Heres what you need to know, along with our toprated applefriendly drives. How to reformat my external hard drive for windows 10. How to format external hard drive mac 2 simple methods. How to share an external hard drive between mac and windows. Oct 16, 2019 the best format for external hard drives. Copying the files from your mac to an external drive allows you to save data on your own terms. 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. Format external hard drive with multiple partitions easeus. Likewise, the mac os x operating system can read from, but cannot write to, an external drive that has been formatted for a pc using the ntfs file system without additional software. A stepbystep guide to backing up mac to an external hard drive. How to format an external hard drive with pictures wikihow.
How to format an external hard drive for mac and windows. The best external hard drives for mac in 2020 pcmag. Reviewers have praised its speed, reliability, and easytouse backup software. Formatting is a very simple procedure which is operated in a similar way for all sorts of storage media. Mac backup is designed in our computer with time machine but in some certain cases, we do need to backup mac computer files in external hard drive. The maximum individual file size for exfat is 16 eb. 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. Open finder and choose applications utilities disk utility to launch the app on your mac. Looking to add storage, or for a smart way to back up your mac. All files on your external drive will be deleted during the backup, so dont use your time machine drive or a drive you use to store important things on. Buying and using an external hd is one thing, getting the most out of it is quite another. The below steps for formatting external drive is for windows 10 and also works the same with an old version of windows. So if youre on a mac, and you want to format an external hard drive. How you format a mac hard drive is entirely dependent on what kind of drive you plan on formatting.
That said, if you are using smaller file sizes fat32 can suffice. You can format your external hard drive from either the pc or mac. Insert the drives usb cable into one of the thin, rectangular slots in your computers casing. How to format external hard drive to use on mac and pc. The best format for your external hard drive the hellotech blog. How to format a hard drive windows 10, 8, 7, vista, xp. Machine backup files or a bootable backup of your operating system. Backup disks you can use with time machine time machine can back up to an external storage device connected to your mac or supported airport base station. How to format external hard drive for pc, mac and linux. The best external hard drives and ssds for photographers. If you keep your hard drives outofthebox ntfs format for all the reasons fat32 displeases, theres a workaround that will allow your mac to read and write files to the drive. 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.
Well show you everything you need to know about the. Quickly format an external hard drive for mac and windows pc. In this guide, well show you how to format an external hard drive so you can not only get rid of the. Step 2 follow the steps above to format the drive, and then you can use it with time machine on your mac system. Thus, youd better use the windows machine to format your external hard drive. For instance, is the hard drive internal or external.
How to create a bootable backup of your entire mac on an. How to format your hard drive seagate support canada. Choosing the right format for your external hard drive b. Best external hard drives for macs in 2020 techradar.
It can also back up to a mac or networkattached storage device nas on your network. How to format external hard drive mac 2 simple methods revealed. May 09, 2019 the best external hard drives for mac in 2020. From the popular slim drives to the ridiculous capacity and mobility of the portable drives, you can always rely on the backup plus family. Formatting a drive will erase all data and partitions on the disk. If you are trying to format mac external hard drive, you can go over the process step by step. If you need to erase the disk manually, use the disk utility app to erase using the mac os extended journaled format. Open the disk utility app and highlight your external hard drive. We think it offers creatives the perfect balance of speed, reliability, portability and price for both mac and pc users.
If you want to write to ntfs formatted hard drives in mac os x, youre going to need the help of a thirdparty. Here is the step by step guide you need to follow to format the hard disk on mac. Some people are asking for a way to format a hard drive for 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. I also have this problem, i want to wipe clean the old external backup drive when right clicking on disk management the format option is not available. Your backup plus desktop is formatted as ntfs for compatibility with windows out of the box. Using a seagate external hard drive on mac and windows ntfs. As complicated as that might sound, its not really difficult to format a hard dr ive in any version of windows. Once disk utility is open youll see the list of available drives on the left. However, if you want to convert ntfs to exfat to make external hard drive compatible with mac and pc, 3 steps are required. 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. Then, you need to choose the best file system for your external hard drive and follow these steps. If you want to format your external hard drive to work with mac and windows computers, you should use exfat.
Format external hard drive for mac with disk utility. Right now, our top pick for best external hard drive is the western digital my passport 4tb, which is a mechanical hard drive. So stay on the move and safely take along your documents. External hard drive is popular storage device and it can be used to store all kinds of digital information such as images, documents, apps. How to format an external hard drive and remove errors. Time machine can back up to an external usb drive connected to an airport extreme base station 802. Before formatting any hard drive, its a good idea to backup. Low level formatting is the first process of wiping out data and existing files in the hard disk devices and at the high level, a new file system is generated. To format external hard drive for mac with time machine, you must follow the steps below. 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. What else, you may want to change the usage of your external hard drive, and youd like to format it without abandoning the data, backup external hard drive before formatting can keep the data safe. Please see below on how to reformat your external hard drive on mac and windows. 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. Plug in the external hard drive into mac and open the finder 2.
How to backup mac to an external hard drive 5 steps. The 8 best external hard drives and ssds for mac and pc. But, how to backup external hard drive before formatting. The 8 best external hard drives and ssds for mac and pc users. The easiest way is to drag it from one drive to another. If you want to create multiple partitions on your external hard drive in fact, you should for better file organization, heres a stepbystep guide. How to backup an iphone to an external hard drive in 2020. How to format external hard drives on a mac sweetwater. On mac computers, use the finder app to browse and manage files on your computer and external hard drives. Then, you can share external hard drive between mac and pc. Best external hard drives and ssds for mac and pc image credit. Once you open the disk utility app, you can see all the drives on your mac are. Just keep in mind if you want to use your drive also for os xs time machine backups, we advise you to format your drive through mac because there is an additional step to make drive compatible with time machine backups.
Click erase button, the external hard drive will be formatted. Here then are the best external hard drives for mac of 2020 in order of ranking. All is set, then you can go ahead to format the drive on your mac. The best ways to format an external drive for windows and. Apple time machine 101 seagate style seagate support us. Highlight your drive and click partition in disk utility. 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. For instructions on how to format your hard drive on a mac, please reference the following links. Make sure that the usb drive is formatted for time machine. Follow these instructions if you plan to share an external hard drive between pc and mac computers. All backup plus drives are compatible with time machine and come with cool features, including seagate dashboard and windowsmac compatibility. How to format external hard drives for mac and windows. If you dont know how to format a hard drive or an external hard drive, youve come to the right place.
Now that you know which format to use, check out our guide on how to format your hard drive on. Connect the hard drive or usb key to the mac launch disk utility, located in applications utilities locate the drive name from the left hand side of disk utility and click on it. Give your drive a name and select the file system you want from the format dropdown. Hence, you must backup your important files before reformatting the drive if you want to save them. 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. How to format an external hard drive on windows and mac. A window opens showing external storage drives connected to your mac. External hard drives back up your most important files, but what happens when they malfunction. How to format an external hard drive the easy way in 2020. Backup disks you can use with time machine apple support. The best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac.
Step 1 open finder, applications, then go to utilities and disk utility. Time machine can back up to the builtin hard disk of an airport time. Here are the best mac hard drives and external storage options in 2020. So, whether you wish to format the internal hard drive, external drive, or a usb flash drive, the procedure is the same for all. Mar 22, 2012 the best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. How to format or partition an external hard drive for mac. You can format a drive using the disk utility in mac. Mac owners have good machines, with plenty of battery life and power. Heres how to format a drive if you are planning to use it with a mac. An external hard drive as big as your mac s internal drive.
However, ntfs is not fully compatible with mac computers. Dec 29, 2015 follow these instructions if you plan to share an external hard drive between pc and mac computers. Many backup archives and video files are larger than 4 gb. To format your external drive hard drive in windows which works with both platforms, first plugin your drive with windows machine. Three weeks ago, i bought a brand new 2tb seagate expansion to backup my macbook pro before i updated it to the latest macos. Once you open the disk utility app, you can see all the drives on your mac are listed on the lefthand sidebar. 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. Local backups to an external hard drive or another computer on your network. 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 macs time machine, you must format it to be entirely mac compatible. If youre using an imac, you may find the usb ports on the side of your keyboard or on the back of the imacs screen. Formatting may take few hours to wipe out the existing data, but the process can be hasslefree if you get to know about stepwise instructions of how to format an external hard drive. And i actually did a video over how to backup your mac using time. External hard drives with backup software best buy. How to format an external hard drive focus photo school.
How to set up the seagate backup plus hub on a mac. Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with windows and mac. Follow the path applicationsutilities and click disk utility. Youll need two things to create your bootable backup. I want to know that what i should format the seagate external hard drive to, so that it can be compatible both with mac and pc. Lacie rugged mini 4tb external hard drive portable hdd usb 3. Backup mac to external hard drive macbook backup step by. Before a hard drive can read or write data, it must first be formatted, or erased and reconfigured.
To format or reformat an external hard drive on mac, youll need the builtin disk management tool called disk utility. Most external hard drives are designed to work for windows computers. Sep 26, 2018 however, if you want to use the mac to format your external hard drive to exfat, youll face the problem that the external hard drive may not be compatible with the windows pc. By this way, you can easily format an external hard drive for mac and pc without losing any data. Therfore, you can connect backup plus desktop to a windows pc without formatting the hard drive. What to do when your external hard drive wont show up. External hard drives use either spinning disks or solid memory to save your files. The process for backing up an iphone to an external hard drive on mac is pretty similar for users with macos mojave or older operating. When you take into account price, ease of use, and portability, the seagate backup plus slim is the most reliable hard drive you can carry around with you at all times.
Select the file system you want to use and give the drive a name. How to backup a mac to an external hard drive in 2020. According to the seagate website, this is an external hard drive for mac and pc that can be used with interchangeably with no need to reformat. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac. Mar 07, 2020 external hard drives are not only useful for storing data but are an excellent way to transport files from one location to another.
Since most external hard drives are formatted for pcs, before the backup of your mac begins you need to format the hard drive for macos. If your mac has high sierra or an older version, differences may exist, but the process should look similar to whats displayed below. Feb 08, 2020 how to partition an external hard drive on mac. How to format a hard drive for mac internal, external or flash. How to backup external hard drive before formatting. Well then, how to format an external hard drive to exfat with windows pc.
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. How to format seagate drive for mac and pc quickly and. If you plan to use your drive for time machine backups on a mac, and you use only. The drive needs to be formatted as mac macos extended journaled. How to format seagate drive for mac and pc quickly and securely. Its ready formatted for use on mac, time machine ready and small enough to fit in your coat pocket. This wikihow teaches you how to format a seagate hard drive on a mac computer. Apr 14, 2020 by this way, you can easily format an external hard drive for mac and pc without losing any data. With exfat, you can store files of any size, and use it with any computer made in the last 20 years. How to backup an iphone to an external hard drive on mac. Format an external hard drive or usb flash drive for mac os x.
Seagate backup plus slim 2tb external hard drive portable hdd red usb 3. 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. Ntfs3g is an opensource program that, when coupled with macfuse, will let you use your ntfs drive on your mac. Making a backup is an important part of preparing your mac for service, especially because some types of repair might require erasing or replacing your hard drive. This article shows you how to format an external hard drive via different methods, and you can follow these methods to format external hard drive for pc, mac or linux. 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. Regardless of brand or model, the very first thing that you must do when you buy a brand new external hard drive is to format it properly for your system. To format external hard drive on mac, all you have to do is plugin your hard drive and launch disk utility. Find out which hard drive can help increase your storage or safely back up your mac. How to format an external hard drive on macos open finder. How to format an external hard drive for mac and pc. It supports windows 1087vistaxp, both 32 and 64 bit.
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