Reformatting external hard drive for mac os x

Choose files you need and click recover to get them back and save the recovered files to another usable disk drive. Smaller external hard drives, ssds, and usb flash keys format quickly, while a larger hard drive may take a while longer. In such a case, its necessary to reformat wd hard drive to make it compatible with mac operating system. How to format an external hard drive for use with a mac. Run mac os x on an appletv with an external hard drive how to. Jan 08, 2020 you can only read your elements external hard drive. Disk utility can see the the drive, but it has no volumes on it.

Learn more about erasing hard disks on mac from apple. Checklist for reformatting your mac os x asian efficiency. You can only read your elements external hard drive. Format an external hard drive or usb flash drive for mac os x. It is not as complicated to reformat an external hard drive for use with mac os x as it may look. 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. Before you can use it though, you need to properly format or reformat a hard drive so that it will become compatible or readable with the operating system that you are using. Need to reformat wd hard drive for mac 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. Install, boot, and run mac os x from an external hard drive. By default, they format disks with the maconly os x extended file system. Create a bootable install usb drive of mac os x 10. I realize this is not the right forum for posting this, but i thought someone here might be knowledgable about backup in general and how to best format an external drive for use with fce, while maintaining the ability to have a mirrored.

How hard is it to reformat the hard drive on a mac computer. Select exfat when formatting an external drive with windows. Windows and mac reformatting required internal storage. How to write to an external hard drive on mac os x wikihow. How to format or partition an external hard drive for mac. Apple file system format or the older mac os extended format, and. A lot of people including you, storing important data on seagate external hard drive instead of on your pcmac hard drive. How to format an external drive in os x by shujaa imran jan 2, 2016 mac most external drives ship in formats that are universally recognised amongst nearly all operating systems fat, im looking at you, but there may be times where you might want to completely wipe a drive andor set it up to be compatible with apples mac lineup only. Format external hard drive for mac reformat external hard. How to format external hard drive mac 2 simple methods revealed.

Mac os x sierra open disk utility and click the drive you want to format. A reformat of the hard drive or the system volume will completely wipe out the contents of the drive. Mac hard drives typically spin at rates of 5,400 to 7,200 rpm. Apfs apple file system is only for newer macs running macos. Dec 24, 2010 reformatting a mac drive let us now take a look at the procedure for reformatting hard drive on mac systems. Hard drive reformatting procedure for mac and windows. To format an external hard drive for mac with time machine, you must follow the steps below. Product specifications, colors, features, and availability are subject to change without notice. If it does work, i can successfully verifyrepair it, and change ignore.

Create a portable, fully functional usb version of windows 8. Most external hard drives you buy will come out of the box preformatted for a windows computer ntfs. It also erases the hidden recovery and efi partitions. How to convert a macformatted drive to a windows drive. Feb 08, 2020 how to partition an external hard drive on mac. A list of all the hard drive partitions will be visible in the left pane. For instructions on how to format a drive in mac os 10. How to reformat mac os x without a recovery disc or drive. Jul 12, 2012 use your os x usb key or recovery partition to reformat and reinstall os x. Jan 02, 2016 how to format an external drive in os x by shujaa imran jan 2, 2016 mac most external drives ship in formats that are universally recognised amongst nearly all operating systems fat, im looking at you, but there may be times where you might want to completely wipe a drive andor set it up to be compatible with apples mac lineup only. If you already used your external hard drive on a pc, be sure to back. Oct 14, 2007 disk utility can see the the drive, but it has no volumes on it.

Click erase and from the format dropdown select exfat. With my previous laptops pcs, ive always stored my data on an external hard drive. Or perhaps you are setting up an external drive for backups. I would like to backup with time machine my macbook pro 15 inch and also would like to put some movies on it if possible. Ntfs is a file system that is optimal for windowsbased computer. Now, i have a new macbook pro and all my data is still on that external hd. This process wont actually convert the file system. Step 2 follow the steps above to format the drive, and then you can use it with time machine on your mac system. How to reformat passport external hard drive from read only to read and write for use with mac computersimportant. Compatibility may vary depending on users hardware configuration and operating system. Learn how to use macos recovery to reinstall the mac operating system on your builtin drive or an external drive. To format any of the partitioned drive volumes, open the disk utility program provided in mac os x. Instead, well just be wiping the drive and starting over from scratch.

Bonus tip data recovery from formatted hard drive on mac. Os x sets up permission settings for any external drives for files and folders inside the system. The reason is perhaps that seagate external hard drive has been well known for a long time as one of the most reliable drives for storing data. 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 site contains user submitted content, comments and opinions and is for informational purposes only. Apr 30, 2020 to format an external hard drive for mac with time machine, you must follow the steps below. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac laptop mag. Reformatting external hd question macrumors forums. If you have a mac lying around, you can plug the drive into a mac and back up the files. The incompatibility of the file system is the main cause of the errorexternal hard drive read only on mac.

Instructions for how to format your external drive so that it will be fully usable in macos. But unfortunately it bit the dust and i decided to get a pc. Reformatting a mac drive let us now take a look at the procedure for reformatting hard drive on mac systems. Apfs apple file system this is the new file system that apple bought to macs with high sierra and it. Format external hard drive for mac with disk utility. How can i reformat my external hard drive without losing. 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 properly formatreformat a hard drive for mac os a hard drive or hard disk can be used in any type of computer, whether for pc windows or for mac. Hi all, i just got a new mac mini, 500gb, 4gb ram, and waant to know how to reformat my hp 1tb hdd first, i need to know how to transfer the data on it under 100gb on to my mini the drive is ntfs right now, so i need to transfer it, reformat it, and then trtansfer it. How to format external hard drives on macs running os.

By default, they format disks with the mac only os x extended file system. Jan 15, 2020 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 with pictures wikihow. Apr 16, 2008 heres how to reformat a hard drive with mac os x 10. There are two ways you can install os x on to your external hard disk. The following is based on the latest version of macos.

May 28, 2009 would reformatting it to mac os extended for use with fce still allow it to use normal raid abilities. Use the exfat file system and never format your external. 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. Open the disk utility app and highlight your external hard drive. I can find it under device manager and disk management but thats it. Jan 04, 2012 smaller external hard drives, ssds, and usb flash keys format quickly, while a larger hard drive may take a while longer. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac. Toshiba hdtb420xk3aa canvio basics 2tb portable external.

Nov 27, 2012 how to reformat passport external hard drive from read only to read and write for use with mac computersimportant. If you have a mac you should format the drive for your mac first thing, before you start using it. Open disk utility, select the drive not the macintosh hd volume, open the erase tab, set the format to mac os extended journaled, and press the erase button. This formatting is also known as mac os extended journaled file system. Select the seagate external hard drive and click next button to scan for all the lost data. How can i reformat the internal drive and install mountain. Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with windows and mac. Fortunately disk utility, built right into macos, can help.

Formatting an external hard drive would erase everything on it. How to format external hard drives on a mac sweetwater. Reformatting external drive to mac os extended but maintaining raid setup more less. Feb 21, 2020 rightclick your hard disk and select get info. This is not hard to do, and will take you only about a minutes effort.

Dont bypass this, if you will use the drive with your mac only. The easiest way is to drag it from one drive to another. If youre erasing an external drive, make sure that its connected. For the life of me, i cannot understand why apple would hide this setting by default. How to reinstall macos from macos recovery apple support. Reformatting external drive to mac os ext apple community. You cannot reformat a volume when you are currently booted to an operating system on. These steps can be used for both internal and external drives. Mar 15, 2003 ok, for various reasons im planning on reformatting my 40 gb external fw drive. A lot of people including you, storing important data on seagate external hard drive instead of on your pc mac hard drive. If you find your external hard drive is ntfs format, thats what the cause is. Jul 05, 2017 macs support a variety of file systems.

There is only one rule that you need to keep in mind when reformatting a drive. Fix seagate external hard drive not recognizeddetected on mac. The best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. Apple may provide or recommend responses as a possible solution based on the information provided. Mar 22, 2012 the best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. 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 it does create one, when i restart from the os x cd to reinstall, the volume is no longer there. How to recover data from formatted external hard drive on mac. Traditional hard disks are the most common options of external drives for mac, but you can also use them as laptop internal hard drives.

For that, you will need the installation disk of mac os x. If i create a volume, or try to, disk utility will either freeze or successfully create a volume. First, back up the data on the macformatted drive if you have anything important on it. Drive formatted ntfs for microsoft windows 10, windows 8. If you want to create multiple partitions on your external hard drive in fact, you should for better file organization, heres a stepbystep guide. Assuming the installation went fine, the next process is to restore everything. Hence, you must backup your important files before reformatting the drive if you want to save them. 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. Read about it and found that id have to reformat it in mac os extended journaled. Highlight your drive and click partition in disk utility. Guid table formatting for intel mac start up disks. 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. How to reformat my external hard drive for windows 10. Format your external drive with exfat for both mac and.

So its essential that you back up your data, before you go ahead. The higher a disks rpm, the faster its working speed. Heres how to reformat a hard drive with mac os x 10. First, back up the data on the mac formatted drive if you have anything important on it. All is set, then you can go ahead to format the drive on your mac.

Since formatting an external hard drive will erase all of its. How to format a hard drive on macs running os high sierra 10. However, reformatting the entire hard drive, cant be done that way. The videos below demonstrate the complete process of formatting an external hard drive for full mac os x compatibility, this uses the. How to format an external drive for mac compatibility. To format external hard drive on mac, all you have to do is plugin your hard drive and launch disk utility. Use your os x usb key or recovery partition to reformat and reinstall os x. Fix external hard drive read only on mac without losing data. This is a simple procedure and is achieved the same way for all drive types and through. Step 1 open finder, applications, then go to utilities and disk utility. Format external hard drive for mac reformat external. If a wireless network is available, you can choose it from the wi. Reformatting an external hard drive for use with mac osx is not as. It should only take a minute or two for the drive to be erased and reformatted.