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- How To Format A External Hard Drive For Mac And Pc
- The Best Ways To Format An External Drive For Windows And Mac ...
- Tips for Formatting a Hard Drive on Mac: Even though formatting doesn’t seem like a big deal, still it can be very helpful. So, you must stay active and keep all things in mind. Here are some tips that might help you when you are about to format a Mac hard drive.
- Whenever an external storage device gets infected, it is highly recommended to format the device to make it operable. In this post, let’s talk about how to erase and format external hard drives on Mac and Windows. Erase and Format External Hard Drive on Mac. Step 1: Open your Mac and connect your external hard drive with it.
- Aug 24, 2020 Partitioning an external drive in MacOS isn’t quite so annoying. Here we’ll assume that your external drive has no partitions, so we’ll need to create two. If you already have a Mac-friendly.
On Mac computers, use the Finder app to browse and manage files on your computer and external hard drives. Before a hard drive can read or write data, it must first be formatted, or erased and reconfigured. Reformatting a hard drive is often done just to erase all of its contents. When formatting a hard drive with Disk Utility, make sure to.
By Adela D. Louie, Last updated: July 28, 2020
If what you are aiming for is to make sure that you have complete compatibility of the external hard drive to your Mac, then you what you need to do is to have it formatted to Mac OS Extended filesystem. This process is very common for those generic hard drives which are commonly preformatted compatible with a Windows computer and not for a Mac OS X.
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And reformatting your external hard drive for Mac OS X is not a very difficult thing to do. This process is actually very simple and will only require you to do a few steps. And after that, you will then be able to save any backup files that you want on your external hard drive. And at the same time, you will be able to keep all of the information that you have stored in your external hard drive safe.
The fact is that you can actually use any hard drive with your Mac, however, if you want to make sure that you get the most out of it, then you can have it reformatted for your Mac OS X. That is why in this article, we are going to show you a quick way on how to reformat the external hard drive, Mac. And as a bonus, we are going to show you a special way on how you can recover data deleted from your external hard drive as well.
How to Reformat External Hard Drive Mac
For you to be able to reformat your external hard drive Mac, here are the steps you need to follow.
- Step 1. Plugin Hard Drive- The first thing that you need to do is to have your external hard drive be plugged into your computer.
- Step 2. Go to Disk Utilities- And then, launch the Disk Utility folder which is located from going to your Applications folder and Utility folder.
- Step 3. Look for the Hard Drive’s Name- And from the Disk utility folder, just go ahead and locate for the name of your external hard drive from the left side of your screen. And once that you have found it, go ahead and click it and then hit on the Erase button.
- Step 4. Do Instructions Needed- And then, there will be an on-screen instruction shown to you. This will lead you in selecting the option Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Also, this will then let you format your external hard drive.
And that is how to reformat external hard drive Mac easily. Once that you are done with the process, then you will be able to use your drive and have your backup file saved using it.
BONUS TIP: How to Recover Deleted Data from Reformat External Hard Drive Mac
Now you have already known how to reformat external hard drive Mac easily and in a fast way. So which means that you can now use your drive for you to store important documents and other files that you have.
Now, since we know how important it is to keep your data safe in your external hard drive, we have made special software for you that you can use just in case that something happens to your external hard drive causing you to delete all of the saved data in it. In short, with this software, you will be able to recover them back to your external hard drive. The software that we are talking about is no other than the FoneDog Data Recovery.
Data RecoveryRecover deleted image, document, audio and more files.Get deleted data back from computer (including Recycle Bin) and hard drives.Recover loss data caused by disk accident, operation system crushes and other reasons.
The FoneDog Data Recovery can recover any deleted data the quickest and the easiest way possible. This software is considered to be a professional data recovery software and that it can restore any type of files that you have from any sort of situation such as deleted file recovery, hard drive recovery, partition recovery, crashed windows or Mac, memory card recovery, and a flash drive recovery.
Also, the FoneDog Data Recovery can recover any data from any external device such as a hard drive, memory card, USB, a digital camera, and removable drives. It can also recover data from your computer. So, to give you a quick guide on how this program works, here is a quick step by step process you can follow.
Step 1. Install Program and Launch it on Computer
You can get the FoneDog Data Recovery tool by downloading it from our website. And then install it on your Mac computer.
Step 2. Choose the Type of Data and Device Storage
After the complete installation of the program, go ahead and run it on your computer. And from the main page of it, you will be able to choose on which device you would like to recover your deleted data or backup file. So here, you have to choose the external hard drive that you are working on. Then, simply choose the data that you would like to recover as well.
NOTE: You have to make sure that the connection of your external hard drive and your Mac is stable while you are on the process of recovering your data.
Step 3. Scanning Process
After choosing your external hard drive and the data that you want to recover, then you can go now and click on the Scan button. The FoneDog Data Recovery will then start scanning your device giving you the result basing on the option that you have chosen earlier.
NOTE: There are two ways to scan in this part. The Quick Scan can only take a few minutes to finish. And the Deep Scan which can take a longer period of time since it will scan thoroughly on your external hard drive.
Step 4. Preview and Select Data to Retrieve Then Recover
And once that the scanning process is all done, all of the data will then be listed on your screen. From here, you can now go ahead and choose all of the data that you want to recover. And once that you are done choosing them, simply click on the Recover button below your screen.
Then, the recovery process will start so all you have to do from here is wait until such time that the process is complete.
Conclusion
As you can see, it is very easy to reformat your external hard drive for your Mac. All you need to do is to go through all of the steps that we have provided you and you will surely be done in no time. Also, just in case you happen to have deleted data from your hard drive, then you can easily have them back by using the FoneDog Data Recovery tool.
>Tricks >How to Reformat External Hard Drive Mac Compatibility
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Nov 16, 2020 • Filed to: Solve Mac Problems • Proven solutions
'I just bought a new USB flash drive and a hard drive for extra storage, but they are not compatible with my Mac. The only solution I can find is to format the drives but I don’t know how to perform it. Can someone tell me how do I format a new hard drive for Mac?'
There are lots of people who mistakenly think that the USB drives and hard drives format don’t really matter. But the reality is quite different. Whether it is a hard drive or USB or internal drive, Mac uses different format support. So, you can’t simply use the same drive with both Windows and Mac. As a result, you will need to format the hard drive for Mac. Using the Mac preferred file system is important otherwise the files will be of no use to you.
In this article, we are going to discuss how to format a hard drive for Mac and some related terms too.
Part 1. Situations When Formatting a Hard Drive on Mac:
Before you get deep, you must understand what is the drive formatting. Some people confuse the term with reformatting. Basically, formatting is the process of preparing the storage devices such as hard disk drive, solid-state drive, USB flash drive, or any other for initial use.
The basic operation is termed as low-level formatting which means erasing the existing data on the disk. But it leaves the track to recover the data using the recovery tool.
There is another term related to disk formatting and it is called reformatting. It is called high-level formatting as it is used to prepare the disk for different file system formats. It is usually done during the OS installation or adding a new disk. Reformatting is done to free the storage space from the previous content stored in it.
You can consider disk formatting in macOS in various circumstances. Whether your system has corrupted data, damaged software, impending system upgrade, storage is full, or it is running slow, formatting will fix a lot of issues. Take a look at the scenarios given below and you will be sure that disk formatting will help you.
- If you want to quickly erase all content from the drive permanently without leaving a trace of data on it.
- If you want to change the format of the disk such as PC format like FAT or exFAT to Mac format.
- If you see the message that the disk is not readable by Mac.
- If you want to resolve a disk issue that can’t be fixed by the Repair feature of Disk Utility.
- If the macOS installer can’t see the disk or unable to install it.
- In case the macOS installer says that the drive can’t be installed because it is a part of Apple RAID.
Under all these situations, formatting is most likely to fix your problems and you will be able to use the drive on Mac.
Part 2. How to Format a Hard Drive on Mac:
Formatting is a very simple procedure that is operated in a similar way for all sorts of storage media. So, whether you wish to format the internal hard drive, external drive, or a USB flash drive, the procedure is the same for all. Here is the step by step guide you need to follow to format the hard disk on Mac. Before you erase a disk, make sure that you have a backup of the files you want to keep.
Step 1: Connect the USB drive or external drive to Mac and launch the Disk Utility from Applications.
Step 2: From the left side panel, pick the volume or the drive that you want to format and switch to the Erase tab.
Step 3: As you click on the Erase button, you will see several fields in the section. Enter the given information-
- Name- Enter a name for the disk such as Macintosh HD/SSD/USB Drive or anything else you want.
- Format- You have to choose a Mac supported format from the list. The most recommended format is APFS or Mac OS Extended (Journaled). There are numerous other formats too which will be displayed in the drop-down menu. You can select any format as per your requirement.
- The scheme- If this option is available, then you should choose the GUID Partition Map from the option.
Step 4: After specifying the fields, click on the Erase button at the bottom of the window and Disk Utility will format the drive.
Once the formatting is complete, you can use the disk for a backup drive, sharing, time machine backup, or any other requirement. In case if the drive doesn’t appear in the Disk Utility interface, you will have to disconnect all the extra and non-essential devices connected to Mac. Make sure that the External drive is on and connected properly. Restart your Mac and then carry out the task.
How To Format A External Hard Drive For Mac And Pc
Part 3. How to Perform Mac Data Recovery After Format:
There are situations when Mac users don’t get the chance to create a backup of their data and forced to format the hard drive. But you don’t need to panic. You can get your hands on Recoverit data recovery for Mac. If you have mistakenly formatted the data that you still need, Recoverit is the best chance you have to get the files back. It is a complete data recovery solution that is capable of recovering all kinds of files with wide format support of 1000+.
You can download the software from the official website and install it immediately on Mac. Once the setup is complete, follow the steps below to recover formatted drive files.
Step 1: Specify Location:
Run the program and specify a location from the main drive. If data is lost from an external drive or USB flash drive, then you’ll have to connect the drive with the system and then specify the location.
Click on the Start button to initiate the scanning process.
Step 2: Scan Results:
Depending on the data that is lost or deleted, scanning will take some time. As the process finishes, the files will be displayed on the screen according to their respective format.
You can decide whether you want to look for files according to file type or file path. You can also stop the scanning process in between if the results are displayed before the scanning finishes.
Step 3: Preview and Recover Formatted Data:
As soon as the data is displayed on the screen, you can have a preview of the files. Select as many files as you want and have a preview of the files. Tap on the Recover button to save the files on your system.
As you are retrieving the files, keep in mind not to save the files in the previous location. Depending on the amount of recovery, it will take a while and ultimately you’ll have your files back. If the normal scan doesn’t work for you, Recoverit also has a deep scan mode to look deeper for the deleted and lost files.
Part 4. Different Formats of Hard Drive for Mac:
Mac Hard drives have wide support for formats but there are two major formats that are preferably used by the Mac users. It also depends on the macOS version you are using. The key point to consider is that the drives formatted with the newer versions won’t be recognized by the older devices. So, when you are formatting a USB drive, it will be ideal to choose the right format which is Mac OS Extended.
The supported Mac formats for the drive are explained below:
The Best Ways To Format An External Drive For Windows And Mac ...
APFS:
The APFS format is optimal for Solid State Drive such as flash drives. Hence, if you are formatting a flash drive, you should definitely choose the APFS format. Along with the flash drives, this format is also faster and more reliable for Mac hard drives.
Mac OS Extended:
Talking about Mac OS Extended, it is perfectly suitable if you want to use a drive for backup. The Time Machine feature of Mac still doesn’t have support for APFS disk. In case you select this format, Time Machine will prompt you to reformat the drive.
When you are formatting disk on Mac, keep some things in mind. Never ever change the inbuilt format of a Mac drive.
Part 5. Tips for Formatting a Hard Drive on Mac:
Even though formatting doesn’t seem like a big deal, still it can be very helpful. So, you must stay active and keep all things in mind. Here are some tips that might help you when you are about to format a Mac hard drive.
- Disk Utility in macOS Sierra and later chooses a compatible format for you automatically. But you should know the default format for your drive. It is advised not to change the default format of a Mac hard drive under any circumstances.
- You can check the format of a drive inside the Disk Utility Menu bar. Just click on the Get Info option and you’ll know the current format a drive is using to store files. Open the System information and select the storage. In the right-side panel, you will see the respective format for each volume on your Mac.
- If you want to erase your disk before you install the latest High Sierra on your Mac for the first time, then opt-out for the Mac OS Extended format. During the installation of OS, the macOS installer will automatically decide whether to use APFS or Mac OS Extended for the disk.
- You can also use the FAT32 format on Mac for USB drives if you wish to use it on both Mac and Windows. The FAT32 format can be read and written on both OS and hence it is the most versatile format for use.
- If you wish to transfer big files from Windows to Mac, you’ll still have an alternative, i.e. exFAT. This format doesn’t have a file limit but it can only be read on Mac OS X Snow Leopard or later.
So, before you pick out the format, look out for the advantages and the disadvantages of the formats to choose the optimal format for Mac. The Windows supported format is usually listed as an MS-DOS format in the list of formats.
Wrapping It Up:
As you can see, now you know how to format hard drive/ USB flash drive/ internal drive/external drive on Mac. So, from now on whenever someone is in need, you can help them. And formatting doesn’t always finish without complications. So, if you lost some important files while formatting the drive, you can use Recoverit data recovery software for Mac to restore them in the original condition. Recommend the software to your friends and family and let them know that there is a master tool for recovery for both Mac and Windows OS in the market.