The best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. Your backup plus desktop is formatted as ntfs for compatibility with windows out of the box. 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. 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. Besides formatting, you can enjoy more advanced features such as shrinking, extending, merging hard drive partition, clone hard drive, etc. Just run it on your mac, it will show all the hard drives and external devices on your mac. Click on disk utility then continue first of all to get your mac s hard drive wiped. You can select the exfat format when using the disk utility to format the drive. Select your startup drive on the left typically macintosh hd, switch to the erase tab and choose mac os. Fortunately, there are some mac hard drive format software or smart disk formatting applications can help you securely and easily format, reformat, or erase hard drive under mac os. If the disk utility way seems to be limited for you, there are a number of hard drive and storage media utilities for your mac. The information about individual partitions is stored in a special region on the hard drive, called the partition table. To format an external hard drive for mac with time machine, you must follow the steps below. Both mac os x and windows allow users to format their hard drives using builtin utilities.
Format an external hard drive or usb flash drive for mac os x. Bootable usb hard disk format tool free download easeus. I have an old external 1 tb hard drive id like to format for use with apple time machine backup. Click your hard drives name in the window near the bottom of the screen. Aug 22, 2019 open disk utility in the applications folder utilities folder. Select the hard drive and click erase, then disk utility will help you format and erase the hard drive or device. Since formatting an external hard drive will erase all of its files if you wish to save them you must back them up copy. 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. 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. Sep 26, 2018 after that, you can use your external hard drive on both mac and windows machine. Opening disk management can be done a number of ways depending on your version of windows, but the easiest method is to type diskmgmt. Aomei partition assistant is such a great simple tool for formatting external hard drive for mac and windows.
Then, after making sure that it is the windows ntfs file system that makes your external hard drive readonly on mac, you can go head to fix this problem. Seagate backup plus desktop user manual optional formatting. From the volume format menu, you can select the file systems that are compatible with your operating system, here please choose mac os extended. If you want to transfer files from a mac to windows pc and vice versa using an external portable hard drive then you have to have the external drive formatted in a file system both oss can read. But to get a hard drive to be compatible for both mac and pc, you have to choose the exfat. Luckily, there are thirdparty tools to help you do so. How to format an external hard drive for mac and windows. 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. To delete this partition you have to use microsoft diskpart erase utility. 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. Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with windows and mac.
Rightclick a partition on the disk you want to format and select format partition. How you will use them may vary but these utilities surely provide userfriendly interfaces and oneclick formatting most of the time, so you shouldnt have any problems using them. This method should work on all apple computers and with all recent versions of mac os. It is the reliable disk formatting tool for windows mac. If you want to format your external hard drive to work with mac and windows computers, you should use exfat.
The disk partition is created prior to highlevel formatting, during a process called partitioning, which divides the hard drive into one or more regions, called partitions, indicating where each partition starts and where it ends. Smaller external hard drives, ssds, and usb flash keys format quickly, while a larger hard drive may take a while longer. This insures that you will have a compatible hard drive with. See troubleshooting for more information on which format to select. Need to format an external hard drive for mac and windows. You can do that by typing disk format or disk management in windows search or going to control panel administrative tools create and format hard disk. How to format a hard drive on mac to work on mac and pc. It is actually pretty easy to recover formatted hard drive on mac. Make your mac feel like new again with a fresh install of os x. Turn on your macintosh notebook computer or desktop system and login. 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. Now you should see your new drive in the disk utility sidebar. How to format a hard drive windows 10, 8, 7, vista, xp. How to format a startup drive for a mac if you want to format a drive that will be used as your mac s startup disk, the procedure is a little different from formatting it for use as a secondary.
Highlight your drive and click partition in disk utility. Use disk utility to erase format a hard disk, ssd, flash drive, or other storage device. Hence, you must backup your important files before reformatting the drive if you want to save them. Formatting a drive so you can install and boot macos requires the guid partition map. How to share an external hard drive between mac and windows. This may be apfs, or it may be mac os extended journaled depending on how the drive is currently formatted and whether you using macos. However, when we connect a ntfs formatted disk to mac, mac os x doesnt allow us to write files to the drive neither edit. Even though most people associate formatting with system installation, there are many other reasons why you might want to format your hard drive. Best 4 free hard drive format tool download easeus. How to reinstall macos from macos recovery apple support. Before using an external hard drive on a mac, you should format it using disk utility. Here, we will show you three ways to format usb flash drive, external hard drive, etc on macos catalina. Formatting an external hard drive would erase everything on it. In the upper left of the disk utility window, click on view.
Download disk formatting software for mac doyourdata. Once you open the disk utility app, you can see all the drives on your mac are listed on the lefthand sidebar. How to format external hard drive mac 2 simple methods revealed. How to install os x after formatting your hard drive. How to format an external disk or a flash drive for mac. Some people may want to format a storage because they want to clean hard drive mac and others might want to install fresh os x.
All is set, then you can go ahead to format the drive on your mac. There are many tools can help you format usb flash drive, portable hard drive, memory card or other storage device on macos catalina. How to format or partition an external hard drive for mac. How to convert a macformatted drive to a windows drive. How to format external hard drive mac 2 simple methods. Hard drive format software for mac mac disk format software. Format external hard drive for mac with disk utility. Feb 08, 2020 how to partition an external hard drive on mac. The reasons for wanting to format your mac storage drive may vary depending on immediate need.
Aug, 2018 need to format portable hard drive for mac and pc if you have a portable hard drive with ntfs file system, you can use it in windows computer easily. Unfortunately, disk utility in macos high sierra doesnt make that option easy to. 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. Format mac hard drive with time machine formatting an external hard drive with time machine is as easy as formatting it with disk utility. So, whether you wish to format the internal hard drive, external drive, or a usb flash drive, the procedure is the same for all.
Solved how to recover formatted hard drive on mac 2020. Mac formatted external hard drives are often priced higher than their windows counterparts and are not as widely available. Change the partition layout from current to 1 partition. Check if an external hard drive is ntfs formatted in the finder. However, when you format your hard drive with super eraser for mac, all your data will be permanently lost. Disk utility is a smart hard drive format tool built in mac system. Mac os x can only be installed on a hard drive formatted in mac os extended journaled, filesystem.
How to install macos or os x on a new hard drive for your mac. If your mac is using apfs, select apfs from the format list. 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. Quickly format an external hard drive for mac and windows pc. This process erases everything on the disk, including its files and all its partitions. Steps to formatting hard disk via aomei partition assistant ex. You can format an external hard drive or thumb drive to work seamlessly with both mac and windows by using the exfat file system. If you only need to format a hard drive securely, free partition manager easeus partition master free can be your best choice. With a created bootable usb format tool at hand, you can freely perform a quick format on your problematic hard disk. Formatting is a very simple procedure which is operated in a similar way for all sorts of storage media. Set the partition label, cluster size and file system as you like, and click ok.
Heres how to format a drive if you are planning to use it with a mac. Dont click the format disk button or windows will erase the contents of the driveclick cancel. If you dont see this option, try typing create and format hard disk partitions into start. How to format a hard drive on windows or mac avast. You can repurpose any hard drive to work with your mac. To format a hard drive on your mac, follow these instructions. With exfat, you can store files of any size, and use it with any computer made in the last 20 years. Apr 16, 2020 so formatted hard drive recovery on mac is still possible. So please back up your important files before you run super eraser for mac to format. Disk utility will automatically choose the format for you. However, ntfs is not fully compatible with mac computers.
Now that you know which format to use, check out our guide on how to format your hard drive on. Mar 12, 2018 mac os journaled is the formatting option for mac and ntfs or msdoc is the formatting option for pc. Format usb flash driveexternal hard drive with disk utility on macos catalina. Free download, install and run the hard disk formatting software. This may be apfs, or it may be mac os extended journaled depending on how the drive is currently formatted and. First, note the number of the disk in the disk management window. Once in the folder, youll see an application named disk utility, doubleclick on it to launch the program. Using it, you can erase a hard drive, create new partitions, and even repair your disk as well. How to solve external hard drive readonly without formatting.
You can do that by typing disk format or disk management in windows search or going to control panel administrative tools create and format hard disk partitions. It is the reliable disk formatting tool for windowsmac. For instructions on how to format your hard drive on a mac, please reference the following links. How to format an external drive for mac compatibility. The exfat format supports virtually any size hard drive and file, unlike the outdated fat32 format.
Mar 29, 2019 you can format an external hard drive or thumb drive to work seamlessly with both mac and windows by using the exfat file system. Step 2 now, go to the applications folder on your mac, and launch the disk utility from the utilities folder. To erase this partition, well have to wipe the entire disk. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac. When you connect a mac formatted drive to windows, youll be informed that you need to format the disk in drive x. Follow these easy steps to format a hard drive in windows 10, windows 8, windows 7, windows vista, or windows xp. Mar 22, 2012 the best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. This is a simple procedure and is achieved the same way for all drive types and through. It supports to format hard drive in computers without any technical skill.
Open disk management, the hard drive manager included with all versions of windows. Just select the one you want to format and click on the erase tab. And if you like, you can execute many more operations to take full control of the usb hard drive, such as resize, delete all partitions, wipe a partition, migrate os to ssd, optimize operating system and so on. The easiest way is to drag it from one drive to another. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac laptop mag. Besides, you can use it to manage your hard drive partitions such as resize partition, delete partition, split partition, merge partitions, etc. If a wireless network is available, you can choose it from the wifi menu in the menu bar. You can also check this in the finder with a few clicks. However, when we connect a ntfs formatted disk to mac, mac os x doesnt allow us to write files to the drive neither edit files, though it can read a ntfs drive. As the default file system in windows, it can only read by mac os, writing to it is not available. The good news is the disk utility built into the os x comes in handy, like a visual assistant making the process easier. Disk drill can scan your drive and find invisible files that havent been erased yet. How to format external hard drives on a mac sweetwater.
If you are having a hard time using the command line, try the disk utility app, which is simpler and uses the gui. Next, open a command prompt window as administrator. Therfore, you can connect backup plus desktop to a windows pc without formatting the hard drive. The operating system has an inbuilt tool, which is known as disk utility. Just like windows, macos also gives us a seamless option to format hard drive for mac and pc. Click the erase button at the top of the disk utility window. 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.
Now in this interface, you will see a format option. Unlike windows os, mac os doesnt provide quick format tool. Dec 08, 2016 in this video i show you how to reinstall mac os x on your apple computer. How to format a hard drive for mac internal, external or flash. 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. Open the disk utility app and highlight your external hard drive. 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 hard drives for mac and windows. The problem is that the disk is currently formatted as ntfs and is not readable with time machine. Open disk utility and select the hard drive which you want to format on the lefthand side you will see your external hard drive icon if connected. Follow the steps to format your toshiba hard drive for mac step 1 connect your toshiba hard drive to your mac using a compatible medium and make sure the connection remains uninterrupted.
Format usb drive, external hard drive on macos catalina. Here is the step by step guide you need to follow to format the hard disk on mac. For example, in the screenshot below, the macformatted drive is disk 2. How to format a hard drive for mac internal, external or. 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. But if you connect it to a macbook, you will find that the operating system cannot recognize it. Find the hard drive you want to format, and highlight it. Select disk utility, and then choose the drive to format. The videos below demonstrate the complete process of formatting an external hard drive for full mac os x compatibility, this uses the.
For example, in the screenshot below, the mac formatted drive is disk 2. Click go on the top tool bar, and select utilities. Rightclick on the start button and select disk management on the popup menu. Bonus tip data recovery from formatted hard drive on mac. Select the external hard drive on the lefthand side.
822 1391 488 753 469 70 702 1348 494 84 114 624 1183 28 1596 1223 232 242 865 1097 28 239 1054 891 685 24 1443 1063 698 168 1045 828