If you want to recycle a ssd, formatting is the best way to remove all history data from the ssd. A hard drive format refers to how the operating system stores the data on the drive. Paragon disk wipe allows you to create a bootable usbflash drive or external hard drive that will help you to completely erase a whole hard disk, a separate partition or just clean free space. Apr 14, 2020 however, if you want to convert ntfs to exfat to make external hard drive compatible with mac and pc, 3 steps are required. Aborted lacie setup assistant while it was formatting. Install disk drill on a different drive than the formatted on you wish to restore. Formatting your toshiba hard drive for mac is important, as it makes the hard drive best suitable for the mac by formatting it with the osspecific file system and drivers. You can run easytouse mac disk formatting software to easily format internal ssd or external ssd under mac os.
Enter a name that you want the volume to have after you erase it, such as macintosh hd. Hard drive format software for mac mac disk format software. Therfore, you can connect backup plus desktop to a windows pc without formatting the hard drive. You can then rightclick in the empty space and select new simple volume to create a partition and format it with the windows ntfs or fat32 file systems. Some users wish to perform the same operation of formatting the sd card or micro sd card using the command line in macosx instead of performing it with the disk utility if you do wish to perform formatting using the command lineterminal, make sure to follow the correct syntax once you delete with. If you buy a new external hard drive, you may notice that working between mac and pc is an often difficult but it doesnt need to be. Formatting the hard drive ensures that the system has been blanked and there is no issue causes any problem. Enter a name for the disk or volume, such as macintosh hd. This method should work on all apple computers and with all recent versions of mac os. Smaller external hard drives, ssds, and usb flash keys format quickly, while a larger hard drive may take a while longer. Click the file menu and select load file system from device. Jan 15, 2020 learn how to use macos recovery to reinstall the mac operating system on your builtin drive or an external drive. So if you are formatting a drive that has already been used, be sure to copy any files you will ever want to see again onto a computer or backup drive. Formatting your drive will wipe out all the data in it.
To format the drive in windows, rightclick it in the file explorer window and select format. Select your startup drive on the left typically macintosh hd, switch to the erase tab and choose mac os extended journaled from the format dropdown menu. This is the standard configuration of most macs boot drives and the order of the partitions on the drive. In specific, if you want to know how to format a new or second hard drive in windows 10, dont miss the stepbystep instruction here. It could be an internal drive but most likely it is an external hard drive that has firewire 400, firewire 800, usb 2 or esata ports on the back for connectivity to your mac.
How to reinstall macos from macos recovery apple support. Format external hard drive for mac with disk utility. How to reformat mac os x without a recovery disc or drive. Hey all, quick question, and from my googling it looks like it is possible, however i want to double check just to be sure. The mac drive may have an efi system partition on it. This is a simple procedure and is achieved the same way for all drive types and through. To recover files from a formatted hard drive on mac. It is the fastest way to format an external hard drivedevice under mac os. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac. The operating system has an inbuilt tool, which is known as disk utility. It offers more than 9 tools to help you optimize and manage your mac computer. How to convert a macformatted drive to a windows drive.
Be absolutely sure you have your files off the drive and that youve selected the correct drive you want to format. How to install os x after formatting your hard drive. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac laptop mag. Formatting usually is the least wanted solution for fixing the problem, so we gather two fixes without formatting here. Everything you need to know about your macs hard drive. On the disk utility interface, select an external drive click on the erase button from top of the window make. In this video we look at the process of formatting a hard drive, flash drive, or ssd on an apple computer. Although in principal, formatting means to erase existing data and free up space for utilization, the procedures are not exactly the same for mac and windows. If a wireless network is available, you can choose it from the wi.
How to share an external hard drive between mac and windows. How to format external hard drive to use on mac and pc. Click the erase button or tab, then complete these items. Choose either apfs or mac os extended journaled to format as a mac volume. Remember that you should not install the application on the formatted drive. Jun 30, 20 this is the standard configuration of most macs boot drives and the order of the partitions on the drive. How to fix a corrupted external hard drive on macmacbook.
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