Quickly format an external hard drive for mac and windows pc. Use disk utility to erase format a hard disk, ssd, flash drive, or other storage device. The application will first quickly scan some easytoget files on the formatted hard drive. How to convert a macformatted drive to a windows drive. Desktop external hard drives usually run at 7200 rpm to offer all the speed they can. Jan 02, 2017 select the mac partition we created in windows 10, click erase on the menu bar, choose mac os extended journaled in the format list box, then click erase. Apr 23, 2014 its a good idea to backup your data for your mac using time machine. Youll find my article on how you format the wd elements hard drive here. How to format new hard drive on windows 10 windows central. Just select the one you want to format and click on the erase tab. If youre lucky, you can just rightclick each partition on the mac drive and select delete volume to remove the partitions.
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. Just today it wont let me access the drive and it is telling me that i will need to format the drive before. Time machine, however, gives you the possibility to create an automatic backup of the data on your hard drive before formatting it. This is secure than the simple partition and you cant right click and format the 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.
When you use a hard disk drive, time machine will take a while to back up your mac. 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. Reformatting the drive will erase all data on the drive, so you should copy any data you want off the drive prior to formatting. You can set the name to whatever you like, but set the format to mac os extended journaled and set the scheme to. To use time machine to make a backup of your mac, you need any of these types of storage devices. If you have already written any data to the drive, back it up before proceeding to the next step. Here are our favorite usbc hard drives for your mac. Highlight your drive and click partition in disk utility. Is there a way to completely format or erase the data from hard drive so it cannot be recovered by another user. For instance, users want to write data to and read data from, to do a clean installation of the windows system, to get rid of a virus or malware, to erase the data before giving the drive to someone else or throwing it away, or some other reasons. Oct 16, 2019 the best format for external hard drives. How to format a hard dr ive for mac that would be sold to another person. Choose the exfat file system in the list and click start.
Convert formatted drive from mac to windows info remo. Looking to add storage, or for a smart way to back up your mac. When you connect an external drive directly to your mac, you might be asked if you want to use the drive to back up with time machine. If you want to format your external hard drive to work with mac and windows computers, you should use exfat. Hence, you must backup your important files before reformatting the drive if you want to save them.
Chances are that it might be of an ideal format beforehand. How to format an external hard drive on windows and mac. Oct 09, 2019 this wikihow teaches you how to format a seagate hard drive on a mac computer. How to check the pen drive format a lot of users choose to format pen drive to change its format. By default, the 4tb hard drive uses the ntfs format for windows pcs, but theres a help file included on the drive that provides information for mac users so that you can reformat the drive and. Drive speed is measured in revolutions per minute rpm, based on how fast the drive can spin. Whenever you are planning to format your toshiba hard drive for mac, its always suggested to take a backup of the drive you are going to format.
Select encrypt backup disk recommended, then click use as backup disk. 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. How to format a hard drive windows 10, 8, 7, vista, xp. When the application is open, select the files you want to retrieve from. External hard drives with backup software best buy. Now your external drive has been formatted to be fully compatible with apple macos, and you can edit, read, and write files to it as you want. How to backup a mac to an external hard drive using acronis true image. From the popular slim drives to the ridiculous capacity and mobility of the portable drives, you can always rely on the backup plus family. When youre done, the drive should work on both windows pcs and macs with no problem. Feb 08, 2020 how to partition an external hard drive on mac. Formatting an external hard drive would erase everything on it. Format an external hard drive or usb flash drive for mac os x. How to format external ssd for mac time machine mashtips. External drive connected to an airport extreme base station 802.
The easiest way is to drag it from one drive to another. How to format an external hard drive for mac youtube. If you have a mac lying around, you can plug the drive. Its the most affordable portable drive we cover in either the 2 tb or 4 tb capacities. Backup your mac to an external hard drive yet setting up a backup of your mac can be frustrating since most external hard drives must be formatted before being used. Why need to format external hard drive for mac and pc. Open the disk utility app and highlight your external hard drive. When you want to wipe the backup plus drive clear of everything on it. People might need to format a hard drive or an external hard drive in windows 10 for various reasons. Under file system, choose the file system you want to use.
If you also have the same requirements, then consider checking the existing pen drive format first. The best external hard drives for mac in 2020 pcmag. To set up your wd elements drive to work on your mac youll need to format it for mac. Now that you know which format to use, check out our guide on how to format your hard drive on. How to format seagate drive for mac and pc quickly and securely. 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. The drive is mounted in a sturdy metal case, and the 4 tb case is a little thicker than the 2 tb version.
Mac owners have good machines, with plenty of battery life and power. At this point, you can proceed to the next section to format your mac backup partition. The best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. External usb, thunderbolt, or firewire drive connected to your mac. Backup disks you can use with time machine apple support. If you want to create multiple partitions on your external hard drive in fact, you should for better file organization, heres a stepbystep guide. Format external hard drive for mac with disk utility.
But its a good idea to also create a third partition on your disk that both macos and windows 10 can use. Heres how you can check the format of thumb drive on mac. Seagate backup plus desktop user manual optional formatting. Make sure your external hard drive is attached and mounted to your mac.
Choose view show all devices from the menu bar in disk utility. Dont click the format disk button or windows will erase the contents of the driveclick cancel. In the value label field, type a descriptive name for the drive. You can format a drive using the disk utility in mac. 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. All is set, then you can go ahead to format the drive on your mac. 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.
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. Learn how to use macos recovery to reinstall the mac operating system on your builtin drive or an external drive. One hurdle youll face is that, by default, these platforms use different filesystems. Seagate backup plus is preformatted exfat for compatibility with both mac and windows computers. Formatting the drive will permanently erase all the data and files stored on the hard drive forever. If a wireless network is available, you can choose it from the wi. Open the acronis true image 2020 software and click back up your whole mac will be preselected as the source.
Yet when you connect a mac formatted drive to windows, youll be informed that you need to format the disk in drive x. With exfat, you can store files of any size, and use it with any computer made in the last 20 years. The best format for your external hard drive the hellotech blog. Heres what you need to know, along with our toprated applefriendly drives. Im usually change hard drives to a bigger capacity ones and sold the old ones to others. Yet when you connect a macformatted drive to windows, youll be informed that you need to format the disk in drive x. For instructions on how to format your hard drive on a mac, please reference the following links.
Click on the erase button in disk utilitys toolbar, then configure the name, format, and partitioning scheme of your backup disk. To see storage information about your mac, click the apple menu in the topleft of your screen. For instructions on how to format a dr ive in mac os 10. First, back up the data on the mac formatted drive if you have anything important on it. These usbc hard drives can back up or beef up your mac s storage usbc is the future, and grabbing an external hard drive is a great way to store backups, music, movies, files, and more. Unformat mac hard drive recover formatted hard drive on mac. For time machine backups, its good to use a drive that has at least twice the storage capacity of your mac. Partition a hard drive for macos time machine and windows 10. The sidebar now shows your disks devices and any containers. Store and access files on the go with this 2tb wd my passport portable hard drive for mac. Once you open the disk utility app, you can see all the drives on your mac are listed on the lefthand sidebar. Choosing the right format for your external hard drive b.
Apr 21, 2020 i have purchased a 1tb portable external seagate hard drive and i would like to use it with both my mac and windows computer. Before continuing, make sure that you have a backup of any files that you want to keep. Most of the times the mac drives are formatted with an efi system partition. The seagate backup plus portable is also a bargain. Apr 14, 2020 why need to format external hard drive for mac and pc. Seagate backup plus slim 1tb external hard drive portable hdd black usb 3. Please see below on how to reformat your external hard drive on mac and windows.
As youll see, however, knowing how to back up a mac to an external hard drive doesnt have to be intimidating. How to format external hard drive mac 2 simple methods. Partition a hard drive for macos time machine and windows. Use the file system dropdown menu, and select ntfs recommended. If your mac drive has an efi partition, follow the steps to format it. This process wont actually convert the file system. Best way to format external hard drive used for backup. Now in this interface, you will see a format option. Before formatting any hard drive, its a good idea to backup any data or files you want to save before formatting. You can then rightclick in the empty space and select new simple volume to create a partition and format it with the windows ntfs or fat32 file systems. How to format external hard drive to use on mac and pc. When you want to change an ntfs file system to exfat so that you can share your backup plus between a mac and a pc. Acronis true image 2020 enables a full mac backup in just a few quick clicks.
Rightclick on the icon for your external drive on mac desktop, then select get info. Instead, well just be wiping the drive and starting over from scratch. How to reinstall macos from macos recovery apple support. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac. Make sure your external hard drive is attached and mounted to. How to reformat mac os x without a recovery disc or drive. Then select disk utility from the utilities window and click continue. The mac drive may have an efi system partition on it. How to backup mac to an external hard drive 5 steps. 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. After youre done, dont forget to remove the external hard.
So stay on the move and safely take along your documents. Erasing a disk or volume permanently deletes all of its files. Windows uses ntfs and mac os uses hfs and theyre incompatible with each other. 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. This reduced power draw helps preserve the battery life of the mac you plug the drive into.
To format such a partition, you have to go through a complete wipe out of your hard drive. Jan 17, 2019 rightclick the new hard drive and select the format option. Dont click the format disk button or windows will erase the contents of the drive click cancel. An encrypted backup is accessible only to users with the password. A stepbystep guide to backing up mac to an external hard drive step 1. When it comes to mac backup, clearly acronis true image beats time machine. 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. Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with windows and mac. 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. 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. Be absolutely sure you have your files off the drive and that youve selected the correct drive you want to format. To see the size of a specific file or folder, click it once and then press commandi.
Windows will format the drive as exfat and youll be able to use the drive on both windows and mac. Dec 29, 2015 windows will format the drive as exfat and youll be able to use the drive on both windows and mac. Aug 30, 2019 plug in the external hard drive into the system and open windows explorer by clicking on the computer section in the side bar, you will see your external hard drive get attached to your system. 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 compatible. How to backup a mac to an external hard drive in 2020. It has been working great on windows 7 for a couple of weeks. I know mac operating system doesnt fully supports ntfs formatted drive. Any hard drive can be formatted for mac and here is how you do it.
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