Reformat external hard drive for mac os x

However, the new external hard drive comes as formatted drive, but, if you think the external drive should be formatted as another format filesystem. How to reformat your toshiba portable hard drive to mac os x bought this great toshiba portable hard drive for my macbook to use to store files, essentially as another drive. Create a bootable install usb drive of mac os x 10. How to reinstall macos from macos recovery apple support.

Apfs apple file system this is the new file system that apple bought to macs with high sierra and it. The following is based on the latest version of macos. Luckily, there are thirdparty tools to help you do so. This is very easy to carry out, and only requires a few moments of your time. One of the major limitations of this format is that its not able to write files larger than 4gb, which can be quite a setback. For that, you might buy a new external hard drive and you connected with your mac computer or windows pc.

Where, i am seeing instruction links, for mac operating system, for as far back as mac os x 10. Instructions for how to format your external drive so that it will be fully usable in macos. 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 method of erasing any disk only. I received a replacement 750gb external hard drive from western digital. Dec 31, 2019 partition external hard drive on mac os x. When the driver is installed, you format your ntfs disks with disk utility where you select windows nt filesystem as the format. The previous defunct hd was also fat32, which i did not realize upon receiving and using. Reformatting an external hard drive for use with mac osx is not as. Because fat32 supports only up to 4 gb large files, it should be used only with flash drives. Format external hard drive for mac with disk utility. May 01, 2020 how to erase a disk for mac use disk utility to erase format a hard disk, ssd, flash drive, or other storage device. If you need to format external hard drive mac or windows, you may also consider the exfat files system. Os x sets up permission settings for any external drives for files and folders inside the system. It is not as complicated to reformat an external hard drive for use with mac os x as it may look.

Your external hard drive may not have been recognized or was not given access to the hard disk. Os x can default read ntfs disks, but not write to them. Smaller external hard drives, ssds, and usb flash keys format quickly, while a larger hard drive may take a while longer. How to erase a disk for mac use disk utility to erase format a hard disk, ssd, flash drive, or other storage device. How to format external ssd for mac time machine mashtips. Formatting an external drive on your mac is quite easy, though it isnt as evident and obvious as it is on a pc. Macs can only read but not write to a ntfs file system. How to format or partition an external hard drive for mac. How to format or partition an external hard drive on mac. 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. I have backed up all my data i dont have enough hard drive space to make a time machine backup. The best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. So here well discuss a quick method pun intended of formatting usb on mac. Now, how can i reformat and install os x from the installer placed in the external hard drive.

This video will walk you through properly formatting an external hard drive for use with mac os x. Wait for the process to complete and let the macos erase data on the drive and reformat it by fat32 or exfat format. Now in this interface, you will see a format option. For most reasons to erase, including when reformatting a disk or. How to format external hard drive on a mac latest version. If it does not you will need to rightclick and delete the volume first. However, the new external hard drive comes as formatted drive, but, if you think the external drive. Then, you can use the drive in macos or os x as a regular hard drive. Here are the following most common reasons why would you like to format an external disk or a flash drive for mac under mac os extended journaled. This will demonstrate how to format a hard disk to be completely mac os x compatible, the entire process is handled through disk utility as demonstrated with an external hard drive. Learn how to use macos recovery to reinstall the mac operating system on your builtin drive or an external drive. How to format an external hard drive for mac os x youtube. How to recover data from formatted external hard drive on mac. This mode is only available on apple computers made after 2009 that were running os x lion or later.

Click on the view button in the upper lefthand side, change to show all devices. Nov 02, 2012 how to format an external hard drive for mac duration. Highlight your drive and click partition in disk utility. Just select the one you want to format and click on the erase tab. You can format a drive in os x using two applications. Format an external hard drive or usb flash drive for mac os x. There many users ask if they can format a hard drive under macos 10. Most external hard drives you buy will come out of the box preformatted for a windows computer ntfs. This is a simple procedure and is achieved the same way for all drive types and through. This process wont actually convert the file system. If a wireless network is available, you can choose it from the wi. Be sure to doublecheck this you could accidentally wipe the wrong drive if you select the wrong disk here. Both mac os x and windows also support the fat32 file system, but we dont recommend it for hard drives.

For the time machine, you have to format the ssd from the default shipped format. Steps 46 are optional but should be used on a drive that has never been formatted before, if the format type is not mac os extended, if the partition scheme has been changed, or if a different operating system not os x has been installed on the drive. Fix external hard drive read only on mac without losing data. Oct 22, 2018 choose fat32 and full format, enter a name for it and format the drive. To format an external hard drive for mac with time machine, you must follow the steps below.

If you want to create multiple partitions on your external hard drive in fact, you should for better file organization, heres a stepbystep guide. Most of the ssds come in default exfat format that is compatible with both windows and mac. Locate the disk utility in the utilities folder and launch it. How to reformat an external storage device, using mac os x. I wasnt interested in using it for backups but that is certainly an option. Now enter the name for the external drive which will be used after formatting and also select exfat for format option and click on the erase. If you setup your drive properly by partitioning the drive with the guid partition map scheme. These steps can be used for both internal and external drives.

Feb 21, 2020 rightclick your hard disk and select get info. This will format the drive as exfat format and your drive is now compatible with both platforms. When trying to save large files in final cut pro, the hard drive would save numerous files with none over 2gb in size. If you find your external hard drive is ntfs format, thats what the cause is. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size. Formatting an external hard drive would erase everything on it. How to format an external hard drive for use with a mac. The below steps for formatting external drive is for windows 10 and also. How to format external hard drive mac 2 simple methods. Select the external drive, go to partition, select 1 partition from the dropdown list, name your new drive and select your preferrred format.

In such a case, its necessary to reformat wd hard drive to make it compatible with mac operating system. How to reformat your toshiba portable hard drive to mac os x. How to reformat mac os x without a recovery disc or drive. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac laptop mag. Or perhaps you are setting up an external drive for backups. Ntfs is a file system that is optimal for windowsbased computer. Jan 02, 2016 msdos fat is the most popular format amongst external hard disks, as its both readable and writable by nearly all operating systems, windows and os x included. Format your external drive with exfat for both mac and. Jan 15, 2020 learn how to use macos recovery to reinstall the mac operating system on your builtin drive or an external drive. Step 1 open finder, applications, then go to utilities and disk utility.

How can i reformat my external hard drive without losing. For instructions on how to format a drive in mac os 10. In order to get started and partition your external hard drive, follow the simple instructions below. Rename the drive, select the volume format dropdown list and choose msdos fat or exfat file system. If you also want to a solution for hard drive formatting under macos 10. Use the exfat file system and never format your external.

Click erase and from the format dropdown select exfat. The incompatibility of the file system is the main cause of the errorexternal hard drive read only on mac. How to install macos or os x on a new hard drive for your mac. You can, however, format a windows hard drive from a mac if you connect the windows hard drive to the mac and format it through disk utility, or the command line as described above. I purchased an external hard drive a seagate 2 tb expansion desktop drive and was told by the mac rep in the store to perform the following simple task to reformat the disk so i could drag and drop files from my imac and store them on the external hard drive. If you have a mac lying around, you can plug the drive into a mac and back up the files. How to format external hard drive to use on mac and pc. Mac os x can only be installed on a hard drive formatted in mac os extended journaled, filesystem. Read about it and found that id have to reformat it in mac os extended journaled. Nov 12, 2009 whats the difference between a regular external hard drive and the ones i see advertised as formatted for mac os x. Feb 12, 2019 how to format a mac formatted drive to ntfs for it to work on windows 10 and other versions of windows that read ntfs. With my previous laptops pcs, ive always stored my data on an external hard drive. You can find this program inside the utilities folder. You can now edit, read, and write files, as you wish.

Step 2 follow the steps above to format the drive, and then you can use it with time machine on your mac system. If you already used your external hard drive on a pc, be sure to back. If you do not see the scheme option, then you have selected the volume and not the drive. How to format external hard drives on a mac sweetwater. Thus, having an external hard drive will help you to save your files. After realizing that you can reformat wd hard drive to fat32 or exfat to make it compatible with mac os x and still can be used under windows, it is time to check out how to reformat wd hard drive for mac and pc in windows successfully. Jan 04, 2012 smaller external hard drives, ssds, and usb flash keys format quickly, while a larger hard drive may take a while longer.

Open the disk utility app and highlight your external hard drive. To format external hard drive on mac, all you have to do is plugin your hard drive and launch disk utility. Sep 06, 2019 the simplest way to install macos or os x on a new hard drive is by using internet recovery mode. Apfs apple file system is only for newer macs running macos. The simplest way to install macos or os x on a new hard drive is by using internet recovery mode. Dec, 2019 first, lets see how to format an external hard drive or usb drive in macos which works with both mac and pc platforms, first plugin your drive in macos machine. How to format wd my passport for mac and pc easeus. How to format hard drive for mac compatibly in os x disk. Select the nonindented entry for your seagate drive.

Once you open the disk utility app, you can see all the drives on your mac are listed on the lefthand sidebar. You should create multiple partitions on your external hard drive, in order to have enhanced file organization. I have just saved necessary files and also the installer for os x 10. Dont bypass this, if you will use the drive with your mac only. Format a flash drive for both mac os x and windows. If you are going to use an external hard drive or an external ssd to back up your mac data, then you should start by formatting it for the macos extended file system. The fat32 file system can be used on most operating systems including win98se, winme, win2000, winxp, windows vista, windows 7, mac os 9, mac os x and linux systems but the maximum size of a single file is limited to 4gb. By default, they format disks with the mac only os x extended file system. The tool used to format a drive on mac os x is the disk utility. First, back up the data on the macformatted drive if you have anything important on it. If you connect your wd hard drive without reformatting, youll be unable to copy files to the disk as mac read only supports ntfs file system. Aug 30, 2016 this is an article for mac, it is erasing a hard drive from a mac command line, it is not a windows tutorial.

For example, here wed type select disk 2 finally, type clean and press enter. So if you want your external hard drive to be backward compatible with both oss then you. Since formatting an external hard drive will erase all of its. Reformatting the drive will erase all data on the drive, so you should copy any data you want off the drive prior to formatting. This command erases the entire selected disk, including all its files and partitions whether. Bonus tip data recovery from formatted hard drive on mac. Run mac os x on an appletv with an external hard drive how to. Feb 08, 2020 how to partition an external hard drive on mac. 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. Please backup your data off the hard drive that is being formatted. Mac os x sierra open disk utility and click the drive you want to format. Instead, well just be wiping the drive and starting over from scratch.

Mar 25, 2018 i have recently bought a my passport external hd. 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. If you have a mac you should format the drive for your mac first thing, before you start using it. 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. Fortunately disk utility, built right into macos, can help. The videos below demonstrate the complete process of formatting an external hard drive for full mac os x compatibility, this uses the. Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with windows and mac. This is not hard to do, and will take you only about a minutes effort. Formatting the usb or an external hard drive on macos isnt a herculean task, but theres always something with mac that sets it apart, at least for me. How can i reformat the internal drive and install mountain. Here are two ways offered and you can choose on based on your own situation.

But, if you plan on using an external drive with both macs and pcs, you should format the disk with the exfat file system instead. How to format a disk to ntfs using mac os x ask different. How to convert a macformatted drive to a windows drive. If your mac is from before 2009 or never had os x lion, click here to jump to the next section. Youve formatted your external drive to be compatible with mac os x, and have confirmed that the formatting process was successful.

Disk utility and terminal well be detailing both of these methods below. Learn more about erasing hard disks on mac from apple. As the default file system in windows, it can only read by mac os, writing to it is not available. Now, i have a new macbook pro and all my data is still on that external hd. How to format an external disk or a flash drive for mac. Whether youre selling your computer, trying a new operating system, or setting up an external drive for backups, sometimes you need to completely erase and format a hard drive. In this article, i will show easy solutions to format a hard drive or external hard drive for macos 10.

How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac. How to format an external drive for mac compatibility. Where and with working to reformat my new hd, i have been directed to base support and then knowledge base answer id 3865. Format external hard drive for mac reformat external. There are all kinds of reasons why you might want to format a storage drive for your mac from cleaning it up for a fresh install of os x to creating an encrypted drive for work. May 26, 2017 i explain how to format a storage device for your mac. Create a portable, fully functional usb version of windows 8. Format external hard drive for mac reformat external hard. If youre erasing an external drive, make sure that its connected directly to your mac using.