Before using an external hard drive on a mac, you should format it using disk utility. Bonus tip data recovery from formatted hard drive on mac. How to format an external drive for mac compatibility. Before you go further, there are some tips that deserve your attention. How to format an external hard drive the easy way in 2020. To format external hard drive for mac with time machine, you must follow the steps below. Choose another file system from the format box and click erase. How to share an external hard drive between mac and windows.
Step 1 open finder, applications, then go to utilities and disk utility. It is possible to reformat the drive and keep your files by formatting your drive and then using a data recovery tool to restore your information. For most reasons to erase, including when reformatting a disk or selling, giving away, or trading in your mac, you should erase your entire disk. Reformatting external hard drive on mac is a bit different because it doesnt have the option of quick formatting, but it still has the same option with a different name. Either way there is a solution to having an existing external hard drive for mac and pc. How to format a drive with the apfs file system on macos. If you have a mac lying around, you can plug the drive into a mac and back up the files. The only limitation to fat32 is that you cant copy files onto your external hard drive that are above 4 gigs. Click on the erase tab, choose your external hard drive and select mac os extended journaled and then click erase then simply drag and drop your data onto your newly formatted disk.
The tutorial and screenshots below are based on macos sierra. How to format an external hard drive on windows and mac. Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with windows and mac. Reformatting external hard drive without apple community. Heres how to format a drive if you are planning to use it with a mac. I can find it under device manager and disk management but thats it. Format external hard drive for mac reformat external hard. But unfortunately it bit the dust and i decided to get a pc. How to erase a disk for mac use disk utility to erase format a hard disk, ssd, flash drive, or other storage device. If it does not you will need to rightclick and delete the volume first. This is a simple procedure and is achieved the same way for all drive types and through. How to format external hard drive mac 2 simple methods revealed.
Designed to work with windows or mac computers, this external hard drive makes backup a snap just drag and drop. How to format an external hard drive with pictures wikihow. Seagate stgx400 portable 1tb external hard drive hdd. You are ready to go in a few quick measures, so you can transfer your backup data to the hard disk, keep your documents safe so give you peace of mind. Click go on the top tool bar, and select utilities. Feb 08, 2020 how to partition an external hard drive on mac. How to reformat an external hard drive without losing your. This will completely wipe the drive, deleting all the files on it and converting it to whatever file system you choose. How to reformat an external hard drive for a mac by christopher capelle updated february 9, 2017 most external hard drives are crossplatform, giving them the ability to work on a number of different operating systems.
The instructions below are for windows 10, but other versions of windows from windows 7 and up can also format an external drive as exfat for use with mac as. Also, if your current hard drive is more than 5 years old, it probably is nearing the end of its service life and needs to be replaced. Hence, you must backup your important files before reformatting the drive if you want to save them. Select the external hard drive in the left hand sidebar and click on the erase tab.
Oct 15, 2015 click on the erase tab, choose your external hard drive and select mac os extended journaled and then click erase then simply drag and drop your data onto your newly formatted disk. 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. How to format external hard drives on a mac sweetwater. This process wont actually convert the file system. Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with. For mac users, buying an external hdd already formatted for your system makes getting started much easier. The best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. Aborted lacie setup assistant while it was formatting. Give your drive a name and select the file system you want from the format dropdown.
The instructions below are for windows 10, but other versions of windows from windows 7 and up can also format an external drive as exfat for use with mac as well. Formatting your drive will wipe out all the data in it. This small compact ssd drive from samsung comes with both a usbc to usbc cable and a usbc to usba, meaning its perfect to use with your macbook or mac. Reformatting a drive on windows is a pretty straightforward process. How to format an external hard drive on windows formatting a hard drive on windows is a simple affair, especially if you leave everything as default. Here are the steps to partition an external hard drive for mac and windows pc, which is a little tricky.
This is because when you initially connect an external hdd made for mac to a mac computer, you wont be required to format it before you begin transferring files. How to reformat to mac without losing files external. How to format your hard drive seagate support asean. Tips for fixing external hard drive not mounting issue. For some mac models, the partition option would be greyed out in disk utility. Seagate backup plus desktop user manual optional formatting. How to reformat my external hard drive for windows 10. Mar 22, 2012 the best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. Dec 07, 2009 the only limitation to fat32 is that you cant copy files onto your external hard drive that are above 4 gigs. How can i reformat my external hard drive without losing. How to reformat mac os x without a recovery disc or drive. Reformatting is a destructive process, so if you want the drive in a different format such as mac os extended you will need to copy the files off to another location temporarily and then bring them back once the drive is reformatted.
If youre erasing an external drive, make sure that its connected. Feb 21, 2012 the drive should automatically mount on your mac s desktop if the finder preferences are set to show external drives. The drive should automatically mount on your macs desktop if the finder preferences are set to show external drives. So the first step you must do is move all of your important data to your pcmac, or to cloud storage service. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac laptop mag. How to format wd external drive for mac apple community. How to convert a macformatted drive to a windows drive. Well show you everything you need to know about the. All is set, then you can go ahead to format the drive on your mac. Format external hard drive for mac with disk utility. How to format external hard drives for mac and windows.
How to format external hard drive mac 2 simple methods. Formatting a hard drive can change the file system to make it compatible with your computers operating system, as well as fix any nonphysical errors on the drive itself. Mar 06, 2019 reformatting external hard drive on mac is a bit different because it doesnt have the option of quick formatting, but it still has the same option with a different name. Highlight your drive and click partition in disk utility.
Below are some recommended internal hard drive and external hard drives that you might like. The videos below demonstrate the complete process of formatting an external hard drive for full mac os x compatibility, this uses the. How to reformat mac external harddrive for pc march 2014. Use disk utility to erase format a hard disk, ssd, flash drive, or other storage device. In this post, youll learn how to format an external drive to a mac compatible file system and recover files from a reformatted hard drive. First, back up the data on the macformatted drive if you have anything important on it. 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. Jan 23, 2020 i hope you enjoyed my article on how to make an external hard drive compatible with mac and pc without reformatting. Lacie setup assistant helps you to quickly format the storage device according to your needs. Take these measures to ensure that you have enough room to enjoy your data for years to come. How to format or partition an external hard drive for mac. How to share an external drive between a mac and a pc. If you want to create multiple partitions on your external hard drive in fact, you should for better file organization, heres a stepbystep guide.
How to reformat seagate portable external hard drive. This formatting is also known as mac os extended journaled file system. Jan 08, 2020 you can only read your elements external hard drive. If the drive is not formatted, you may get a message saying that the drive. Now either because of time, corruption or because it may have been formatted for a mac when i plug it into my pc i cant access it. Format an external hard drive or usb flash drive for mac os x. Step 1 open finder, applications, then go to utilities and disk utility step 2 follow the steps above to format the drive, and then you can use it with time machine on your mac system part 3. Use the exfat file system and never format your external. Since the mac can read the old drive, an external drive formatted mac os extended could be attached as well.
Aug 30, 2019 select the external hard drive in the left hand sidebar and click on the erase tab. Format external hard drive for mac reformat external. You should then a see it mount on the desktop, and b automatically get a prompt to use the drive for time machine if not, you can go into the time machine menu top right of the screen, go to tm preferences, and select it. The easiest way is to drag it from one drive to another. Instead, well just be wiping the drive and starting over from scratch. In such a case, its necessary to reformat wd hard drive to make it compatible with mac operating system. Time machine and seagate external hard drive how to format how to use set up duration. Nov 27, 2012 how to reformat passport external hard drive from read only to read and write for use with mac computersimportant. Its fast 540 mbs read and write speeds are more than enough to transfer any file. I hope you enjoyed my article on how to make an external hard drive compatible with mac and pc without reformatting. If the external hard drive is pre formatted for mac, disk management will list 3 partitions and you will not be able to delete the health efi system partition because its a protected partition.
Hope this formatreformat a hard drive for mac guide helped. How to reformat an external hard drive for a mac techwalla. Whether you go the software or hardware route depends on your situation. How to reformat to mac without losing files external drives. So, we suggest that its better to use a pc to partition an external hard drive for macos and windows. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac. Reformatting an external hard drive macrumors forums. So the first step you must do is move all of your important data to your pc mac, or to cloud storage service.
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. Reformatting may be required for mac to get set up, connect the portable hard drive to a computer for automatic recognition no software required this usb drive provides plug and play simplicity with the included 18 inch usb 3. Step 2 follow the steps above to format the drive, and then you can use it with time machine on your mac system. Change the partition layout from current to 1 partition. Open the disk utility app and highlight your external hard drive.
Oct 18, 2019 this wikihow teaches you how to change an external usb hard drive s format on windows and mac computers. Or if you wish to be able to transfer back and forth pc to mac or mac to pc, select the fat32 format. It is not as complicated to reformat an external hard drive for use with mac os x as it may look. You can only read your elements external hard drive. When your disk become unmountable on mac, you should not go straight to reformat this external hard drive, especially when you have important files on it. Just launch the disk utility, rightclick or controlclick the drive containing your apfs partition, and select erase. External hard drive compatible with mac and pc without. How to format an external hard drive for mac and pc. Dec 29, 2015 the instructions below are for windows 10, but other versions of windows from windows 7 and up can also format an external drive as exfat for use with mac as well. How to fix external hard drive not mounting on mac computer. Since formatting an external hard drive will erase all of its files if you wish to save them you must back them up copy. Select the external hard drive on the lefthand side. However, you need to make doubly sure that you complete a quick format.
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