how to format an external hard drive mac

How to Format an External Drive in OS X

1. Connect the drive to the Mac.
2. Open Disk Utility. ...
3. Select the drive you want to format.
4. Click Erase.
5. Give the drive a descriptive name and leave the default settings: OS X Extended format and GUID partition map. ...
6. Click Erase and OS X will format the drive.

1. What is the best format for a Mac external hard drive?
2. How do I completely format an external hard drive?
3. Do I need to format an external hard drive for Mac?
4. What format is Mac hard drive?
5. Do you have to format an external hard drive?
6. Why can't I format my external hard drive?
7. What happens when you format a external hard drive?
8. What is the best format for an external hard drive?
9. How do I make my external hard drive compatible with Mac and PC?
10. How do I make my external hard drive compatible with Mac and PC without formatting?

What is the best format for a Mac external hard drive?

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. With exFAT, you can store files of any size, and use it with any computer made in the last 20 years.

How do I completely format an external hard drive?

To reformat a drive on Windows:

1. Plug in the drive and open Windows Explorer.
2. Right-click the drive and choose Format from the drop-down menu.
3. Select the file system you want, give your drive a name under Volume label, and make sure the Quick Format box is checked.
4. Click Start, and the computer will reformat your drive.

Do I need to format an external hard drive for Mac?

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 ...

What format is Mac hard drive?

As mentioned before, Macs can only read NTFS-formatted hard drives by default. If you want to write to NTFS formatted hard drives in Mac OS X, you're going to need the help of a third-party driver.

Do you have to format an external hard drive?

No and yes. It depends on your need. If you use it to move files between Mac OS, Windows, Android, and Linux you may need to use FAT32 which is compatible with all. It has limitations but most external drives come preformatted this way so this would be the no formatting required part of the answer.

Why can't I format my external hard drive?

There are several reasons why the external HDD won't format problem may occur, this include: Malware or virus infection. Missing or damaged DLL, SYS, or EXE files. Incorrect drive format.

What happens when you format a external hard drive?

If you format you will erase all the that is stored on this drive! Windows will as for a drive to be formatted when it cannot read/see the information it tries to access. So probably not all folders are damaged. This could happen due to file system corruption or because of too many bad sectors.

What is the best format for an external hard drive?

If you want to use your external drive with Windows machines only, NTFS is a fine choice and probably the best option overall. However, if you need to use the drive beyond the confines of the modern Windows ecosystem, it's better to go with exFAT instead.

How do I make my external hard drive compatible with Mac and PC?

How to create an external hard disk compatible on Mac and Windows?

1. Connect the drive to the Mac.
2. Open Disk Utility. ...
3. In disk utility, you will have an internal and external drive.
4. Select the drive you want to format and click erase.
5. Give the partition a name and select exFAT for the format.

How do I make my external hard drive compatible with Mac and PC without formatting?

Try to repair the read-only external hard drive with or without formatting.

1. Solution 1: Using NTFS for Mac tool.
2. Solution 2: Enable NTFS read-write with Terminal (not recommend)
3. Solution 3: Format this external hard drive to exFAT/FAT32.
4. Solution 1: Change the permission of this external hard drive.