Mac can read all the file system formats including windows msdos, fat, fat32. Both windows and mac os offer builtin disk formatting tool. Reading mac files on external hard drive via windows 10. However, when we connect a ntfs formatted disk to mac, mac os x doesnt allow us to write. How to reformat mac os x without a recovery disc or drive. 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. Note that exfat is only compatible with versions of windows later than vista. Now, click on the top partition, name it windows, and change its format to msdos. How to format an external hard drive for mac and windows. You will learn how to format the external hard disk which has default ntfs format, to make it compatible with mac os. Opening disk management can be done a number of ways depending on your version of windows, but the easiest method is to type diskmgmt. The easiest way to do that is hit cmd and the spacebar at. How to format a hard drive windows 10, 8, 7, vista, xp.
However, it is not possible to format hard drive to exfat, the only option under the window of format file system is ntfs default. Then click the second partition, name it mac, and change its format to mac os extended journaled. Choosing the right format for your external hard drive b. You will learn how to format the external hard disk which has deafult ntfs format, to make it compatible with mac os. First, note the number of the disk in the disk management window.
Of course, if you have a backup already, ignore this step. Use the disk utility application to erase the drive. On a hackintosh its possible to dual boot macos and windows on the same hard drive disk, which i will explain how to here. How to format an external hard drive for mac and pc. Format usb flash drive external hard drive with macclean360 on macos catalina. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac laptop mag.
Jan 02, 2017 at this point, you can proceed to the next section to format your mac backup partition. If you are using a mac, you can run the builtin disk utility to quickly format a hard drive or external hard. Readwrite fat32 from both native windows and native mac os x. Format a hard drive using mac os x disk utility iclarified. All data has to be put in a file format that the operating system can read off the hard drive. For windows, it offers quick format feature when you rightclick the hard drive on the computer. Select the volume format from the volume format popup. These are instructions on how to format a hard drive using mac os x disk utility. In the file system list box, choose exfat, type in a volume label.
Check the format this volume with the following settings box, then click the file system box and select one of the following. Mac os x installation basics sata drive seagate support us. Both mac os x and windows also support the fat32 file system, but we dont recommend it for hard drives. To format the drive in windows, rightclick it in the file explorer window and select format. Has a storage limit of 32 gigabytes with an individual file size of 4 gigabytes. Next, open a command prompt window as administrator. The format is good for handling the files between both os under 4gb size. Format external hard drive for mac with disk utility. When it comes to the best format for ssd in windows, ntfs is highly recommended to use.
Even though most people associate formatting with system installation, there are many other reasons why you might want to format your hard drive. Mac os journaled is the formatting option for mac and ntfs or msdos. Mar 31, 2020 how to share an external hard drive between mac and windows. The software can also format your external hard drive.
You can use this format if you share the drive between mac os x and windows computers and have no files larger than 4gb. Click the file menu and select load file system from device. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac. The usb drivers come with the fat format by default.
Nov 19, 2015 how to format an external hard drive or pen drive. After realizing that you can reformat wd hard drive to fat32 or exfat to make it compatible with mac os x and still can be used under windows, it is time to check out how to reformat wd hard drive for mac and pc in windows successfully. Hard drive format software for mac mac disk format software. Connect your hard drive or external hard drive to your mac.
Just select the one you want to format and click on the erase tab. How to share an external hard drive between mac and windows. Luckily, there are thirdparty tools to help you do so. Additional information how to format a hard drive for mac. Add virtual cd and dvd drives to your pc with alcohol how to. Hackintosh dual boot windows 10 and macos high sierra. Rather than use a macformatted drive, you should get the important files off of it and use exfatformatted drives for moving data between macs and pcs. This works with any hard drive, flash drive, ssd, usb drive, or just about any other. All options, including format, is greyed out except to delete volume. Give your settings a final lookover and click apply. And found the steps straight forward and truly easy to do.
A partition used for both mac and windows you format as an exfat file system. Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with windows and mac. Follow these easy steps to format a hard drive in windows 10, windows 8, windows 7, windows vista, or windows xp. Choose either apfs or mac os extended journaled to format as a mac volume. It just securely formats your mac hard drivedevice and permanently erases all the data. Give the drive a descriptive name and leave the default settings. Apple mac machines support a different file system. Your internal macintosh drive is also formatted in this format. Once you open the disk utility app, you can see all the drives on your mac are listed on the lefthand sidebar. The format apple support for mac owners for time machine is mac os extended journaled. How to convert a macformatted drive to a windows drive. Choose the exfat file system in the list and click start. As the default file system in windows, it can only read by mac os, writing to it is not available. Now in this interface, you will see a format option.
Fat32 is the crossplatform format for windows and mac os x. 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. I hope you loved my article partition hard drive for mac and windows, in 6 easy steps. Hackintosh dual boot windows 10 and macos high sierra same. Quickly format an external hard drive for mac and windows pc. Macclean360 also offers disk management tool, disk manager. Sometimes, you may want to try format directly to format your external hard drive partition to exfat for mac and windows. Jun 30, 2018 you will learn how to format the external hard disk which has default ntfs format, to make it compatible with mac os. With disk utility open, locate the hard drive you want to partition and select partition. If you need a crossplatform option, consider using exfat for your drive insteadboth windows and macos can read these drives without any additional software. If youre lucky, you can just rightclick each partition on the mac drive and select delete volume to remove the partitions.
Thats all because its been initialized with windows nt file system ntfs, which is primarily for pcs. If you selected the drive name instead of its description you wont see the scheme option. Hello everyone, saving the drama of switching from mac to windows sigh, ive decided on purchasing the surface pro 4. Unformat mac hard drive recover formatted hard drive on. Partition a hard drive for macos time machine and windows 10. Then your hard drivemac computerdevice is able to reuse, resold, recycled or can be safely donated or lent to other people. Select the mac partition we created in windows 10, click erase on the menu bar, choose mac os extended journaled in the format list box, then. How to access mac osx extended formatted hard drive in windows. How can i format this drive in windows 7 home premium. Format external hard disk drive for mac os and windows using. Mar 15, 2018 rather than use a macformatted drive, you should get the important files off of it and use exfatformatted drives for moving data between macs and pcs.
The easiest way to format the drive for mac is by using macoss builtin disk utility for fat32 or exfat. To use it, download hfs for windows here and install on your pc. Open disk management, the hard drive manager included with all versions of windows. Format usb drive, external hard drive on macos catalina. Format an external hard drive or usb flash drive for mac os x. Its recommended to use this format whenever you need to use an external drive with os x only.
But its a good idea to also create a third partition on your disk that both macos and windows 10 can use. Set the format to mac os extended journaled and the scheme to guid partition map. Format a disk for windows computers in disk utility on mac apple. Feb 08, 2020 so, you just bought an external hard drive or a portable ssd and wanted to use it on your mac. How to format your hard drive seagate support australia. The formatted data also can be recovered by mac data recovery software. 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. Most external hard drives hd are sold in a format called ntfs, which is designed to work with windows. Heres how to format a drive using a mac including how to format a drive for windows and mac so the contents can be read on both platforms, and what format to use for time machine.
The best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. Once the set up is complete, mount your drive and it will be visible on file explorer. Make sure your external hard drive is attached and mounted to. Both fat32 and exfat can be used on windows pc and mac. Formatting an external hard drive would erase everything on it. People might need to format a hard drive or an external hard drive in windows 10 for various reasons. Yes, connecting an external hard drive or usb flash key to a mac will generally read and work fine as is because the mac can easily read other filesystem formats, including windows msdos, fat, fat32, exfat, and ntfs formats, but unless you intend on using the drive between a windows and mac machine, formatting it to be entirely mac compatible. Just transfer all useful files out from the external hard drive to other devices on mac.
Unformat mac hard drive recover formatted hard drive on mac. Format usb flash driveexternal hard drive with macclean360 on macos catalina. If a wireless network is available, you can choose it from the wi. How to erase a disk for mac use disk utility to erase format a hard disk, ssd, flash drive, or other storage device. To start, your first step will be to find disk utility. You just need to mount your disk and access all of your files. For example, in the screenshot below, the macformatted drive is disk 2. Sep 26, 2018 windows pc and mac use different filesystems. Please see below on how to reformat your external hard drive on mac and windows.
Both mac os x and windows allow users to format their hard drives using builtin utilities. Save any files you need to another volume before formatting. For instructions on how to format your hard drive on a mac, please reference the following links. Now that we know the good and bad about every file system, let see how to format a drive in windows, mac, and linux. How to format a flash drive to work on os x and windows. Next, under the partition layout column, specify the number of partitions you want. How to reinstall macos from macos recovery apple support. Step one if your hard drive is an external drive, connect it to the computer.
But to get a hard drive to be compatible with both mac and pc, you. When prompted, select the mac os extended journaled format. Rightclick your flash drive and then select format. 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.
Learn how to use macos recovery to reinstall the mac operating system on your builtin drive or an external drive. Partition hard drive for mac and windows, in 6 easy steps. Jan 15, 2020 learn how to use macos recovery to reinstall the mac operating system on your builtin drive or an external drive. So, you just bought an external hard drive or a portable ssd and wanted to use it on your mac. Verify that the correct hard drive is selected in the left column. If you wish to boot the drive on a pc or use it with older versions of windows, you may also need to set the partition scheme to master boot record mbr for full windows compatibility. If you desire encryption, then select mac os extended journaled, encrypted format instead. 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. Two ways for reformatting wd hard drive for mac and pc. For most reasons to erase, including when reformatting a disk or selling, giving away, or trading in your mac, you should erase your entire disk. How to format hard drives on windows, mac and linux. This tool can help you securely and quickly format usb flash drive, external hard drive under macos catalina. Repair a power mac g5 remove the superdrive how to. Partition a hard drive for macos time machine and windows.
May 01, 2020 how to erase a disk for mac use disk utility to erase format a hard disk, ssd, flash drive, or other storage device. Format your external drive with exfat for both mac and. Jan 02, 2016 note that exfat is only compatible with versions of windows later than vista. But somehow, macos doesnt allow you to write data to the drive. You can then rightclick in the empty space and select new simple volume to create a partition and format it with the windows ntfs or fat32 file systems. How to format external ssd for mac time machine mashtips. Apfs vs mac os extended which mac disk format is best. In the file system list box, choose exfat, type in. Although its recommended that macos be installed on a separate drive than windows, its perfectly possible to dual boot windows and macos on the same drive for those that dont have multiple hard drives to spare. Formatting a disk or volume erases all the files on it. If you need a crossplatform option, consider using exfat for your drive insteadboth windows and macos. Copy a data disk uing one optical drive using disk utility on os x how to. A drive can be formatted with exfat using either a windows or a mac computer.
About how to format external hard drives for both macs and windows pcs, and what is the best format for using usb external drives on mac. Format external hard disk drive for mac os and windows. How to format or partition an external hard drive for mac. Enter a name for the disk or volume, such as macintosh hd. 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. Before beginning the formatting approach for your mac, let me tell you that the drive is able to read wiki data only when it is formatted to wbfs with a usb loader. The mac drive may have an efi system partition on it. To use hfsexplorer, connect your macformatted drive to your windows pc and launch hfsexplorer. Prepare a thumb drive for both windows and os x on windows, connect your thumb drive. When the installer screen appears, do not click continue. Drive with a fat file system cant store a single file having a size above 4gb.
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