How to format an external hard drive on windows and mac youtube. Usb drives and external hard drives on macos catalina are used for storing and backing up important data. Even though mac computers are capable of reading hard drives that are formatted for windows, if you intend on using your external hdd as a bootable disk or want to use it to backup files with your mac s time machine, you must format it to be entirely mac. Mac owners have good machines, with plenty of battery life and power. How to recover formatted mac hard drive by formatting a hard drive on mac, you can fix a few hard drive issues and protect it from virus attack. Thus in order to make the hard drive windows formatted, you have to convert the file system to ntfs or fat32. Time machine cant back up to an ios device or disk formatted for windows. As complicated as that might sound, its not really difficult to format a hard dr. Dont click the format disk button or windows will erase the contents of the drive click cancel. Apr 26, 2020 if a hard drive is formatted via a quick format on mac, you can recover all data from the hard drive. Once you open the disk utility app, you can see all the drives on your mac are listed on the lefthand sidebar. Reformat mac os x without a recovery disc or drive by adriel puentes. How to format an external hard drive for mac youtube. The best external hard drives for mac in 2020 pcmag.
Once you plug in a hard drive and set up time machine, it will work automatically in the background, continuously saving copies of all your files, applications, and system files i. Hence, you must backup your important files before reformatting the drive if you want to save them. Convert formatted drive from mac to windows info remo. You cannot format the whole hard drivedoing so would erase your operating systembut you can format a portion of the hard drive after creating a partition. Please keep in mind that reformatting will result in the loss of all the data on the hard drive so make sure you back up. You may wonder how to reformat an external hard drive on mac. Use disk utility to erase format a hard disk, ssd, flash drive, or other storage device. In the further discussion, you will learn how to make a hard drive useful for windows by changing the formatting of the drive. How to set up external hard drive for mac and pc, time. Formatting an external hard drive would erase everything on it. Preparing your backup disk for a backup of os x carbon. Add virtual cd and dvd drives to your pc with alcohol. Before continuing, make sure that you have a backup of any files that you want to keep. Dec 29, 2015 how to format a hard drive for both windows and mac.
You can continue using recoverit data recovery to retrieve deleted, lost or corrupted files from a hard drive that is damaged, crashed, not detected, etc. With exfat, you can store files of any size, and use it with any computer made in the last 20 years. 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. Now either because of time, corruption or because it may have been formatted for a mac. Erasing a disk or volume permanently deletes all of its files.
This is a simple procedure and is achieved the same way for all drive types and through all connections, be they usb, firewire, or thunderbolt. Here provides you two methods to formatting external hard drive for mac and pc. 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. As long as new data do not overwrite lost files, you can unformat the hard drive and get back lost files by making use of hard drive recovery software. How to format external ssd for mac time machine mashtips. The drive will now be formatted for use by windows systems. Okay, so you may have a lot of files that you want to get rid of, but you definitely have some files you want to keep.
How to share an external hard drive between mac and windows. Connect an external hard drive to your mac youll need a drive that is at least the same size as your macs internal 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. Time machine, however, gives you the possibility to create an automatic backup of the data on your hard drive before formatting. Heres what you need to know, along with our toprated applefriendly drives. Proceed based on whether youre erasing your startup disk or some other disk. Likewise, if you need to use a backup hard drive to restore your data, it can save you hours of time, money and headaches.
When you use a hard disk drive, time machine will take a while to back up your mac. Looking to add storage, or for a smart way to back up your mac. Some people are asking for a way to format a hard drive for mac. How to format a hard drive to work on mac and pc youtube. Sep 20, 2019 this wikihow teaches you how to format your computers builtin hard drive. If you need to erase the disk manually, use the disk utility app to erase using the mac os extended journaled format. You can format your hard drive on both windows and mac computers.
So to get rid of these situations we bring here a guide that will help you to format your drive which works on both platforms and you dont need to format and backup data every time. Partition a hard drive for macos time machine and windows 10 backups. Apr 10, 2019 if you need to erase the disk manually, use the disk utility app to erase using the mac os extended journaled format. Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with windows and mac. External drive connected to an airport extreme base station 802. Oct 09, 2019 this wikihow teaches you how to format a seagate hard drive on a mac computer. The best format for external hard drives if you want to format your external hard drive to work with mac and windows computers, you should use exfat. Format mac hard drive with time machine formatting an external hard drive with time machine is as easy as formatting it with disk utility. How to backup mac to an external hard drive 5 steps.
Dec, 2019 you dont need to format the hard drive every time you can choose a filesystem while formating the drive so the hard drive or usb drive work on both mac and pc. From the popular slim drives to the ridiculous capacity and mobility of the portable drives, you can always rely on the backup plus family. Wd my passport for mac best overall the western digital 2tb my passport for mac is the perfect 2tb portable external hard drive for mac users. Just select the one you want to format and click on the erase tab. It will automatically locate the connected drive, and you can load it. Format usb flash drive external hard drive with macclean360 on macos catalina. Aug 30, 2019 its easy to format an external hard drive. Apr 14, 2020 why need to format external hard drive for mac and pc. Click the file menu and select load file system from device. May 09, 2019 the best external hard drives for mac in 2020. Formatting the drive will permanently erase all the data and files stored on the hard drive forever. In this guide, we will show you how to back up and format an external hard drive on macos. How to format usb drive external hard drive on macos catalina. You can format a drive using the disk utility in mac.
Gtechnology portable external hard drive 2tb from the sleek design to the pre formatting, this terabytesized drive is perfect for mac users who need a little extra space and offers. Copying the files from your mac to an external drive allows you to save data on your own terms. The 8 best external hard drives and ssds for mac and pc. Before proceeding further, make sure you backup all available data to prevent data loss. How to format an external hard drive for mac and pc. To format a hard dr ive means to erase any information on the drive and to set up a file system so your operating system can read data from, and write data to, the drive. Select that disk and click the erase button, the one highlighted in red in the screenshot below. Unformat mac hard drive recover formatted hard drive on mac. The drive is mounted in a sturdy metal case, and the 4 tb case is a little thicker than the 2 tb version.
Copy a data disk uing one optical drive using disk utility on os x how to. How to format an external hard drive for mac and windows. Make sure that the sidebar in disk utility shows the. Macos extended if you primarily use mac with a secondary exfat partition, or ntfs if you mainly use windows 10 with a. But unfortunately it bit the dust and i decided to get a pc. Here then are the best external hard drives for mac of 2020 in order of ranking. Preparing your backup disk for a backup of os x carbon copy. How to format a dr ive on a mac heres how to format a dr ive using a mac including how to format a dr ive for windows and mac so the contents can be read on both platforms, and what format to use. Partition a hard drive for macos time machine and windows 10. The easiest way is to drag it from one drive to another. You can set the name to whatever you like, but set the format to mac os extended. Get through this article and get the ways of recovering formatted mac hard drive. How to format a drive for mac and pc compatibility posted by ant on march 11th, 2012 43 comments if you have an external hard drive or usb flash drive that youd like to use on both macs and windows pcs, choosing the right file system to format the drive. Any hard drive can be formatted for mac and here is how you do it.
With storage quite cheap these days, aim to use a drive thats two to four times the size. Make sure your external hard drive is attached and mounted to. The best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. As long as new data do not overwrite lost files, you can unformat the hard drive and get back lost files by making use of hard drive. Best way to format external hard drive used for backup. This wikihow teaches you how to format a seagate hard drive on a mac computer.
Format external hard drive for mac with disk utility. How to format a hard drive windows 10, 8, 7, vista, xp. Unformat mac hard drive recover formatted hard drive on. You dont need to format the hard drive every time you can choose a filesystem while formating the drive so the hard drive or usb drive work on both mac and pc so to get rid of these situations we bring here a guide that will help you to format your drive which works on both platforms and you dont need to format. Feb 08, 2020 how to partition an external hard drive on mac. Open the disk utility app and highlight your external hard drive. All is set, then you can go ahead to format the drive on your mac. Quickly format an external hard drive for mac and windows pc. Partition a hard drive for macos time machine and windows.
Connect the hard drive or usb key to the mac launch disk utility, located in applications utilities locate the drive name from. Mac os x volume from a drive, or use a new drive as a fully compatible time machine backup drive. How to format external hard drive mac 2 simple methods. Before formatting any hard drive, its a good idea to backup any data or files you want to save before formatting. If you read my previous post about how to format an external drive for mac, you know that i bought a 2tb seagate expansion external hard drive and managed to create two partitions on the disk one for mac backup purposes, and the other for personal use.
Yet when you connect a macformatted drive to windows, youll be informed that you need to format the disk in drive x. This tool can help you securely and quickly format usb flash drive, external hard drive under macos catalina. All backup plus drives are compatible with time machine and come with cool features, including seagate dashboard. Apr 23, 2014 its a good idea to backup your data for your mac using time machine.
Choosing the right format for your external hard drive. Backing the hard drive up to an external hd is tricky, though, which is why weve put together this guide on how to backup a. Aug 17, 2018 in this tutorial, we explain how you can format a hard drive using the command prompt. Right now, our top pick for best external hard drive is the western digital my passport 4tb, which is a mechanical hard drive.
Now that you know which format to use, check out our guide on how to format your hard drive on. And if your disk uses the master boot record mbr partition scheme, some of its partitions might not be available for use with time machine. How to format or partition an external hard drive for mac. Well i have an external hard drive that was formatted in ntfs on an xp machine not too long ago. Heres how to format a drive using a mac including how to format a drive for windows and mac so the contents can be read on both platforms, and what format to use for time machine. How to format external hard drive to use on mac and pc. To put it simply, if you want to share external hard drive between mac and pc, you need to format an external hard drive for mac and pc. Since most external hard drives are formatted for pcs, before the backup of your mac begins you need to format the hard drive for macos. Click on the erase button in disk utilitys toolbar, then configure the name, format, and partitioning scheme of your backup disk. How to reformat my external hard drive for windows 10. If the disk isnt using the correct format, time machine automatically prompts you to erase it when you connect it to your mac. Feb 03, 2020 use disk utility to erase format a hard disk, ssd, flash drive, or other storage device. Make sure that the usb drive is formatted for time machine. Its necessary and good for your data because the process of formatting your toshiba hard drive to be used on mac also includes erasing of all the data from the drive.
In this article, im going to show you how to back up your mac data to an external drive. The seagate backup plus portable is also a bargain. Just today it wont let me access the drive and it is telling me that i will need to format the drive before. Just today it wont let me access the drive and it is telling me that i will need to format the drive. Backup disks you can use with time machine apple support. Find your external hard drive in the list of drives. Dont know how to format portable hard drive for mac and pc. We think it offers creatives the perfect balance of speed, reliability, portability and price for both mac and pc users. Format an external hard drive or usb flash drive for mac os x.
Best external drives for mac and pc interchangeable 2020. To sum up, it is easy to format an external hard drive for both mac and windows pc. How to format external hard drives on a mac sweetwater. You can set the name to whatever you like, but set the format to mac os extended journaled and set the scheme to guid partition map, then click the erase button. Its the most affordable portable drive we cover in either the 2 tb or 4 tb capacities. How to reformat mac os x without a recovery disc or drive.
Three weeks ago, i bought a brand new 2tb seagate expansion to backup my macbook pro before i updated it to the latest macos. All drives and volumes on your mac will be listed in disk utility, so make sure you pick the right one. There will be no space wasted by protected mac partitions. The best format for your external hard drive the hellotech blog. But compared with formatting, an ntfs for mac driver like iboysoft ntfs for mac is a better and feasible solution. Oct 16, 2019 the best format for external hard drives.
Both fat32 and exfat can be used on windows pc and mac. Aug, 2018 format your portable hard drive to fat32 and exfat can achieve the purpose of use it in both windows computer and mac computer. The formatted data also can be recovered by mac data recovery software. Whether you are trying to backup mac to an external hard drive, wipe out any personal information and sell the computer, or even use a new operating system, you need to format the hard drive on your mac or pc. But dont forget to back up your important data in the drive into a safe place before formatting. Mar 19, 2020 to format a hard drive means to erase any information on the drive and to set up a file system so your operating system can read data from, and write data to, the drive. It has been working great on windows 7 for a couple of weeks. If a hard drive is formatted via a quick format on mac, you can recover all data from the hard drive. How to convert a macformatted drive to a windows drive. If you want to create multiple partitions on your external hard drive in fact, you should for better file organization, heres a stepbystep guide. When the application is open, select the files you want to retrieve from. Choosing the right format for your external hard drive b.
Create a bootable usb drive for ubuntu using mac or windows how to. Dont click the format disk button or windows will erase the contents of the driveclick cancel. Currently, hard drives for windows pc are always formatted with ntfs, while hard disks for mac. Why need to format external hard drive for mac and pc. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac. Select disk utility from the utilities window in macos recovery. Feb 09, 2020 if you read my previous post about how to format an external drive for mac, you know that i bought a 2tb seagate expansion external hard drive and managed to create two partitions on the disk one for mac backup purposes, and the other for personal use. Macclean360 also offers disk management tool, disk manager. Now in this interface, you will see a format option. Highlight your drive and click partition in disk utility. To use hfsexplorer, connect your macformatted drive to your windows pc and launch hfsexplorer. A new window will pop up asking which file system youd like to format the external drive.
Lacie rugged usbc 5tb external hard drive portable hdd usb 3. Formatting a drive will erase all data and partitions on the disk. Please keep in mind that reformatting will result in the loss of all the data on the hard drive so make sure you back up your data elsewhere before starting. Format usb drive, external hard drive on macos catalina. Jan 02, 2017 partition a hard drive for macos time machine and windows 10 backups. Seagate backup plus 5tb external hard drive portable hdd silver usb 3. Please see below on how to reformat your external hard drive on mac and windows.
Its never been so easy to choose the perfect storage companion for your mac computer. The macbook and macbook pros come with an ssd to store data and an os. How to format a hard drive using the command prompt toms. But before you can do anything, you need to make it clear that the hard.
Windows will format the drive as exfat and youll be able to use the drive on both windows and mac. Use the wizard to create a partition with the ntfs or fat32 file system. Before formatting any hard drive, its a good idea to backup any data or files you want to save before. How to backup a mac to an external hard drive in 2020. Jan 16, 2020 to conclude now, you have known how to recover formatted mac hard drive and why you need to format a hard drive. For instructions on how to format your hard drive on a mac, please reference the following links. The application will first quickly scan some easytoget files on the formatted hard drive. How to format a hard dr ive so it can be read on both a mac and pc.
105 399 375 1382 895 311 1554 1079 1661 1005 476 1137 382 1448 291 1165 1261 72 57 1212 1135 1590 774 1109 194 1267 183 655 249 1070 1243 1104 339 54 1156