After the partition is destroyed mac should be able to format it again. Jan 02, 2016 os x extended case sensitive, journaled, encrypted journaled is basically an extension feature to the format that ensures files are fully written to the drive in a location called the journal before they are committed as stored data, which helps guarantee file integrity if there is an interruption such as a power loss, drive failure, etc. Formatting a hard drive will take a while and wait for it patiently. Step 5 once done, simply click on the erase tab, confirm the action by choosing erase again on the next dialogue box. Now, i have a new macbook pro and all my data is still on that external hd. When you put a new hard drive in your macor connect an external one using firewire or usbyou need to decide how. Next, enter a name for the external hard drive in the name field.
How can i reformat my external hard drive without losing. By this way, you can easily format an external hard drive for mac and pc without losing any data. Once disk utility is open youll see the list of available drives on the left. Make your mac feel like new again with a fresh install of os x. How to format a hard drive for mac internal, external or flash. However, if you want to convert ntfs to exfat to make external hard drive compatible with mac and pc, 3 steps are required. Jun 30, 20 hold c or optionalt and boot off the 10. To format as a mac disk, choose either apfs or mac os extended journaled. Help formatting external hard drive to hf apple community. Click the scheme popup menu, then choose guid partition map. Disk utility will mechanically select the format for you. When you connect a macformatted drive to windows, youll be informed that you need to format the disk in drive x.
And you can use the manufacturers low level format utilities to erase the drive back to 0s. And there you have it one read and writable disk ready for osx. This could be apfs, or it may be mac os extended journaled, relying on how the drive is presently formatted and whether or not you might be utilizing macos high sierra or an older model of the working system. May 21, 2009 in the sheet that appears click the partition button and your flash drive will be formatted as a mac os x extended journaled drive. How to format or partition an external hard drive on mac. Cant format external drive to mac os extended journaled.
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 format external hard drives on a mac sweetwater. Next to format, it should say mac os extended journaled. Mac os x installation basics sata drive seagate support uk.
In the sidebar, select the storage device you want to erase, then click the erase button. Disk utility shows the recommended mac format by default. How to format a hard drive for mac internal, external or. How to format an external drive in os x make tech easier. Sep 20, 2019 so youre using disk utility to partition your new hard drive when youre presented with a choice of potential file systems. It is professional partition magic which is designed to optimize partition and disk use. The following is based on the latest version of macos. Along with the flash drives, this format is also faster and more reliable for mac hard drives. Lost password on mac os extended journaled, encrypted drive. Click the delete possibility from the 4 choices obtainable within the main window. How to format a hard drive with ease in windows 1087. I always format a new drive as mac os extended journaled, immediatly and before use.
Formatting a drive so you can install and boot macos requires the guid partition map. How to install macos or os x on a new hard drive for your mac. Choose either apfs or mac os extended journaled to format as a mac volume. The list is longer than youd think, with terms like apfs casesensitive and mac os extended journaled, encrypted to choose from. File system formated fail i tried to format it on pc vista and xp but they even cant see hard disk. How to format or partition an external hard drive for mac. Jul 08, 2009 then i went into time machine and selected change disk. How can i let windows xp read mac os extended journaled drives. If you want to use a different file system on your usb drive, youll need to format it. Thus, the professional partition manager minitool partition wizard is recommended. This post shows detail information about how to format a hard drive in windows 1087 and for mac. Format or erase a mac hard drive all formats explained apfs. Formatting drives cinema studies technology resources. To format a drive on a mac, youll need the builtin disk utility application.
Aug 30, 2016 how to erase a disk from command line in mac os x aug 30, 2016 47 comments some mac users may require the ability to erase a disk or erase a hard drive from the command line on mac os, a task which is typically performed through the disk utility application from the gui. Then, you can share external hard drive between mac and pc. You can, however, format a windows hard drive from a mac if you connect the windows hard drive to the mac and format it through disk utility, or the command line as described above. In this video, we explain how to format or erase a hard drive or usb flash drive on mac os x. For format type, please select mac os extended journaled. In case you forgot to backup files before formatting the external drive. Youve formatted your external drive to be compatible with mac os x, and have confirmed that the formatting process was successful. Open the disk utility app and highlight your external hard drive. Erase and reformat a storage device in disk utility on mac. It doesnt matter if youve picked mac os extended journaled or an exfat format or apfs. Mar 01, 2019 in this video, we explain how to format or erase a hard drive or usb flash drive on mac os x. Ive just got a new hard drive but my mac wont accept it as boot drive unless its formatted in a macos readable format its simply not readable by the volatile system which is whats run if no os is found. Follow onscreen prompts to choose mac os extended journaled file system and allow the disk to format.
Once you have done this, in the lower right corner click the erase button. This story, formatting a flash drive was originally. Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with. Since formatting an external hard drive will erase all of its files if. The reformatting with time machine worked fine and the drive was then in mac format. If you want to erase any other type of disk or volume. Mac os extended journaled or hfs plus is a file system developed by apple inc. If you want to format a drive that already contains data, be sure to back up the data to another drive beforehand. Dont click the format disk button or windows will erase the contents of the drive click cancel. The two most common ways to erase a hard drive are formatting or wiping the drive. Enter a name that you want the disk to have after you erase it, such as apple ssd. Erase mac hard drive when you erase a hard drive, you basically format ntfs on mac and change the format to a compatible one like afps or mac os x extended journaled.
When the mac has finished formatting the drive, click the done button. These steps can be used for both internal and external drives. Click on the erase button to start erasing the external hard drive or usb. Again, formatting a drive will erase it completely, so make sure you have everything backed up that you want to keep. Select your startup drive on the left typically macintosh hd, switch to the erase tab and choose mac os extended journaled from the format dropdown menu. Mar 12, 2018 want to format a hard drive for mac and pc compatibility. Backup disks you can use with time machine apple support. From the format menu, choose mac os extended journaled. Apr 16, 2020 to format a hard drive, you can take advantage of a piece of thirdparty software. Formatting your toshiba hard drive for mac is important, as it makes the hard drive best suitable for the mac by formatting it with the os specific file system and drivers. Apr 14, 2020 by this way, you can easily format an external hard drive for mac and pc without losing any data.
How you format a mac hard drive is entirely dependent on what kind of drive you plan on formatting. On mac computers, use the finder app to browse and manage files on your computer and external hard drives. Enter a name, select the format and scheme, and click erase. With my previous laptops pcs, ive always stored my data on an external hard drive. Formatting an external hard drive is usually something youll do when its brand new. The next option you choose when formatting your seagate hard drive for mac is scheme. How to format a usb external disk for mac osx using disk. When done, quit disk utility to return to the utilities window. If you want to format a drive that already contains data, be. Mar 22, 2012 the best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. Here comes the cure imyfone anyrecover a onestop solution to recover deleted, lost or. Format an external hard drive or usb flash drive for mac os x.
A new window will pop up asking which file system youd like to format the external drive to. Mac os journaled is the formatting option for mac and ntfs or msdoc is the. If you wish to change to mac os extended journaled. Mar 15, 2018 just install it, and mac drives will show up like any other drive. You have to set it up correctly before getting starting. Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with windows and mac. Doubleclick disk utility in the applicationsutilities folder. The best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. If you are having a hard time using the command line, try the disk utility app, which is simpler and uses the gui. Os x extended journaled os x extended case sensitive, journaled os x extended. Select that disk and click the erase button, the one highlighted in red in the screenshot below. Formatting a hard drive is the best way to start from scratch on a geeky project. For instance, is the hard drive internal or external.
Thus, when you are planning to use the same hard drive on any other os, particularly macos, it is always suggested to format your hard drive for mac. Mar 10, 2020 hence, if you are formatting a flash drive, you should definitely choose the apfs format. Verify that the correct hard drive is selected in the left column. Now, choose mac os extended journaled option from the dropdown menu in front of the format option, and change or edit the name if you wish to. Reformatting the drive will erase all data on the drive, so you should copy any data you want off the drive prior to formatting. This also allows you to restore time machine backups on windows. Mac os extended journaled is the normal recomended way to format your drives, internal and external. Formatting your toshiba hard drive for mac is important. Sep 06, 2019 choose a new name for your macs hard drive. Wait as the os x utilities window appears on the screen. Alternatively some systems have disk utilities in the bios.
Windows cant normally read macformatted drives, and will offer to erase them instead. If you know youre going to use a drive on both mac and windows, you. Lost password on mac os extended journaled, encrypted. Oct 06, 2019 the next option you choose when formatting your seagate hard drive for mac is scheme.
It has many powerful features, such as migrate os to ssd, clone disk and so on. While drives are sold as plugandplay, formatting prior to use will give you optimal performance and. Heres how to format a drive if you are planning to use it with a mac. What should i do to get journaled formated external hard drive. Click the erase button to start formatting the drive.
Pick the right file system for your macs internal or. How to recover data from formatted external hard drive on mac. Still with the external disk selected in disk utility go to the erase tab, select mac os extended journaled from the format dropdown, choose to name the disk and then click erase. Want to format a hard drive for mac and pc compatibility. You can format an external drive in os x using disk utility and terminal. Read about it and found that id have to reformat it in mac os extended journaled. In the sheet that appears click the partition button and your flash drive will be formatted as a mac os x extended journaled drive. Hence, if you are formatting a flash drive, you should definitely choose the apfs format. Some mac users may require the ability to erase a disk or erase a hard drive from the command line on mac os. Pick the right file system for your macs internal or external storage. As it is mentioned above, after formatting a hard drive, all data on the hard drive will be erased. After it does that it starts to backup your drive, you can just cancel this and use the drive how you want.
Make sure to select the parent hard disk in the sidebar. If youre not sure, eject and disconnect each drive, then only reconnect the drive you want to erase. Talking about mac os extended, it is perfectly suitable if you want to use a drive for backup. Format or erase a mac hard drive all formats explained. Instructions for how to format your external drive so that it will be fully usable in macos. Ive ordered a usb to sata cable to format the drive from another mac, but can i format the drive, as os x extended journaled, in windows. If youve got a mechanical hard drive, and you intend to use it only with macs, its probably best to stick with mac os extended. Cant format external drive to mac os extended journaled thread starter. You will want to enter a name, which will give your drive a name you may want to use your last name, nickname, etc. Quickly format an external hard drive for mac and windows pc. When formatting a hard drive with disk utility, make sure to select the correct drive. Apfs apfs encrypted apfs ecrypted casesensitive mac. Starting the format from windows wont care that mac has encryption on it. Feb 08, 2020 how to partition an external hard drive on mac.
Learn more about erasing hard disks on mac from apple. Highlight your drive and click partition in disk utility. External hard drives use either spinning disks or solid memory to save your files. For pc and mac compatibility, select exfat format and master boot record scheme. Jul 28, 20 still with the external disk selected in disk utility go to the erase tab, select mac os extended journaled from the format dropdown, choose to name the disk and then click erase. It then prompted me and said that it had to erase the entire drive and reformat. Formatting a hard drive will permanently erase all of the data on it.
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