Formatting an external hard drive would erase everything on it. How to share an external drive between a mac and a pc. Reformatting an external hard drive for use with mac osx is not as difficult as it might seem. 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. The videos below demonstrate the complete process of formatting an external hard drive for full mac os x compatibility, this uses the new disk.
But if you must use the same drive with both types of computer then you need to install some additional software. How to format an external hard drive for mac and windows. Feb 23, 2017 why do larger capacity drives not work on both mac and windows. How to format a drive with the apfs file system on macos. Heres how to format a drive if you are planning to use it with a mac. 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. This insures that you will have a compatible hard drive with. Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with windows and mac. So, you just bought an external hard drive or a portable ssd and wanted to use it on your mac. How to format an external drive for mac compatibility. You can format the external hard drive or usb drive to make it compatible with both mac and windows machines. Using a seagate external hard drive on mac and windows.
That said, if you are using smaller file sizes fat32 can suffice. Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with. How to format an external hard drive for mac and pc. 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. How to format an external hard drive the easy way in 2020. All is set, then you can go ahead to format the drive on your mac. How to use seagate external hard drive on mac, 16 ways. In this tutorial, we explain how you can format a hard drive using the command prompt. Please remember that all data will be deleted from the drive, so make sure you have made a backup. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac laptop mag. It will likely already be formatted, either for use.
So if youre trying to connect an external hard drive to a mac, you might have to format the drive before you can use it. How to format your hard drive seagate support canada. In a few simple steps you are ready to go and can save your backup files to the external drive, keeping your information safe and giving you peace of mind. Want to use one external drive for both your windows pc and your mac. In disk utility on your mac, you can format an external disk for a windows computer. If you are trying to format mac external hard drive, you can go over the process step by step. Jul 12, 2017 you can choose to format a usb drive, sd card, or external hard drive with apfs. However, if you are using a macbook pro or any mac computer, the hard drive. Though this format has some limitations, it enjoys nearly universal support. Before a hard drive can read or write data, it must first be formatted, or erased and reconfigured. Youll first need to format your seagate external hard drive to mac os extended journaled file system. Choosing the right format for your external hard drive b. Please see below on how to reformat your external hard drive on mac and windows. How to share an external hard drive between mac and windows.
Which mac file system is best for an external drive. Its ready formatted for use on mac, time machine ready and small enough to fit in your coat pocket. It is because microsofts ntfs is not natively writable from a mac without a driver. 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. While its convenient to purchase the hard drive that will work with your computer right out of the box, most external hard drives can also be reformatted so youre not limited to your initial choice. Use external storage devices with mac apple support. While drives are sold as plugandplay, formatting prior to use will give you optimal performance and compatibility with your mac. How to format an external disk or a flash drive for mac. Formatting a disk or volume erases all the files on it. Using a seagate external hard drive on mac and windows ntfs. If you want to know how to format a hard drive for mac, check out our previous article here. On mac computers, use the finder app to browse and manage files on your computer and external hard drives. How to reformat an external drive for mac tech advisor.
The best format for your external hard drive the hellotech blog. You can choose to format a usb drive, sd card, or external hard drive with apfs. Dec, 2019 you can format the external hard drive or usb drive to make it compatible with both mac and windows machines. 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. And keep a copy of your entire mac should anything bad happen to your mac. With exfat, you can store files of any size, and use it with any computer made in the last 20 years. If it does not you will need to rightclick and delete the volume first. One hurdle youll face is that, by default, these platforms use different. If you need to erase the disk manually, use the disk utility app to erase using the mac os extended journaled format. Formatting a drive will erase all data and partitions on the disk. How to format an external drive to work with mac from ntfs to mac os extended. The drive will now be formatted for use by windows systems.
How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac. How to format a hard drive for mac internal, external or. The best external hard drives for mac in 2020 pcmag. In the volume format list, select mac os extended journaled. Step 1 open finder, applications, then go to utilities and disk utility. The external drive is also powered through the usb port on your chromebook so there is no need for any extra attachments or cords before connection is made. The very best solution that i have found to this dilemma is to avoid this whole problem. 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. While drives are sold as plugandplay, formatting prior to use will give you optimal performance and.
The formatting process will delete all files currently on the partition youre formatting. Rightclick in the unallocated space on the initialized disk and select new simple volume. Use disk utility to erase format a hard disk, ssd, flash drive, or other. Usually, when you want to connect an external hard drive to your computer, you just plug it in and thats it. How to format seagate drive for mac and pc quickly and securely. How to format external hard drive to use on mac and pc. Master boot record is appropriate for external drives used with a pc or boot camp. Partitioning your external hard drive will enable you to perform tasks in one section without affecting the rest of the drive.
A hard drive can be used on any type of computer pc or mac. But somehow, macos doesnt allow you to write data to the drive. 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. How to format a drive with the apfs file system on macos sierra. Apple mac machines support a different file system. Format a disk for windows computers in disk utility on mac. Step 2 follow the steps above to format the drive, and then you can use it with time machine on your mac system. Using the mac preferred file system is important otherwise the files will be of no use to you. Whether it is a hard drive or usb or internal drive, mac uses different format support. Be sure to choose your wd elements drive at the top level. Then, select your hard drive from the left sidebar. If you want to know how to format a hard drive for. Aug 27, 20 using external drives to save space on your mac. Ntfs is the standard for windows users and os x extended journaled is the standard for mac folks.
Hence, you must backup your important files before reformatting the drive if you want to save them. How to format an external hard drive with pictures wikihow. Formatting a hard drive can change the file system to make it. Unlike the playstation 4, you cant change the size of your. So, you cant simply use the same drive with both windows and mac. Apr 17, 2020 to format external hard drive for mac with time machine, you must follow the steps below. Looking to share an external hard drive between a mac and pc. Heres how to format and use an external hard drive so you can install games on it. How to format seagate drive for mac and pc quickly and. Aug 30, 2019 today this video will show you how to format an external hard drive on windows and mac. Mar 28, 2019 running out of storage space on your xbox one. As that is the file system your mac uses for a time machine backup.
To sum up, it is easy to format an external hard drive for both mac and windows pc. How to format external hard drives for mac and windows. Ive searched around but kinda confused as to how to format the drive. External hard drives, thumb drives, usb drives, flash memory cards, and devices like ipod are examples of storage devices that you can connect to your mac using thunderbolt, usb, or firewire cables, or connect wirelessly using bluetooth. Plug in the external hard drive into the system and open. But before you can do anything, you need to make it clear that the hard.
Oct 16, 2019 the best format for external hard drives. Apr 21, 2020 it is obvious that you can use seagate external hard drive or flash drive with mac and windows computer as long as you format seagate drive for mac and pc. How to format an external hard drive on windows and mac. The maximum individual file size for exfat is 16 eb. Click go on the top tool bar, and select utilities. Based on your specific needs and select a proper way to achieve your goal. How to format an external hard drive focus photo school. Today this video will show you how to format an external hard drive on windows and mac. Just plug in the chromebook compatible external hard drive and the chromebook will format your drive properly the first time it is inserted. As a result, you will need to format the hard drive for mac. Looking to add storage, or for a smart way to back up your mac. Forget the backup part, i guess what i need is an external hard drive that i can use in both mac and pc. As with creating a new library, moving your library to your external drive is a multistep process. Format external hard drive or usb drive for mac easeus.
By default its the disk built into your mac, named macintosh hd. Some people are asking for a way to format a hard drive for mac. The best ways to format an external drive for windows and. Open finder and choose applications utilities disk utility to launch the app on your mac. Mar 22, 2012 the best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. External hard drives use either spinning disks or solid memory to save your files. Buying and using an external hd is one thing, getting the most out of it is quite another. If you want to format your external hard drive to work with mac and windows computers, you should use exfat. If you can use one external hard drive for your mac and a separate drive formatted for a pc when your working with a windows computer. How to recover data from formatted external hard drive on mac. How to move your current photos library to an external drive and use it as your primary library. Then, click erase at the bottom to format the drive. 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. How to format or partition an external hard drive for mac.
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. You can use your seagate external hard drive for your time machine backups. Choose your wd elements external hard drive on your macs external drives list. How to format external hard drive mac 2 simple methods. How to format an external hard drive on windows and mac youtube. Smaller external hard drives, ssd s, and usb flash keys format quickly, while a larger hard drive may take a while longer. The quickest way to do this is a simple spotlight search. Why do larger capacity drives not work on both mac and windows. How to format a hard drive using the command prompt tom. Backup disks you can use with time machine apple support. Jan, 2020 the external drive is also powered through the usb port on your chromebook so there is no need for any extra attachments or cords before connection is made. You can have problems with your mac refusing to format your elements drive if its not picked at the right level.
Best format for an external hard disk apple community. 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. How to format external hard drive mac 2 simple methods revealed. In this guide, well show you how to format an external hard drive so you can not only get rid of the. Dont forget to check out all of the hard drives and storage solutions. But compared with formatting, an ntfs for mac driver like iboysoft ntfs for mac is a better and feasible solution. When you format your hard drive, you can clean internal as well as external storage media. Format and external hard drive on mac 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. The best way to do it is with a drive formatted as fat32. Feb 21, 2012 looking to share an external hard drive between a mac and pc. It is obvious that you can use seagate external hard drive or flash drive with mac and windows computer as long as you format seagate drive for mac and pc. What format for my external drive allows use with mac and. 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. Formatting an external hard drive for macwindows use.
But in order for the computer and drive to talk to one another, the drive has to be formatted. Seagate branded external drives come preformatted, some for pcs, some for macs, and some of them have special utilities allowing them to work between both without. How to use photos for mac with an external hard drive imore. There will be no space wasted by protected mac partitions. The easiest way is to drag it from one drive to another.
Reformatting an external hard drive for use with mac osx is not as. Here then are the best external hard drives for mac of 2020 in order of ranking. Heres what you need to know, along with our toprated applefriendly drives. How to format and use an external hard drive on an xbox one. Time machine cant back up to an ios device or disk formatted for windows. Use the wizard to create a partition with the ntfs or fat32 file system. Feb 08, 2020 so, you just bought an external hard drive or a portable ssd and wanted to use it on your mac. So, if you want to use a usb flash drive or an external hard drive with ntfs format on mac, you should first reformat the devices to the mac os extended file system. Most photographers will want to format their new external hard drives using their operating systems optimal style. How to convert a macformatted drive to a windows drive. Everyone these days has an external media like a flash drive or an external hard drive which they use to expand their storage space, or transfer files and folder between two computers or to keep some personal or confidential documents separate from the computer. How to format external hard drives on a mac sweetwater.
This thing is still unknown for many users but doesnt worry its not complex. 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. Well show you everything you need to know about the. To format external hard drive for mac with time machine, you must follow the steps below. How to format an external hard drive for windows 10. If you are techy and use windows and mac computers frequently, then you might need to transfer data between mac and pc.
If i wanted to use it with mac os or time machine backup which is my intent, ill need to format the drive for my mac. To make it clear, we recommend you stay away from ntfs if youre looking to use your external hard drive on a mac. The best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. Use external storage devices with mac external hard drives, thumb drives, usb drives, flash memory cards, and devices like ipod are examples of storage devices that you can connect to your mac using thunderbolt, usb, or firewire cables, or connect wirelessly using bluetooth. Sep 26, 2018 windows pc and mac use different filesystems. It is the best way to ensure full mac compatibility of a new external hard drive or flash disk. 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. How to format and use an external hard drive on an xbox. Before using an external hard drive on a mac, you should format it using disk utility.
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. Format an external hard drive or usb flash drive for mac os x. Both fat32 and exfat can be used on windows pc and mac. Thats all because its been initialized with windows nt file system ntfs, which is primarily for pcs. I need to reformated my wd 1tb external hard drive and was wondering what is the best file format to use ms dos fat32, mac os extended journalled etc all i store on it are all my videos, tv shows, and backups of all my work, documents etc, but i dont use it with time machine. Once youve unboxed your new drive, connect it to your mac.