Jump to Formatting the Disk - Wait while the disk is formatted. Larger disks will take longer to format. Use the drive on Windows and 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. Connect the drive to your.
If you have an external hard drive or USB flash drive that you’d like to use on both Macs and Windows PCs, choosing the right file system to format the drive can be confusing. Learn a few ways to make your drive Mac and PC friendly. Need to access or transfer files between Mac and PC? As simple as this task sounds, it’s not very straightforward for inexperienced users. Since Mac OS X and Windows use totally different file systems, the way a drive is formatted can determine what type of computer it will work with.
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In fact, there are four ways you can format an external or USB flash drive to achieve varying degrees of compatibility between Macs and PCs. Let’s take a look at them: HFS+ Mac OS X’s native file system is HFS+ (also known as Mac OS Extended), and it’s the only one that works with Time Machine. But while HFS+ is the best way to format drives for use on Macs, Windows does not support it. If you’re only going to be using your external or USB flash drive with certain PCs – such as at home or the office – you might be interested in a program called. When you install MacDrive on a Windows PC, it will be able to seamlessly read & write to HFS+ drives.
This isn’t a good solution if you need your drive to work on any PC without installing software, though. NTFS The native Windows file system is NTFS, which is only partially compatible with Mac OS X.
Macs can read files on NTFS drives, but it cannot write to them. So if you need to get files from a PC to your Mac, NTFS is a decent option. However, you won’t be able to move files in the other direction, from Mac to PC. FAT32 The most universally supported way to format your drive is with the FAT32 file system.
It works with all versions of Mac OS X and Windows. Case closed, right? Well, not so fast. Unfortunately, FAT32 is a very old file system and has some technical limitations. For example, you cannot save files that are larger than 4GB on a FAT32-formatted drive. This is a deal-breaker if you work with huge files. The other limitation is the total size of the partition.
If you format your FAT32 drive in Windows, the drive partition cannot be larger than 32GB. If you format it from a Mac running 10.7 Lion, the drive partition can be up to 2TB. Much better, except for that pesky 4GB limit. ExFAT The exFAT file system eliminates the two major deficiencies of FAT32: the largest partition and file sizes it supports are virtually unlimited by today’s standards. Awesome, it’s perfect! Almost since exFAT is fairly new, it isn’t compatible with older Macs and PCs. Any Mac running 10.6.5 (Snow Leopard) or 10.7 (Lion) supports exFAT, while PCs running Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista SP1, and Windows 7 are compatible.
If you know you’ll be using computers running updated versions of these operating systems, exFAT is the clear best choice. Format a drive using Disk Utility on a Mac. Launch Disk Utility (Applications Utilities).
Select your external hard drive or USB flash drive from the list on the left. Click on the Erase tab. Select the format – Mac OS Extended (HFS+), MS-DOS (FAT32), or exFAT – then name the drive. Click the Erase button and the drive will start formatting.
Be aware that formatting a drive deletes all of the files on it, so back up anything important before completing this step. Format a drive using Windows. Go to Computer (or My Computer in Windows XP). Select your drive from the list and right-click on it. Choose Format from the contextual menu. A window will pop up where you can choose the format – NTFS, FAT32, or exFAT.
Make sure the allocation unit size is set to default and type in a volume label. Click Start to format the drive. I did exactly what you said to do in order to format a LaCie 160gb external hard drive to exFat for use on a Mac (OSX 10.7 Lion) and a PC (Windows 7). Unfortunately, now my Mac doesn’t “see” the hard drive anymore and my PC tells me the device is not working properly (error Code 43 in Device Manager). Before reformatting from a NTFS, the LaCie worked fine on my Mac and my PC “saw” it but I couldn’t access it.
It is connected via USB 2.0 and AC/DC power. Where could I go or what resource(s) is/are available for me to solve this problem? I heard using a firewire might help. I just got a Seagate GoFlex Desk External Drive, and after reading your article, I tried to format it for ExFat but got an error: Invalid Option. Seagate tells me that they do not support ExFat.
They say “Reformatting a drive in ExFAT is something that we don’t support. It can be an unstable format that can cause data corruption without warning.” Have you found that other hard drive manufactures say they don’t support this format for the same reason?
Should I turn the hard drive back in, and get a different one, where the manufacturer supports this format. Is what Seagate says true?
I just got two Western Digital 3TB external hard-drives. I want to be able to use them on both Mac & PC. When i go to format it on my Mac, FAT32 is not an option, and every time i try exFAT i also get an “error: Invalid Option”.
I then tried to do this on two other Macs & it still wouldn’t work, but then I tried it on a work-mate’s Mac today & it formatted in exFAT fine How unstable is exFAT? I don’t want to lose the media i store on this drive. I don’t mind formatting it in FAT32, but it’s not an option when trying to format this hard-drive.
Any suggestions? Is there a free formatting application that is good to use instead of using the “Disk Utility” on Mac.? I have an IMAC running OSX 10.7.5 I recently bought a Trekstor DataStation pocket light 500 GB external portable hard drive 2.5″ I need it to transfer 190 GB of video and audio files to give to an editor. I received it and a small paper inside said it’s not compatible with my IMAC. Only to READ files. I’m not sure what system the editor will use and after reading all the comments above, I’m really hesitant to re-format the disc before moving the files onto.
Now the files are on another TrekStor external drive that the camera guy lent me. I am not very technical and don’t want to screw anything up. Can anyone help? I do hope you can help me with this I was using my sisters Mac temporarily and before giving it back to her I copied all my files onto a thumb drive. Tonight I copied those files to the hard drive of my PC laptop and removed them from the thumb drive.
For whatever reason I am trying to open a few of the files in a certain program, but it keeps telling me that the file I am trying to access is not supported. Someone mentioned that maybe it has something to do with the thumb drive. I have no idea what to do and I am praying that I didn’t lose any of my files. Thanks so much!! I’ve read too many posts from people having all sorts of problems using exFAT to consider using it. Maybe one day, but for now, “not ready for prime time!”.
The best solution I found was: 1. Format your hard drive, or every partition on it, using NTSF. You’ll end up with a drive that is: – Stable, so your data is relatively safe (priority #1) – Capable of handling large files – Readable/writable in Win 7+ – But only readable in Mac OS X 2. Make the NTSF drive both readable and writable in Mac OS X. There are different ways to do that. Method 1: Mac OS X is actually capable of writing to a NTSF drive, just not by default (don’t ask!).
So you need to activate it: 1. Go to “utilities” and start the “terminal” app. (enter your password if prompted) 2. Type (copy/paste): sudo nano /etc/fstab Press “return” Type: LABEL=TEST none ntfs rw,auto,nobrowse Press “return”, CTRL+O to save, CTRL+X to exit the terminal. Unmount your drive, then plug it back in. It won’t show up anymore.
Back in the terminal, type: open /Volumes press “return” There’s your NTSF drive! Now you can do whatever you want with it in Mac OS X. (tip: create an alias of the volumes so you don’t have to go back to the terminal every time) Another free method: “EaseUS ALL-IN-ONE Partition Manager” software I’ve not tried it myself, but I’ve only heard good things about it. You can download it here:. Make sure to download the “free for home user” version. The other methods involve using 3rd party drivers such as: Paragon NTFS or Tuxera NTFS.
They’re not free, but they won’t break the bank. I hope this helps. Thank you so much for this easy to follow and understand explanation. I have OS X 10.7.5 running Lion. Bought the new Passport 1T today and even though the package says it can run on MAC OS X, when I tried to format with the company instructions it wouldn’t let me and stated “It will only run on 10.8 or above”.
I looked at my old passport in Utilities and it was formatted as NTFS (Mac OS Extended) and wanted to follow the exact same since my old Passport has been excellent for my needs. I formatted the new Passport with NTFS and it works like a charm. Really appreciate how you explained everything in simple terms, so not only was I able to do the formatting, I also understand what I am doing and why. I can now drag and drop files on to the new passport and they copy fast. Thanks a bunch. About MacYourself MacYourself was established in July 2008 by founders (and Apple enthusiasts) Ant and Frankie P., who wanted to create a tips & tricks site geared towards the average or new Apple product user.
The name itself was an accident, shouted by Frankie P. In a moment of frustration when he couldn’t think of anything clever. Immediately, a light went off in Ant’s head and he eventually convinced Frankie P. That it wasn’t as ridiculous as it first seemed.
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So, you just bought an external hard drive and wanted to use it on your Mac. But somehow, macOS doesn’t allow you to write data to the drive. That’s all because it’s been initialized with Windows NT File System (NTFS), which is primarily for PCs. Apple Mac machines support a different file system. In this post, I’m going to show you how to format your external drive for a Mac compatible file system i.e. Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Just follow this easy step-by-step guide and you’re all set.
Important note: If you have useful files stored on the external drive, be sure to copy or transfer them to another safe place prior to formatting. The operation will erase all data and your files will be gone for good. You could use a recovery program like to retrieve them, but the odds of recovery vary. Pro tip: If your external drive has a large volume, like mine – a.
I highly recommend you also create multiple partitions. I’ll also show you how to do that below. Most External Hard Drives Are Initiated with NTFS During the last several years, I’ve used several removable drives, including a 500GB WD My Passport, 32GB Lexar flash drive, and a few others.
Three weeks ago, I bought a brand new 2TB Seagate Expansion to backup my MacBook Pro before I updated to the latest macOS, 10.13 High Sierra (also see those I encountered). When I connected the Seagate to my Mac, the drive icon showed up like this. When I opened it, the default content was all there. Since I wanted to use it on Mac, I clicked the blue logo with the text “StartHere-Mac”. It brought me to a webpage on Seagate’s site, where it clearly indicated the drive was initially set up to work with a Windows PC.
If I wanted to use it with Mac OS or Time Machine backup (which is my intent), I’ll need to format the drive for my Mac. I then right-clicked the external drive icon on Mac desktop Get Info. It showed this format: Format: Windows NT File System (NTFS) What is NTFS?
I’m not going to explain here; you can read more on. The problem is that on macOS, you can’t work with files saved on an NTFS drive unless you use a paid app. How to Format an External Drive to Work with Mac (from NTFS to Mac OS Extended)? Note: The tutorial and screenshots below are based on macOS Sierra 10.12.5. They might be different if your Mac has a different version. Step 1: Open Disk Utility. The quickest way to do this is a simple Spotlight search (click the search icon on the upper right corner), or go to Applications Utilities Disk Utility.
Step 2: Highlight your external drive and click “Erase”. Make sure your drive is connected. It should show up on the left panel under “External”. Select that disk and click the “Erase” button, the one highlighted in red in the screenshot below. Step 3: Select “Mac OS Extended (Journaled)” in Format.
A new window will pop up asking which file system you’d like to format the external drive to. By default, it’s the Windows NT File System (NTFS). Select the one shown below. Pro tip: If you want to use the external drive for both Mac and PC, you can also select “ExFAT”.
Learn more about the differences between these file systems from. By the way, you can also rename your external drive. Step 4: Wait until the erasing process is complete.
For me, it took less than a minute to format my 2TB Seagate Expansion. You can also check to see if the format was successful. Right-click on the icon for your external drive on Mac desktop, then select “Get Info”. Under “Format”, you should see text like this: Congratulations! 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. How to Partition an External Hard Drive on Mac If you want to create multiple partitions on your external hard drive (in fact, you should for better file organization), here’s a step-by-step guide: Step 1: Highlight your drive and click “Partition” in Disk Utility.
Open the Disk Utility app and highlight your external hard drive. Make sure you select the disk icon right under “External”. If you select the one below it, the Partition option will be greyed out and become unclickable. Step 2: Add partitions and allocate volume for each one. After clicking “Partition”, you’ll see this window. Located on the left is a big blue circle with the name of your external drive together with its volume size. What you need to do next is click the add “+” button to increase the number of partitions on your external disk.
Then allocate the desired volume to each partition. You can do that by clicking the small white circle and dragging it around. After that, you can rename each partition and define a file system for it. Step 3: Confirm your operation. Once you hit “Apply”, a new window pops up asking for your confirmation.
Take a few seconds to read the text description to make sure it reflects what you intend to do, then click the “Partition” button to continue. Step 4: Wait until it says “Operation successful.” To check whether the operation is really successful, go to your Mac desktop. You should see multiple disk icons show up. I chose to create two partitions on my Seagate Expansion — one for backup, the other for personal use. You can find more info in this post:.
That wraps up this tutorial article. I hope you find it helpful. As always, let me know if you have any issues during the formatting or partitioning process.