How to convert a macformatted drive to a windows drive. You can format an external hard drive or thumb drive to work seamlessly with both mac and windows by using the exfat file system. As complicated as that might sound, its not really difficult to format a hard drive in any version of windows. Majority if not all flash drives come not only with windows dominant file systems, but also. Erase and reformat a storage device in disk utility on mac. From the context menu, select get info check the file system format of the drive.
Check the format of the drive select it and get info if originally set up for pc its possible the mac can only read it not write to it, to read and write with both mac and pc it needs to be fat32 msdos in disc utility. Click the icon for your external hard drive in the sidebar on the left. Make sure your external hard drive is attached and mounted to. When you format your hard drive, you can clean internal as well as external storage media. If you only have windows systems available, you can use hfsexplorer to copy files from the drive onto your windows system drive or another drive. For instructions on how to format your hard drive on a mac, please reference the following links. 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. I need to copy my video file from my computer to it and i know. Mar 19, 2020 if you chose a quick format, your hard drive should only take several seconds to format. 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. More and more people are finding themselves using both macs and windows based pcs. How to format new hard drive on windows 10 windows central. Jun 19, 20 solving read only conditions for external hard drives. Create a bootable usb drive for ubuntu using mac or windows how to.
Enter a name for the external hard drive in the name field. You can format your hard drive on both windows and mac computers. Aug 05, 20 more and more people are finding themselves using both macs and windows based pcs. Highlight your drive and click partition in disk utility. How to format external hard drives for mac and windows. Only after formatting it, they would realize that they had lost important data.
Next, under the partition layout column, specify the number of partitions you want. If youre not sure, eject and disconnect each drive, then only. Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with. Choosing the right format for your external hard drive b. Some people are asking for a way to format a hard drive for mac. If you dont know how to format a hard drive or an external hard drive, youve come to the right place. To format the drive in windows, rightclick it in the file explorer window and select format. If youre just using the drive for your linux computer, select ext4. Using an external hard drive on mac without formatting.
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. Apr 22, 2012 to format a hard drive for compatibility of both mac and windows you can use fat32 format which has both readwrite capability on winmac respectively. System volumes, hybrid drives, ssds, and flash storage that you only use with macos. Which mac file system is best for an external drive. Mar 11, 2020 failed to format read only usb drive i have a 32gb usb flash drive bought recently. Apr 02, 2020 if you want to use the drive to transfer files between linux, mac, and windows computers, as well as most devices that support usb storage, select fat. Heres how to format a drive if you are planning to use it with a mac. How to recover from external hard drive readonly error on mac. Starting clean how to format new hard drive on windows 10 formatting is an essential task before starting to use a new drive, and in this guide, well show you how to do it on windows 10. How to reformat mac os x without a recovery disc or drive. If you have a mac lying around, you can plug the drive into a mac and back up the files. 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.
If you want to create multiple partitions on your external hard drive in fact, you should for better file organization, heres a stepbystep guide. Jan 24, 2020 unfortunately, its very much not a straightforward process to format c. How to format your hard drive seagate support australia. How to format or partition an external hard drive for mac. How to convert mac only external hdd to windows compatible. Apfs apple file system is only for newer macs running macos. Here, you will learn three ways to format a hard drive in windows 10 by using disk management, a partition management software and diskpart in command prompt. Dec 29, 2015 windows will format the drive as exfat and youll be able to use the drive on both windows and mac.
This drive will only be used for audio and i was told to format the drive in mac os extended with journaling disabled and a single partition. The best format for your external hard drive the hellotech blog. Choose the exfat file system in the list and click start. Jan 04, 2012 how to format an external drive for mac compatibility. When formatting a hard drive with disk utility, make sure to select the correct drive.
Use disk utility to erase format a hard disk, ssd, flash drive, or other storage device. You can select the exfat format when using the disk utility to format the drive. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac. While compatibility is almost a nonissue now days between macs and pcs, as well as macs and third party. Mar 22, 2012 the best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. Solving readonly conditions for external hard drives. It is recommended to use ntfs if youre working strictly with windows computers. To start, your first step will be to find disk utility. Once you open the disk utility app, you can see all the. Once disk utility is open youll see the list of available drives on the left.
From all above, you can have a general idea of fat32 and exfat file system. It is time to learn how to format your external hard drive or other external drives to a common file system for mac and windows. How to erase a disk for mac partition a physical disk in disk utility on mac file system formats available in disk utility on mac format a disk for windows computers in disk utility on mac encrypt and protect a storage device with a password in disk utility on mac. Smaller external hard drives, ssds, and usb flash keys format quickly, while a larger. In this tutorial, we explain how you can format a hard drive using the command prompt. Click go on the top tool bar, and select utilities. From the volume format menu, choose mac os extended. How to format a hard drive windows 10, 8, 7, vista, xp. Mar 20, 2020 how to reset your mac before selling it. One of the top disadvantages of fat32 is that it can only accommodate files that are up to.
You can now recover all kinds of data from formatted usb. Rather than use a macformatted drive, you should get the important files off of it and use exfatformatted drives for moving data between macs and pcs. Add virtual cd and dvd drives to your pc with alcohol. Means if one want to transfer movie or any stuff greater than 4gb it cant be done in this format.
To format c from within windows would be like lifting a chair in the air while sitting on it you cant do it. As mentioned before, macs can only read ntfsformatted hard drives by. 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. Oct 31, 2019 verify the readonly status of an external hard drive on macos. How to format external hard drives on a mac sweetwater. 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. To format external hard drive on mac, all you have to do is plugin your hard drive and launch disk utility. You will need to back up your data though as you can only do it through erasing and reformatting. You cant format the c drive like you can format another drive in windows because youre within windows when you perform the format. By default its the disk built into your mac, named macintosh hd. Well show you everything you need to know about the. Failed to format read only usb drive i have a 32gb usb flash drive bought recently. Jan 08, 2020 you can only read your elements external hard drive.
How to format drive with compatible file system for mac and. If you are trying to format mac external hard drive, you can go over the process step by step. Copy a data disk uing one optical drive using disk utility on os x how to. Feb 03, 2020 disk utility in macos high sierra or later can erase most disks and volumes for mac using either the newer apfs apple file system format or the older mac os extended format, and it automatically chooses a compatible format for you. Before that, remember to back up your external hard drive quickly with a highlyefficient data backup software since the formatting will erase all. Open the disk utility app and highlight your external hard drive. Feb 21, 2020 if your external hard drive is read only on your mac due to its ntfs file system, you can easily fix it by reformatting the device to a mac compatible format with the builtin disk utility on mac. If you chose the standard format, which we suggested, the time it takes the drive to format will depend almost completely on the size of the drive. Rightclick the drive either from the desktop or finder. If youre planning on just using the drive in windows, select ntfs. How to format a hard drive using the command prompt toms. Mar 29, 2019 how to format a hard drive on mac to work on mac and pc. Mar 15, 2018 but you can open hfsexplorer, read a macformatted drive, and copy the files to your windows pc without paying a dime.
To know the status of your external hard drive, do the following. How to format a hard drive using the command prompt tom. Format an external hard drive or usb flash drive for mac os x. Formatting a drive will erase all data and partitions on the disk. I need to copy my video file from my computer to it and i know that it isnt available to store individual file over 4gb on it. How to install macos or os x on a new hard drive for your mac. The maximum individual file size for exfat is 16 eb. How to format a hard drive on mac to work on mac and pc. 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. Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with windows and mac. If your mac doesnt work, you can do this using a second mac and an external hard drive caddy. Aug 17, 2018 when you format your hard drive, you can clean internal as well as external storage media.
While compatibility is almost a nonissue now days between. Whats more, it is compatible with ssd and flash storage devices only. Its easy to reformat your hard drive using disk utility in macos or os x. With disk utility open, locate the hard drive you want to partition and select partition. Solving readonly conditions for external hard drives cnet. The best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. It should only take a few seconds to format your drive. Windows will format the drive as exfat and youll be able to use the drive on both windows and mac. Open finder and choose applications utilities disk utility to launch. To use my old external hard drive without formatting it, on my new mac. 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. If you don t have a backup for data, then you can recover lost data from formatted usb drive on mac with this trusted data recovery software imyfone anyrecover.
Feb 08, 2020 how to partition an external hard drive on mac. Although we know its limitation of 4gb file size only. Yes, connecting an external hard drive or usb flash key to a mac will generally read and work fine as is because the mac can easily read other filesystem formats, including windows msdos, fat, fat32, exfat, and ntfs formats, but unless you intend on using the drive between a windows and mac machine, formatting it to be entirely mac compatible filesystem is highly recommended, and necessary for time machine and to make disks bootable. 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. Sep 20, 2019 this wikihow teaches you how to format your computers builtin hard drive. This applications readonly nature isnt necessarily a bad thing. Or it might be that you bought a drive to use with your mac only to discovered it is preformatted for windows. To format as a mac disk, choose either apfs or mac os extended journaled. That said, if you are using smaller file sizes fat32 can suffice. If youre erasing your startup disk, you might be prompted to enter your apple id. Sep 06, 2019 if you dont want to lose data from your hard drive, export the data or back it up before continuing. The exfat format supports virtually any size hard drive and file, unlike the outdated fat32 format.
256 45 1101 538 426 1177 477 627 1083 1451 1555 1059 971 677 473 210 613 1136 636 1510 643 441 1036 337 387 501 608 102