How to format wd external drive for mac apple community. Jul 16, 20 when you have a new hard drive, or when youre reinstalling windows, the os may ask you to format the drive. Now i want to format and use one partition for linux and another for windows xp. While this support does allow a decent amount of flexibility in what. However, if you want to convert ntfs to exfat to make external hard drive compatible with mac and pc, 3 steps are required. How to format an external disk or a flash drive for mac. How to format external hard drives on a mac sweetwater. After youre done, dont forget to remove the external hard. So, if you wish to use the hard drive for mac, you need to format the external media in mac os x native file system called mac os extended journaled filesystem. Mar 20, 2020 why format hard drive to ext4 in windows. On mac computers, use the finder app to browse and manage files on your computer and external hard drives.
See the above section for more details on which one to pick. Hence, you must backup your important files before reformatting the drive if you want to save them. Alternative ways to recover data from an external hard drive. The videos below demonstrate the complete process of formatting an external hard drive for full mac os x compatibility, this uses the. External hard drives use either spinning disks or solid memory to save your files. Full readwrite access to ext2 ext3 ext4 partitions under mac os x transfer rate is similar to the native mac os extended file system performance automounting of ext2 ext3 ext4 volumes full. How to format an external hard drive on windows and mac. Dec 12, 2016 time machine and seagate external hard drive how to format how to use set up duration. For instance, users want to write data to and read data from, to do a clean installation of the windows system, to get rid of a virus or malware, to erase the data before giving the drive to someone else or throwing it away, or some other reasons.
I dont even want to think about having the same issues with a 2tb hard drive. So, whether you wish to format the internal hard drive, external drive, or a usb flash drive, the procedure is the same for all. How to format hard drives on windows, mac and linux. Apple mac os x cannot directly mount and use ext3 andor ext4 file systems. For instance, users want to write data to and read data from, to do a clean installation of the windows system, to get rid of a virus or malware, to erase the data before giving the drive to someone else or throwing it away.
Buying guide for best external hard drives for macs. Lacie 2tb mobile drive external hard drive usbc usb 3. Formatting an external hard drive in ext4 from my mac. You can format the external hard drive or usb drive to make it compatible with both mac and windows machines.
Choosing the right format for your external hard drive b. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac. Please see below on how to reformat your external hard drive on mac and windows. Looking to add storage, or for a smart way to back up your mac. Apr 30, 2016 now, lets take a look at some ways you can format your usb drive on windows 10. Understanding hard drive partitioning with disk management. Format an exfat external hard drive to fat32 with easeus easeus partition master free is more than just a disk formatting tool. I feel a bit stupid, but i couldnt find a way to format an external usb drive with my 312 under os 6. This is a default file system for linux os including raspberry pi. This is totally unnecessary for a usb external hard drive if you are only going be using it to store data and not to run an operating system. How to share an external hard drive between mac and windows. There is the commercial product paragon extfs for mac with which you can format even ext4 i use it from time to time to access ext3 external hdd and it works quite well from their website. To find out the label of an external hard drive, open up a terminal, and use the following command.
In other words, you need to use 3rd party driver or application to. It is well known that ext4 is the default file system for linux system. Jul 03, 2017 ext2fsd is a windows file system driver for the ext2, ext3, and ext4 file systems. Many users want to format their external hard drive or usb drive for qnap nas backup.
It allows windows to read linux file systems natively, providing access to the file system via a drive letter that any program can access. External hard drive 1 tb to 2 tb storage mac accessories. Without that, windows can not even recognize the existence of mac os extended formatted drives much less read. How to access an external drive thats not recognized on a mac. Home pc mac how to format an external disk or a flash drive for mac. 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. The drive was already formatted, and had 3 partitions, and i wanted to convert. This is the easiest way and simply requires you to plug in your usb drive, open the windows file explorer and right click your drive to view a number of actions that you can perform. You can set readonly mode in other applications, toobut, if youre not going to use their write.
Most of the time, when you connect an external hard drive to your macs usb port, you soon see it mount on the desktop. In addition, you should be able to format drives as ntfs using disk utility. Using a usb external hard drive with your raspberry pi. Since it is an external drive, you might want to format with fat32 or ntfs, so you access the files when moving the disk around to different platforms.
Apple likes to ensure these are easy to find, so they also appear in the finder in the lefthand column under devices, since macs treat them the same way as. How to format or partition an external hard drive for mac. How to format usb drives on windows 10 make tech easier. External hard drive is formatted with a nonnative file system. I received a replacement 750gb external hard drive from western digital. Now your external drive has been formatted to be fully compatible with apple macos, and you can edit, read, and write files to it as you want. Therefore, you may have to install some external software to use this hard disk drive on both mac and windows, or you have to reformat it according to the mac requirements. Macclean360 is one of the best disk cleaning and management software for mac os. The easiest way is to drag it from one drive to another. Several people have said if you format a usb stick hard drive to ext3, you can then transfer recordings from the freesat box and play the files on the computer, but the freesat box will only read the usb drive if its formatted to ext3. This mac propriety file system and is used in ios and mac. Nov 14, 2019 get a free addition to setapp the ultimate mac user book. Create an ext2ext3 linux partition on windows disk, usb flash. The easiest way to do that is hit cmd and the spacebar at the same time and type in disk utility to.
Under file system, choose the file system you want to use. Several people have said if you format a usb stickhard drive to ext3, you can then transfer recordings from the freesat box and play the files on the computer, but the freesat box will only read the usb drive if its formatted to ext3. Click go on the top tool bar, and select utilities. Seagate backup plus hub user manual optional formatting and. It is the fastest way to format an external hard drive device under mac os. Some people are asking for a way to format a hard drive for mac. The maximum individual file size for exfat is 16 eb. Plug in the external hard drive into the system and open. It ensures that no bug in the thirdparty driver can damage your macformatted drive and the files on it.
Ext2 and ext3 and ext4 on external hard drive, internal hard drive, usb flash. May 09, 2017 before any hard drive is accessible, we must find out the device label. How to create ext2ext3 based linux partition from windows. How to format a startup drive for a mac if you want to format a drive that will be used as your macs startup disk, the procedure is a little different from formatting it for use as a secondary. Feb 28, 2011 whenever a drive is formatted in linux, it reserves about 5% of the total space on the drive for the operating system to continue using the hard drive to operate, even if it get full. Lacie rugged mini 4tb external hard drive portable hdd usb 3. Mar 22, 2012 the best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. Both mac os x and windows allow users to format their hard drives using builtin utilities. This is because external hard drives in linux unlike windows and mac do not automatically start up so that users can access files. If given a choice, the two common modes are ntfs and fat32. Oct 15, 2019 moving files from mac formatted external hard drive to pc.
Right click on start and select command prompt admin. This hard disk was setup and formatted by friend under windows xp ntfs partition. Sep 22, 2017 i use file system drivers from paragon software group partition manager, drive backup, hard disk partitioning that allow. Format an external hard drive or usb flash drive for mac os x. External hard drive not showing up windows 10 appuals. The disk manager tool is able to list all hard drives and external devices on your mac. 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. This thing is still unknown for many users but doesnt worry its not complex. How to format external hard drive to fat32 in windows. Best format for an external hdd in 2019 to be used in macos. Rightclick on the icon for your external drive on mac desktop, then select get info. As darnir said, gparted is a suitable tool for this. If you format your external hard drive to hfs, you can use it on mac and linux by removing journaling. We know that mac only can recognize the ntfs format but only with the readonly permission.
Even though most people associate formatting with system installation, there are many other reasons why you might want to format your hard drive. Today this video will show you how to format an external hard drive on windows and mac. How to delete files from external ext3 formatted drive. Formatting is a very simple procedure which is operated in a similar way for all sorts of storage media. I have an external hard drive where i moved all of my mac photos to. However, to use it on windows you can hfs explorer read only. People might need to format a hard drive or an external hard drive in windows 10 for various reasons. Then, you can share external hard drive between mac and pc. Drive speed is measured in revolutions per minute rpm, based on how fast the drive can spin. Select the external hard drive on the lefthand side. May 12, 2010 h ow do i read mount and access files ext3 ext4 external hard disk partition under mac os x.
If you wish to format external hard drive in exfat follow the steps below. How to format external hard drive for pc, mac and linux. Smaller external hard drives, ssds, and usb flash keys format quickly, while a larger hard drive may take a while longer. However, they have no idea when it comes to choosing the partition format for the external storage. Mar 16, 2017 this makes it very easy to reuse an old hard drive from a laptop or desktop that was previously used to boot an os. If you are techy and use windows and mac computers frequently, then you might need to transfer data between mac and pc. Windows uses ntfs file formats, while macs, up until the. Im wondering ifhow i can access files on a linuxformatted external hard drive directly from my mac. How to reformat seagate portable external hard drive youtube.
Is there a way i can access the files on my ext4 usb drive on. The primary filesystem format in os x is apples hfs plus or mac os x. Format external hard drive to linux compatible file system. Desktop external hard drives usually run at 7200 rpm to offer all the speed they can. It enables you to format hard drive or to create a partition into the. Mac pro 2019 mac pro late 20 mac mini 2018 and later.
All is set, then you can go ahead to format the drive on your mac. How to format an external hard drive with pictures wikihow. Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with windows and mac. Quickly format an external hard drive for mac and windows pc. How to format external hard drives for mac and windows. I needed to format a partition to ext3 on my usb flash drive. How to format a hard drive for mac internal, external or. Luckily raspberry pi can easily be connected to external usb hard drives. The best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. Follow these instructions if you plan to share an external hard drive between pc and mac computers. Under the format menu, choose the file system you want to use. 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. Easily format ext4 on windows 10, 8, 7freeware download. In the window that appears, doubleclick the disk utility app.
Read mac formatted drives with windows the tech guy. If you are planning to switch to linux from windows, you may need to format your internal or external hard drive as ext4 on windows operating system, so as to make them be recognized by linux successfully. It lets you create, delete, and clone partitions in addition to formatting hard drives to chosen formats. Discover the world of external hard drives for mac. This tool allows you to manage the partitions on drives connected to your computer internal ones or external ones connected via usb. Use fat32format to format your external hard drives. Writeread access to linux files under macos high sierra extfs by. 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. Oct 15, 2018 aomei partition assistant standard is free hard drive formatting tool that allows you to format external hard drive to ext2, ext3, ext4, fat32, exfat and ntfs with ease. May 10, 2019 i have an old external hard drive that i believe is probably formatted in some variant of the ext file system ext2, ext3, ext4, etc. Download disk formatting software for mac doyourdata. The best ways to format an external drive for windows and. Generally, you can format external hard drive to ntfs via disk management, file explorer and command prompt.
Seagate backup plus desktop user manual optional formatting. However, to increase crossplatform support apple has. When trying to save large files in final cut pro, the hard drive would save numerous. The drive was already formatted, and had 3 partitions, and i wanted to convert partition 1 from fat32 to ext3. It is the fastest way to format an external hard drivedevice under mac os. Just went through this windows no longer offers fat32 as an options, but windows powershell does just search for windows power shell then open it up, then type in format fs. I now have a pc with windows 10, but i cant find a way to save the photos onto my computer. Format external hard drive for mac with disk utility. In most cases, it should only take a few minutes but it also depends on how large your external hard drive is. You can run it on your mac, and use it to format external hard drive or device on your mac.
This reduced power draw helps preserve the battery life of the mac you plug the drive into. When you cannot formant external hard drive to ntfs for some reasons, you can try aomei partition assistant standard instead. That said, if you are using smaller file sizes fat32 can suffice. Apart from mac and windows, it can support linux and android. Compare portable, usb and external hard drive models for office and home and shop online. Read linux ext3 ext4 external usb hard disk partition. Jun 22, 2012 the primary filesystem format in os x is apples hfs plus or mac os x extended, which is the default used for any newly formatted disk. External hard drive is not working on mac guide ready tricks. Change the partition layout from current to 1 partition. Ntfs is the most reliable of the three file systems because it is journaled. This site contains user submitted content, comments and opinions and is for informational purposes only. The fat32format utility has been around for a long time and it lets you quickly format any. Linux format external usb hard disk partition nixcraft. The previous defunct hd was also fat32, which i did not realize upon receiving and using.
Youd probably have to purchase the paragon ntfs driver. The best external hard drives for mac in 2020 pcmag. It offers more than 9 tools to help you optimize and manage your mac computer. There is the commercial product paragon extfs for mac with which you can format even ext4 i use it from time to time to access ext3 external hdd and it works quite well. In this video i format a hard drive to use as backup. I am trying to format an external hard drive in ext4 format. I have an external new hard drive connected using usb port under red hat fedora core linux. In other words, you need to use 3rd party driver or application to access ext3 ext4 file systems. One simple way to make the drive readable on both platforms is to format it to exfat, which both operating systems can understand. How to mount and manage nonnative file systems in os x with. The drive is mounted, it is even possible to access its content its an ext3 drive generally used with a nvx. How to format drive with compatible file system for mac and. Follow the steps in this section, and you will soon have a lot more storage connected to your raspberry pi. How to format external hard drive to use on mac and pc.
Built in way to format drive with fat32 in windows tesla. Before a hard drive can read or write data, it must first be formatted, or erased and reconfigured. This list in the mac os disk utility gives us a clue as to which filesystems are supported. External hdds that are not specific to macs may also work, but youll need to reformat them first, which could take. External hard drive is popular storage device and it can be used to store all kinds of digital information such as images, documents, apps, emails, etc. Now your usb flash drive is formatted with ntfs format. Select your drive in the lefthand sidebar and go to the erase tab. Heres what you need to know, along with our toprated applefriendly drives. While drives are sold as plugandplay, formatting prior to use will give you optimal performance and compatibility with your mac. Formatting an external hard drive would erase everything on it. H ow do i read mount and access files ext3 ext4 external hard disk partition under mac os x. How to reformat seagate portable external hard drive. Then format your external hard drive or usb flash drive with the file system to. This will ensure full mac compatibility of a new external hard drive or flash drive.
1015 947 1452 8 301 1552 1323 657 1549 986 1418 1216 150 291 1156 1068 667 535 730 904 1205 1134 971 789 167 1390 1480 1316 626 148 1281 1404 718 898 951 674 643 944 1426 430 693 28 1173 702 225 957 372 1008