Lacie rugged mini 4tb external hard drive portable hdd usb 3. Formatting a hard drive can change the file system to make it compatible with your computers. Open finder and choose applications utilities disk utility to launch the app on your mac. You can format your external drive using the instructions in an article here. 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.
You can format the external hard drive or usb drive to make it compatible with both mac and windows machines. All backup plus drives are compatible with time machine and come with cool features, including seagate dashboard. This seagate backup plus slim external hard drive easily pairs with mac and windows computers and has a compact, lightweight design for mobility. Most external hard drives hd are sold in a format called ntfs, which is designed to work with windows. How to use photos for mac with an external hard drive imore. How to reformat mac os x without a recovery disc or drive. Select encrypt backup disk recommended, then click use as backup disk.
This tool allows you to manage the partitions on drives connected to your computer internal ones or external ones connected via usb. 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. Apples photo management software for the mac, photos, has grown to be a fairly competent allpurpose storage locker. How to format an external hard drive for mac youtube. You can format a drive using the disk utility in mac. Formatting an external hard drive would erase everything on it. Choosing the right format for your external hard drive b. On mac computers, use the finder app to browse and manage files on your computer and external hard drives.
Looking to add storage, or for a smart way to back up your mac. However, if you want to convert ntfs to exfat to make external hard drive compatible with mac and pc, 3 steps are required. Dec, 2019 you can format the external hard drive or usb drive to make it compatible with both mac and windows machines. Its a good idea to backup your data for your mac using time machine. If you want to create multiple partitions on your external hard drive in fact, you should for better file organization, heres a stepbystep guide.
Mar 10, 2019 is your photos library getting too unwieldy for your macs hard drive. 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. The 8 best external hard drives and ssds for mac and pc users. 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. So, if you want to use an external hard drive on both windows and mac, you need to format it to a filesystem that is compatible with windows pc and mac. Open the disk utility app and highlight your external hard drive. How to format external hard drive to use on mac and pc. This thing is still unknown for many users but doesnt worry its not complex. Its never been so easy to choose the perfect storage companion for your mac computer. Format external hard drive for mac reformat external hard. Now that you know which format to use, check out our guide on how to format your hard drive on. Youll first need to format your seagate external hard drive to mac os extended journaled file system. 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.
Hence, you must backup your important files before reformatting the drive if you want to save them. 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. Heres how to format a drive if you are planning to use it with a mac. Feb 08, 2020 how to partition an external hard drive on mac. The 8 best external hard drives and ssds for mac and pc. How to format an external hard drive for mac and windows. Sep 26, 2018 windows pc and mac use different filesystems. From the popular slim drives to the ridiculous capacity and mobility of the portable drives, you can always rely on the backup plus family.
How to backup mac to an external hard drive 5 steps. The easiest way is to drag it from one drive to another. If you read my previous post about how to format an external drive for mac, you know that i bought a 2tb seagate expansion external hard drive and managed to create two partitions on the disk one for mac backup purposes, and the other for personal use. Since formatting an external hard drive will erase all of its files if you wish to save them you must back them up copy. Any hard drive can be formatted for mac and here is how you do it. 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. There are a number of tools that can help you in this regard. How to backup a mac to an external hard drive in 2020. You may wonder how to reformat an external hard drive on mac. How to convert a macformatted drive to a windows drive.
You are ready to go in a few quick measures, so you can transfer your backup data to the hard disk, keep your documents safe so give you peace of mind. Formatting a drive will erase all data and partitions on the disk. Mac owners have good machines, with plenty of battery life and power. How to format an external hard drive the easy way in 2020. An encrypted backup is accessible only to users with the password. Mar 22, 2012 the best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. The best format for your external hard drive the hellotech blog. How to format external hard drives on a mac sweetwater. Time machine can back up to an external storage device connected to your mac.
Time machine can back up to an external storage device connected to your mac or supported airport base station. If you want to write to ntfs formatted hard drives in mac os x, youre going to need the help of a thirdparty. 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. When you connect an external drive directly to your mac, you might be asked if you want to use the drive to back up with time machine. Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with windows and mac.
With exfat, you can store files of any size, and use it with any computer made in the last 20 years. 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. Understanding hard drive partitioning with disk management. Smaller external hard drives, ssds, and usb flash keys format quickly, while a. Both fat32 and exfat can be used on windows pc and mac. Dec 12, 2016 how to reformat seagate portable external hard drive.
Apr 17, 2020 to format external hard drive for mac with time machine, you must follow the steps below. Time machine is the builtin backup feature of your mac. How to backup files to external hard drive actually, you can take the similar steps to bakcup data from computer to an external hard drive. Finally, click start backup to begin the external hard drive backup process. To format external hard drive for mac with time machine, you must follow the steps below. Please see below on how to reformat your external hard drive on mac and windows. Apr 01, 2020 if you are going to use an external hard drive or an external ssd to back up your mac data, then you should start by formatting it for the macos extended file system besides a few exceptions. The best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. To use time machine to make a backup of your mac, you need any of these types of storage devices.
A window opens showing external storage drives connected to your mac. Buying and using an external hd is one thing, getting the most out of it is quite another. In this guide, well show you how to format an external hard drive so you can not only get rid of the. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac. May 09, 2019 the best external hard drives for mac in 2020. How to use seagate external hard drive on mac, 16 ways. The best ways to format an external drive for windows and. If you are going to use an external hard drive or an external ssd to back up your mac data, then you should start by formatting it for the macos extended file system besides a few exceptions.
Because formatting means you wont be able to get to any of those files on the drive once you have formatted it. But as your photo and video library grows and especially if youve taken advantage of icloud photo library. Then, you can share external hard drive between mac and pc. Please keep in mind that reformatting will result in the loss of all the data on the hard drive so. External hard drives are not only useful for storing data but are an excellent way to transport files from one location to another. Follow these instructions if you plan to share an external hard drive between pc and mac computers. How to format external hard drive mac 2 simple methods revealed. Format external hard drive for mac with disk utility.
Instead, go back to the main desktop, locate the volume that your external hard drive represents, rightclick and select eject. If you are techy and use windows and mac computers frequently, then you might need to transfer data between mac and pc. Its a complete backup solution, but you can use other backup methods as well. Apr 14, 2020 by this way, you can easily format an external hard drive for mac and pc without losing any data. Dec 29, 2015 follow these instructions if you plan to share an external hard drive between pc and mac computers. As that is the file system your mac uses for a time machine backup. Before formatting any hard drive, its a good idea to backup. Before a hard drive can read or write data, it must first be formatted, or erased and reconfigured.
Apr 23, 2014 its a good idea to backup your data for your mac using time machine. 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. External hard drives use either spinning disks or solid memory to save your files. If you already used your external hard drive on a pc, be sure to back up any files on it. By this way, you can easily format an external hard drive for mac and pc without losing any data. To format external hard drive on mac, all you have to do is plugin your hard drive and launch disk utility. Backing the hard drive up to an external hd is tricky, though, which is why weve put together this guide on how to backup. Highlight your drive and click partition in disk utility. How to format an external hard drive focus photo school.
This is a simple procedure and is achieved the same way for all drive types and through all connections, be they usb, firewire, or thunderbolt. Formatting your drive will wipe out all the data in it. Apple time machine 101 seagate style seagate support us. Format an external hard drive or usb flash drive for mac os x. Choosing the right format for your external hard drive. I want to know which file system i should apply for the seagate external hard drive so that it can be compatible both with mac and pc. Seagate backup plus 5tb external hard drive portable hdd light blue usb 3.
Seagate backup plus portable 4tb external hard drive hdd black usb 3. Or perhaps you are setting up an external drive for backups. How to reformat seagate portable external hard drive. You just need to wait for a while and then you can finish backing up the data present on your external hard drive. How to share an external hard drive between mac and windows. But before you can do anything, you need to make it clear that the hard. Before you go ahead and format your seagate external hard drive on your macbook or imac. 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.
Heres what you need to know, along with our toprated applefriendly drives. We think it offers creatives the perfect balance of speed, reliability, portability and price for both mac and pc users. How to format an external drive for mac compatibility. External usb, thunderbolt, or firewire drive connected to your mac. The instructions below are for windows 10, but other versions of windows from windows 7 and up can also format an external drive as exfat for use with mac as well. If you really want a superfast external hard drive for your mac, then the samsung t3 ssd is easily one of. All is set, then you can go ahead to format the drive on your mac. Heres how to format a drive using a mac including how to format a drive for windows and mac so the.
How to format seagate drive for mac and pc quickly and securely. Best external hard drives and ssds for mac and pc image credit. I know mac operating system doesnt fully support ntfs formatted drive. After formatting you connect up your seagate hard drive to time machine. This file system is specifically for mac systems and windows cant read this file system.
Convert formatted drive from mac to windows info remo. When the backup procedure is completed, dont rush to disconnect your device as this could cause potential disk problems. 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. It can also back up to a mac or networkattached storage device nas on your network. You can also use icloud and icloud drive to store files, such as your photos, documents, and music. How to format seagate drive for mac and pc quickly and.
How to format an external hard drive and remove errors. For instructions on how to format your hard drive on a mac, please reference the following links. It is not as complicated to reformat an external hard drive for use with mac os x as it may look. 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. Backup disks you can use with time machine apple support. This wikihow teaches you how to change an external usb hard drives format on windows and mac computers. Fortunately disk utility, built right into macos, can help.
Format external hard drive for mac reformat external. Oct 16, 2019 the best format for external hard drives. 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. In this article, im going to show you how to back up your mac data to an external drive. Apr 21, 2020 i know mac operating system doesnt fully support ntfs formatted drive. Run mac os x on an appletv with an external hard drive how to.
The best external hard drives for mac in 2020 pcmag. Copying the files from your mac to an external drive allows you to save data on your own terms. External hard drives with backup software best buy. How to format your hard drive seagate support canada.
Best external hard drives for macs in 2020 techradar. How to format external hard drive mac 2 simple methods. If you want to format your external hard drive to work with mac and windows computers, you should use exfat. If you are trying to format mac external hard drive, you can go over the process step by step. How to format an external hard drive with pictures wikihow. How to format an external drive for mac from ntfs to mac os. How to format an external hard drive on windows the windows users who are going to format external hard drive for the first time, they will get complete information and stepwise procedure of formatting drives. 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 osspecific file system and drivers. Bonus tip data recovery from formatted hard drive on mac. 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 part 3. Quickly format an external hard drive for mac and windows pc.