Bonus tip data recovery from formatted hard drive on mac. Find out how to format an external drive or usb disk making the drive work with both windows pc and mac can read and write. Now that we know the good and bad about every file system, let see how to format a drive in windows, mac, and linux. However, fat32 has a maximum 4gb file size limit whereas exfat can work with. If you need to format external hard drive mac or windows, you may also consider the exfat files system. This also allows you to restore time machine backups on windows. Step 1 first of all, look for the external hard drive in the finder window. Plug in the external hard drive into the system and open. But somehow, macos doesnt allow you to write data to the drive.
Feb 08, 2020 rightclick on the icon for your external drive on mac desktop, then select get info. Format a usb drive as exfat for mac and windows compatibility. How to format external hard drive mac 2 simple methods. In this guide, well show you how to format an external hard drive so you can not only get rid of the. I look at my windows friends dropboxes and they look at my dropbox. You have to set it up correctly before getting starting. This thing is still unknown for many users but doesnt worry its not complex.
For example, in the screenshot below, the macformatted drive is disk 2. How to format a drive for mac and pc compatibility posted by ant on march 11th, 2012 43 comments if you have an external hard drive or usb flash drive that youd like to use on both macs and windows pcs, choosing the right file system to format the drive can be confusing. You can format an external drive in os x using disk utility and terminal. To format the drive to work with both platforms you will need use a windows computer to format the disk as exfat. Today this video will show you how to format an external hard drive on windows and mac. If you are techy and use windows and mac computers frequently, then you might need to transfer data between mac and pc. How to format or partition an external hard drive for mac. How to format drive with compatible file system for mac. So, you just bought a new external hard drive or a portable ssd and wanted to use it on your mac. Ntfs format hard disks can be connected to mac os but the drive will run with readonly permission which means you can only copy from hard disk but cant add or. Mac os journaled is the formatting option for mac and ntfs or msdoc is the. Want to format a hard drive for mac and pc compatibility. You can select the exfat format when using the disk.
Although it is possible to format a drive as exfat from disk utility on the mac, that drive will not work with windows pcs, and thats not what were after. Aug 30, 2019 today this video will show you how to format an external hard drive on windows and mac. Even though most people associate formatting with system installation, there are many other reasons why you might want to format your hard drive. How to format a drive for mac and pc compatibility macyourself. 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. Mar 15, 2018 windows cant normally read macformatted drives, and will offer to erase them instead.
How to format a hard drive windows 10, 8, 7, vista, xp. 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. However there is a simple solution you can format the drive to fat32 or exfat that performs better than fat32. Formatting an external drive on your mac is quite easy, though it isnt as evident and obvious as it is on a pc.
Format an external hard drive or usb flash drive for mac os x. You will learn the easiest way to format drive on mac and windows as exfat. 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. How to format a hard drive on mac to work on mac and pc.
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. Developed by microsoft, this modern file system is optimized for situations where the ntfs file system is not a feasible solution, and the file size. 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. How to format drive with compatible file system for mac and. The best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. A complete solution do you wish to format hard drive for mac and pc, but cant find a solution. How to format external hard drive mac 2 simple methods revealed.
A vast majority of video production will be done on a mac or windows operating system, so we arent going to cover linux. As we know, external hard drives are widely used to backup data or interchange files. Dec 29, 2015 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. How to get an external drive formally used with a mac to be. How to share an external drive between a mac and a pc.
Plug in your external hdd to the usb port of your computer then go to my computer find your external drive rightclick it and select format. Its in the cloud, and doesnt matter whether you set it up on a pc or mac. However, it is not possible to format hard drive to exfat, the only option under the window of format file system is ntfs default. From the volume format menu, choose mac os extended.
The best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with windows and mac. How to get an external drive formally used with a mac to be recognized and useable with a pc running windows 7. I would suggest you to take the backup of all the files present in the external hard drive in the mac computer and then connect it to windows 7 and format the drive and choose ntfs format and check if the issue is fixed. You can format your external hard drive from either the pc or mac. While you have bought this drive, you will find the drive already formatted for your mac or windows system. How to fix external hard drive not recognized on mac like windows, mac also detects an external drive automatically. If you want to format your external hard drive to work with mac and windows computers, you should use exfat. Choosing the right format for your external hard drive b. Both fat32 and exfat can be used on windows pc and mac. Need to format an external hard drive for mac and windows. How to format external hard drive for pc, mac and linux. Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with. Out of the box, windows can not read or write hfs drives, and macs are unable to write to ntfs drives.
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. From all above, you can have a general idea of fat32 and exfat file system. Sep 17, 2015 i have a lacie d2 quadra 1tb external hard drive. It is time to learn how to format your external hard drive or other external drives to a common file system for mac and windows. From what i understand, windows doesnt always like the way macs do the formatting on some larger drives, though, so give it a try and if your windows machines dont like it, just format the drive with windows. How to reformat my external hard drive for windows 10. Dec 22, 2019 how to format external hard drive mac. Buying an external hard drive is one of the best options for adding the storage space to the mac computer system. Windows cant normally read macformatted drives, and will offer to erase them instead.
How to format an external hard drive with pictures wikihow. Most or we can say almost every external hard disk comes in ntfs windows nt file system format but ntfs format is not supported by mac os. But unfortunately it bit the dust and i decided to get a pc. For this, click on file and then click new finder window. To access the disk management tool, click the windows icon and type disk management. As the default file system in windows, it can only read by mac os, writing to it is not available.
In the resulut, your external hard drive will work just fine with mac and windows. Jan 17, 2020 why need to format external hard drive for mac and pc. Why need to format external hard drive for mac and pc. The best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac cnet. First, note the number of the disk in the disk management window. Now that you know which format to use, check out our guide on how to format your hard drive on. Though this format has some limitations, it enjoys nearly universal support. However, this format doesnt support larger files, which can be problematic for transferring 4k videos and so on between macs and windows 10. Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with windows and mac. Follow these instructions if you plan to share an external hard drive between pc and mac computers. Thats all because its been initialized with windows nt file system ntfs, which is primarily for pcs. How to format an external hard drive the easy way in 2020. Sep 26, 2018 need to format an external hard drive for mac and windows. Next, open a command prompt window as administrator.
How to format external hard drives for mac and windows. You can format a hard drive or usb flash disk specifically so that it will be compatible with both mac os x and windows pc computers. To format external hard drive for mac with time machine, you must follow the steps below. You can format the external hard drive or usb drive to make it compatible with both mac and windows machines. Continue below to format an external hard drive or learn more about disk management. Formatting a volume will destroy any data on the partition. How to format drive with compatible file system for mac and windows. 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. Be sure to back up any data you want to save before you. 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. Lacie rugged mini 2tb external hard drive portable hdd usb 3. Oct 16, 2019 the best format for external hard drives. How to format an external hard drive on windows 10. How to convert a macformatted drive to a windows drive.
How to format an external hard drive on windows and mac. You can format external hard drive or other external drives with exfat or fat32 file system for mac and windows, so that both mac and windows computer can read and write it. Buying and using an external hd is one thing, getting the most out of it is quite another. That said, if you are using both a pc and mac in the workflow, youll need to use a. Some hard drives may also include drivers, firmware, or format wizards so be sure to check the user manual before formatting the hard drive. Now either because of time, corruption or because it may have been formatted for a mac when i plug it into my pc i cant access it. Though the default hard disk file system also known as format of windows and mac are different, there should be some ways to format an external drive for both mac and pc. But both do indeed format drives into fat32 and can both read fat32 so thats your answer. Dec, 2019 you can format the external hard drive or usb drive to make it compatible with both mac and windows machines. Mar 31, 2020 how to share an external hard drive between mac and windows. Luckily, there are thirdparty tools to help you do so. How to format an external hard drive for mac and windows. How to access mac osx extended formatted hard drive in windows. A drive can be formatted with exfat using either a windows or a mac computer.
Format external hard drive with multiple partitions easeus. Mac os journaled is the formatting option for mac and ntfs or msdoc is the formatting option for pc. Looking to share an external hard drive between a mac and pc. To sum up, it is easy to format an external hard drive for both mac and windows pc.
Its good to have an external hard drive which can be used for backup and other purpose. For example, in the screenshot below, the mac formatted drive is disk 2. With exfat, you can store files of any size, and use it with any computer made in the last 20 years. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac. After reading this post, youll know what is the best file system for your cameras sd card and what is the best format for your mac and pc. How to format external hard drive to use on mac and pc. How to format hard drives on windows, mac and linux. The best way to do it is with a drive formatted as fat32. May 29, 2018 how to format drive with compatible file system for mac and windows. Want to use external hard drive under both windows pc and mac. Both mac os x and windows allow users to format their hard drives using builtin utilities. That said, if you are using both a pc and mac in the workflow, youll need to use a different format.
Enter a name for the external hard drive in the name field. How to format an external drive to work seamlessly with macs. People might need to format a hard drive or an external hard drive in windows 10 for various reasons. I can find it under device manager and disk management but thats it. Formatting an external hard drive would erase everything on it. Mar 22, 2012 the best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. Format a disk for windows computers in disk utility on mac. The best format for your external hard drive the hellotech blog. Read this stepwise tutorial and learn how to format hdd for mac and windows like a pro. You can format an external hard drive or thumb drive to work seamlessly with both mac and windows by using the exfat file system. The default file system in windows is ntfs, while mac os users hfs. How to format an external hard drive for mac and pc. 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.
How to get an external drive formally used with a mac to. Most external hard drives hd are sold in a format called ntfs, which is designed to work with windows. Format external hard drive for mac with disk utility. If you have already written any data to the drive, back it up before proceeding to the next. The best ways to format an external drive for windows and. Mar 12, 2018 want to format a hard drive for mac and pc compatibility. Feb 21, 2012 looking to share an external hard drive between a mac and pc. Aug 22, 2019 how to format hard drive on mac and pc. In this case, you should consider the hurdle that these operating systems support different filesystems. Nov 19, 2015 now that we know the good and bad about every file system, let see how to format a drive in windows, mac, and linux. Sometimes, you may want to try format directly to format your external hard drive partition to exfat for mac and windows. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac laptop mag. Quickly format an external hard drive for mac and windows pc.
1290 1212 52 584 84 1064 1022 1206 1252 721 1365 441 106 588 705 800 511 1228 458 702 676 253 657 1492 548 477 1253 10 382 906 265 457 991