How to Format an External Hard Drive. This wikiHow teaches you how to change an external (USB) hard drive's format on Windows and Mac computers. Formatting a hard drive can change the file system to make it compatible with your computer's. 2019-10-10 A hard drive can be used on any type of computer - PC or Mac. But in order for the computer and drive to talk to one another, the drive has to be formatted. This article explains. Seagate branded external drives come preformatted, some for PCs, some for Macs, and some of them have special utilities.
Aug 31,2019 • Filed to: Solve Mac Problems • Proven solutions
External storage devices make it possible for the users to store large amounts of data. On the other hand there are numerous issues that are associated with the mechanism. Like the internal storage devices the external ones also undergo connectivity and other related problems. On the other hand these issues lead the users formatting the drive.
In this tutorial the causes of formatting the hard drive on Mac and the related programs will be discussed in detail. Once this tutorial has been gone through the user will get a complete idea that how the issues are to be resolved. The software programs that are to be used to get the work done will also be discussed in great detail.
1Why to Format External Hard Drive for Mac
As it has been discussed there are numerous issues that are associated with the formatting of an external hard drive. This section of the tutorial deals with each and every one of them in great detail. It also allows the users to remain extra cautious so that the issue is never faced in any case. The reasons that are mentioned as under are the ones which will also make a user aware of the issues which are of vital importance. It means that these issues are to be dealt with extreme care. On the other hand they can also be regarded as the causes of the hard drive format of any kind and make:
1. Startup issue
It means that the hard drives that are internal are formatted as the system is not starting up. It also means that the formatting will alleviate these issues completely. Building code illustrated pdf. The repair disk option is the one which is used in this regard. It again means that drive will be formatted once and for all. The data that is available in this regard is lost forever. This thus makes the user believe that the overall issue is curbed that is related to hard drive.
There are other reasons as well that are related to the startup issues leading to hard drive format. It includes the fact that the hard drive has been attacked by such a virus and malware the elimination of which is not at all possible. Formatting a hard drive ensures that the system has been blanked and there is no issue causes any problem.
The change in configuration also forces a user to format the hard drive to get the work done easily. In short it is the only thing that ensures that he start up issue is resolved completely and without any further destruction.
2. Space issue
The second and the most important reason that leads to hard drive is the fact that it has been filled completely. The data in this regard is back up and the hard drive is formatted. In order to ensure that the user gets the work done without any issue and problem a top notch program for formatting should be used. It is being said as the internal sectors of the hard drive might be having the old data.
A complete and in depth scan will allow us to further ensure that the issue is resolved completely. It will also make a user believe that the work is done in line with the demand which is to store more data into the system without any issue and problem. There are certain reasons that are associated to disk formatting due to space issue. Some of them are as follows:
3. Hard drive error
It means that the user needs to ensure that the hard drive is formatted and the issue is resolved completely. The error can be due to anything that the user needs to get fixed. From virus to malware and from spyware to worm it can be any factor that ensures that the user needs to get the issue fixed completely. The next part of the tutorial deals with the fact that how to format an external hard drive completely.
2 How to Format External Hard Drive on Mac
The process that is to be followed in this regard has been mentioned as under. The steps that are mentioned as below are also accompanied by screenshot. These are therefore easy to implement and get the user straightforward in relation to the process implementation. The process that has been mentioned below is the one that is not only preferred but also lets the user get the work done easily and completely.
1. The hard drive is to be connected to the system using a USB cable:
2. The format of the drive is then to be checked to proceed further in this regard:
3. The NTFS formatting is then to be selected to proceed with the system:
Related: Further read and know more complete details on how to write to NTFS drives on Mac.
4. The disk utility is then to be selected within the apps folder:
5. The selection of the erase option is then to be done moving forward:
6. The preferred format is then to be chosen to proceed with the process:
7. The erase button is then to be pressed to proceed forward in this regard:
8. The user can paste item to write the hard drive once again. It also completes the process in full:
Video Tutorial on How to Format an External Hard Drive3 The Best Mac Hard Drive Data Recovery Software
There are tens of thousands of products that can be used to get the work done easily when it comes to subjected question. It means that the user needs to ensure that the programs or the software mentioned in this part are the ones which will get the work done for the user easily. These are the programs which have GUI interface and therefore the usage is too easy to perform.
1. Recoverit for Mac
It is by far the best product among the 5 that will be mentioned in this part of the tutorial. The overall format support as well as the outcome that is generated is awesome. Recoverit Data Recovery for Mac offers you the easiest way to recover formatted files from external hard drive on Mac. You can download a trial version to have a try. This trial version will scan your mac to recover formatted files from external hard drive.
The user reviews are also positive which shows that the work done by this program is superb. The features of the program are therefore regarded a lot. The overall look of the program also aids the process and therefore it is highly recommended. Downloading and installing the program will bring forth tremendous results which cannot be found elsewhere.
2. Fireebok data recovery
Another program that will get the work done for the user with ease and satisfaction. Without the use of any extra effort on user’s behalf this program does it all. The user on the other hand needs to make sure that the guide as well as the official site is only used to download the program. Though the program works fine at times but there are certain issues that user has to face. This program freezes at times and therefore it is not recommended to those users that are looking for fast and most effective method to get the work done. There are however some features that should be considered as well.
3. UFly Data Recovery
With the features that are matchless this program is the one that can solve the subjected issue. Hp touchpad webos. It is also one that does the work faster as compared to the ones mentioned. The program saves all the recovered dat to the location that is specified. It also supports cloud technology so that there is no scenario of data loss. The user can also access the data from anywhere in the world with ease and satisfaction. It also leads the users to believe that the program has the features that are not found elsewhere.
The issues that occur while the usage of the program are basically related to other apps. It means that the app conflict is the issue that is to be resolved by the developers. This will make the program stronger in terms of overall usage.
4. Cisdem Data Recovery
Dedicated for Mac this program does all the work easily. It also means that once the program has been installed the user needs to look no further. It is also one of the easiest ways to get the work done. The overall look as well as the features that are embedded within the program it has been made awesome. To get the process easier for the user the official site also has guides for the users. It is so that they get to know the tips and tricks that are related to the program. The overall look of the program is also ISO certified which means that it has been rigorously tested. The developers however didn’t looked after the difficulty level of the program which is a bit high for new users. It simple means that the users need to get some tech knowledge before get going with the program with ease.
5. AppleXsoft File Recovery for Mac
With state of the art functions this program gets all the data extracted within no time at all. It is also regarded as one of the best programs by numerous tech websites. Installing and downloading this program means that there is no looking back. The overall processes that are embedded within the program are multithreaded. It means that more than one task can be carried out with this program. It makes it a wonderful choice for all types of the users. The program has some issues however. The first issue is that despite being multithreaded it is too slow. The user needs to wait a while before the data is searched and extracted. The other issue is that is consumes too much system resources and therefore it is not at all recommended. If these issues are addressed then this program will definitely become matchless in all aspects.
Related: Get specific steps on recovering files on Mac.
Note: Recover Lost Mac Data under Mac OS X 10.13 (High Sierra)
Due to macOS High Sierra (macOS 10.13) requirement, Mac users are not allowed an access to the built-in system drive from any apps. Therefore, if you need to restore lost data from the system disk under macOS 10.13, please 'disable System Integrity Protection' first.
How to disable 'System Integrity protection'? Please follow the steps below.
Step 1Reboot the Mac and hold down'Command + R' keys simultaneously after you hear the startup chime, this will boot OS X into Recovery Mode.
Step 2When the 'OS X Utilities' screen appears, pull down the 'Utilities' menu at the top of the screen instead, and choose 'Terminal'.
Step 3In the 'Terminal' window, type in 'csrutil disable' and press 'Enter' then restart your Mac.
What's Wrong with Mac
Summary :
Want to format an external hard drive for Mac and Windows PC? Do you know how to do this work easily? This post will show you specific methods to make external hard drive compatible with Mac and PC, which are easy and safe to complete.
Quick Navigation :
As we know, external hard drives are widely used to backup data or interchange files among different computers. Well, is there an external hard drive that could be shared between Mac and Windows PC? Of course, there is. Actually, most external hard disks could be compatible with Mac and PC as long as you format them correctly.
Why Need to Format External Hard Drive for Mac and PC
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.
Currently, hard drives for Windows PC are always formatted with NTFS, while hard disks for Mac are formatted with HFS+. However, when we connect a NTFS formatted disk to Mac, Mac OS X doesn't allow us to write files to the drive neither edit files, though it can read a NTFS drive. Similarly, Windows OS will ask us to format the HFS+ formatted drive when we connecting such a disk, let along edit files saved on HFS+ formatted hard disks unless we resort to third party programs.
But luckily, there are file systems well supported by both Mac and Windows PC, and they are FAT32 (it might be called MS-DOS on Mac) and exFAT. As long as we format the external hard drive to one of these 2 file systems, it can be shared between Mac and Windows.
Further Reading
Both FAT32 and exFAT have advantages and disadvantages.
FAT32: FAT32 works with all versions of Windows, Mac OS, Linux, game consoles, etc.
However, single files on a FAT32 drive can't be larger than 4GB. If your external drive saves files larger than 4GB or you plan to save larger files to this drive, converting to FAT32 is not recommended.
In addition, a FAT32 partition must be not more than 32GB if you create it in Windows Disk Management. Of course, there is free partition manager that can help create a FAT32 volume up to 2TB, which also functions correctly.
exFAT: exFAT has very large file size and partition size limits, which means it's a good idea to format your external hard drive to exFAT.
Nevertheless, a lot of users complained that exFAT is slow, and they highly suggest using FAT32 if you can avoid file size constraints.
Three Options for Accessing NTFS Drives on MacPaid Third-Party Drivers
Some paid third-party NTFS drivers for Mac can be used to access NTFS drives on Mac. They work well and they have better performance than the free solutions which will be mentioned in the following part. Paragon NTFS for Mac is such a driver.
Besides, you can also use the paid third-party file system converters to convert NTFS to FAT32 or exFAT which are compatible with both Mac and PC. MiniTool Partition Wizard is one representative.
Free Third-Party Drivers
FUSE for macOS is a free and open-source NTFS driver that can enable write support. But, this solution is slower relatively. And the automatically mounting NTFS partitions in read-write mode can be a security risk for your Mac computer.
Apple’s Experimental NTFS-Write Support
The Mac OS has an experimental support for writing to NTFS drives. Usually, it is disabled by default and needs some messing around in the Mac terminal to enable it.
It doesn’t work properly all the time and could lead to potential issues with your NTFS file system. For example, it had corrupted data before. Thus, we don’t suggest using this tool and we believe it is disabled by this reason.
Here, we recommend using the paid third-party tools since they are easy-to-use and can do good work for you.
Then, we will introduce these three options for you in the following content.
The Best Paid Third-Party Driver: Paragon NTFS for Mac
Paragon NTFS for Mac can write, edit, delete, copy, or move files on NTFS volumes from your Mac computer. It offers a 10-day free trial. If you want to use it all the time, you need to pay for it.
With it, you don’t have to fiddle with terminal commands to mount partitions manually. Additionally, it can mount partitions automatically and safely. More importantly, it can code with the potential corruption. If you purchase a Seagate drive, you can even get a free download of Paragon NTFS for Mac. https://famenew756.weebly.com/call-od-duty-black-ops-mac-download.html.
All in all, it does its works well and gives you good user’s experience.
The Best Free Third-Party Drivers: FUSE for macOS
FUSE for macOS is a free solution to access NTFS on Mac. But it is less secure.
If you want to make automatically mount NTFS partitions in read-write mode on Mac, you need to temporarily disable the System Integrity Protection and replace one of Apple’s built-in tools with a binary that is more vulnerable to attack. Thus, your Mac is in danger when using this driver.
However, you can use it to manually mount NTFS partitions in read-write mode if you never mind using the Terminal. This will be safer, but you need to do more work. You can go to google the steps and see how complex they are.
Apple’s Experimental NTFS-Writing Support: Don’t Do This, Seriously
Although we mentioned this method in our article, we still don’t recommend it because it is the least tested. It is just for educational purposes, and it is available on Mac OS 10.12 Sierra. Perhaps, it will be unstable forever.
How to Quickly Format External Hard Drive for Mac and PC without Losing Data
Another way to access NTFS drive on Mac is to convert the NTFS/HFS+ to FAT/exFAT. Then, the drive can be used on both Mac and PC.
There should be some important data on the drive. To keep it safe, you can choose this best NTFS/HFS+ to FAT/exFAT converter: MiniTool Partition Wizard.
How to Convert NTFS to FAT32 or exFAT Without Data Loss
To format hard drive for Mac and Windows without data loss, we suggest using MiniTool Partition Wizard and its 'Convert NTFS to FATS32' function. If you are a personal user, you can try its Professional Edition.
Step 1: Run MiniTool Partition Wizard
Download this software to your computer. Then, you can open the software and input the license key to the pop-out window to get its Professional Edition.
Step 2: Convert NTFS to FAT32 with This Software
After running the program successfully, we can see its main interface as follows:
Here, please select the NTFS partition of external hard drive and choose 'Convert NTFS to FAT' feature from the left action pane. If there is more than one NTFS partition, convert all of them one by one.
At last, click 'Apply' button to make the change executed.
When MiniTool Partition Wizard shows it applies the change successfully, the original NTFS will finally become a FAT32 partition.
By this way, you can easily format an external hard drive for Mac and PC without losing any data. Then, you can share external hard drive between Mac and PC
You Can Convert NTFS to exFAT in 3 Steps
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: Transfer Data out from External Hard Drive
You can choose to copy and paste those files to other external devices or internal hard disk of Windows, but it will cost much time. Instead, you can use MiniTool Partition Wizard Free Edition to create a copy for your external drive, which is faster.
If there is only one NTFS partition on external hard drive, refer to the tutorial Copy Partition to get instructions. However, if there is more than one NTFS partition, view Copy Disk to get specific operations.
Step 2: Create exFAT Partition with MiniTool Partition Wizard
The Free Edition of this software also enables you to do this job.
Firstly, you need to delete the partition by using this software. Just open the software to enter its main interface. Then, choose the target partition and click 'Delete Partition' from the left action pane. After that, you should click 'Apply' to keep this change.
Secondly, the target partition will become unallocated. Here, you need to choose that partition and click on 'Create Partition' from the left action pane.
Thirdly, you will see a pop-out window. Here, you can choose 'exFAT' from the 'File System' setting option. At the same time, you can also set some other parameters for this partition, including 'Partition Label', 'Drive Letter', 'Size And Location'. After that, please click on 'OK'.
Fourthly, you will go back to the main interface. Then, please click on 'Apply' to save these changes.
Finally, an exFAT partition will be created on your external hard disk so that it could be shared between Mac and Windows PC
Step 3: Transfer Data back to External Drive
If you want to share files that you have backed up between Mac and PC, now please transfer these files back to external hard drive.
How to Convert HFS+ to FAT32 or exFAT without Losing Data
Besides, you can format an external hard drive for Mac and Windows by converting HFS+ to FAT32 or exFAT without losing any data.
Step 1: Backup Data in HFS+ Partition on Mac
Just transfer all useful files out from the external hard drive to other devices on Mac. Of course, if you have a backup already, ignore this step.
Step 2: Create a FAT32 or exFAT Partition on Windows PC
Some people may ask why create such partitions on Windows rather than Mac. That is because there are cases reporting FAT32 (MS-DOS) or exFAT partitions created on Mac did not work well on Windows.
Please skip to Solution 1: Format External Hard Drive to FAT32 to get steps to create a FAT32 partitions or go back to Step 2: Create exFAT Partition with MiniTool Partition Wizard to get operations to create an exFAT partition.
How to Make an Empty External Drive Compatible with Mac and PC
If there is no file saved on your external hard drive, how to make external hard drive compatible with Mac and PC?
It's very easy to share it between Mac and PC and you also need a Windows computer, a Mac machine, and the free partition manager MiniTool Partition Wizard Free Edition.
There are 3 solutions for this case, so please choose the one you like most to format external hard drive Windows 10/8/7.
Format External Hard Drive For Mac And Linux
Solution 1: Format External Hard Drive Windows 10/8/7 to FAT32
Since users are unable to create a FAT32 partition larger than 32GB in Windows Disk Management, they need to use MiniTool Partition Wizard Free.
Note: when you connect an external hard drive which is formatted with HFS+ with computer, Windows may ask you to format the drive. Please choose Cancel.
Please download and install this program on your Windows computer to format an external hard drive for Mac and PC.
Firstly, open the software to enter its main interface as follows. Here, please select the NTFS partition or HFS+ partition of external hard drive, and click 'Delete Partition' feature from the left action pane. If there are multiple partitions on the external disk, please select the disk and click 'Delete All Partitions' feature instead. After that, an unallocated space will be released.
Secondly, you can create one or more FAT32 partitions in unallocated space. Select the unallocated space and choose 'Create Partition' feature from the left side.
Then, you should choose 'FAT32' from the 'File System' option in the pop-out window. Meanwhile, you can set properties for this new partition and click 'OK' to go back to the main window of Partition Wizard.
Format External Hard Drive For Mac And Windows Exfat
At last, click 'Apply' button to make all changes performed.
Solution 2: Format External Hard Drive Windows 7/8/10 to exFAT
Firstly, please delete the NTFS or HFS+ partition in either MiniTool Partition Wizard or Windows Disk Management to release unallocated space. Then, you can create an exFAT partition with MiniTool Partition Wizard Free Edition by following steps introduced in the section Step 2: Create exFAT Partition with MiniTool Partition Wizard.
Once a FAT32 or exFAT partition is created on your external hard drive, you can share it on both Mac and Windows PC.
Solution 3: Create One HFS+ Partition for Mac and One NTFS Partition for Windows
Alternatively, you can create 2 partitions on the external hard drive: one is for Mac, and the other is for Windows. As to size for each partition, it depends on your own demands. By this way, you can easily format an external hard drive for Mac and Windows.
Step 1: Create a NTFS Partition and a FAT32 Partition
Please run MiniTool Partition Wizard Free Edition, then delete all the original NTFS or HFS+ partition(s), and create a new NTFS partition as well as a FAT32 partition, and the latter will be formatted to HFS+ in Mac machine.
Then, select the external hard drive and choose 'Delete All Partitions' to create an unallocated space.
Reformat External Hard Drive Windows 10
Here, select the unallocated space and choose 'Create Partition' feature from the left action pane.
Now, please specify partition label (Windows is recommended), partition type (primary or logical), drive letter, file system (NTFS), cluster size, and partition size (you can change the length of the handle to adjust partition size). Then, click 'OK' to continue.
Now, you can see a NTFS partition is created. Please use the same way to create a FAT32 partition labeled with Mac. At last, click 'Apply' button to make all changes performed.
Step 2: Format the FAT32 Partition to HFS+ Partition on Mac
Please go to Utilities → Disk Utility to get the window below:
Then, select the external hard drive and click 'Partition' tab on the top.
Now, find the FAT32 partition and format it to OS X Extended (Journaled), which is the desired HFS+. Finally, click 'Apply' button to make all changes performed.
Tip: You may receive the prompt 'The volume 'MAC' is not journaled. As a result it can not be resized'. Just ignore the message and click 'OK' button to continue.
After NTFS partition and HFS+ partition are created on your external hard drive, it can be shared between Mac and Windows PC.
Note: You might be unable to share all files saved on external drive since Windows doesn't support HFS+ partition while Mac doesn't support NTFS partition completely.
Bottom Line
Are you planning to format an external hard drive for Mac and PC? If yes, now try one of our methods to make external hard drive compatible with Mac and PC.
Should you have any problem, just feel free to leave us a message in comment part below or send an email to [email protected].
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