Click start and the drives file system will be changed. How to fix raw external hard drive without formatting. Just click on the convert button to initiate the process. Open the disk utility app and highlight your external hard drive. If you want, you can uncheck the quick format option. Open it, and select one of the supported file systems that windows 10 can convert to.
A file system is simply a way of organizing and storing data or files on a computer hard drive. By default, the 4tb hard drive uses the ntfs format for windows pcs, but theres a help file included on the drive that provides information for mac users so that you can reformat the drive and. The best format for your external hard drive the hellotech blog. You can get an apple external hard drive in any size ranging from about 60gb to 20tb. Both operating systems use different formats for reading and writing to a. Transferring files between the two operating systems is less of a hassle, since you don.
In the main interface, right click the partition on that need. Once you plug in a hard drive and set up time machine, it will work automatically in the background, continuously saving copies of all your files, applications, and system files i. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac laptop mag. Os x, windows, and linux all use different hard drive formatting for normal system operations. The higher a disks rpm, the faster its working speed. A new window will open with a dropdown for file system. Now enter the volume label as you need and change the file system for exfat and click ok. How to identify and fix hard disk problems on a mac. If you need to format external hard drive mac or windows, you. Thunderbolt 3 and usb typec are the latest innovations in the external storage market, but before we get to them, we need to address a. But formatting a drive with exfat offers one huge advantage.
The process will take some time to complete depending on the size of the drive. How to format an external hard drive on windows and mac. File system formats available in disk utility on mac. When you format your external hard drive, your computer knows where to store, access, and manage files. Which mac file system is best for an external drive. Os extended used to be the default file system for macos until it was replaced by apfs.
Its the reasonable choice for any hard disk you expect to move from one system to another. What is a file system and what are the different kinds. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac. The incompatibility of the file system is the main cause of the errorexternal hard drive read only on mac.
While this file system is readable on macs because os x can rearrange the data as it is reading it, the way that ntfs writes the files to the storage device is not. Cannot mount external hard drive on mac, how to fix. The best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. Both windows and mac can read drives formatted with this. Traditional hard disks are the most common options of external drives for mac, but you can also use them as laptop internal hard drives. Because fat32 supports only up to 4 gb large files, it should be used only with flash drives. A file system can be thought of as an index or database containing the physical location of every piece of data on the hard drive or another storage device. File system formats available in disk utility on mac apple support. I would be inclined to go with fat32 for a flash drive, but ntfs for an external hard drive. A hard drive format refers to how the operating system stores the data on the drive. For a hard drive to be used with time machine mac os x 10. Alternatively, you can also go to the edit menu and click on the convert to apfs option. Once finished, all your lost files will be listed out with respect to file types and folders. The exfat file system is specifically designed for sd cards, usb drives, and other external media.
The ntfs file system is a system specifically optimized for windows in the way that it organizes the data on the drive. This is the required format for a bootable mac hard drive. Virtually every operating systgem modern enough to. Share your experience, how do you use an external hard drive on both mac and pc. But youre not sure what file system to choose and which file formats would be compatible with your mac or pc. That could be because your mac is waiting on the hard drive. Give your drive a name and select the file system you want from the format dropdown. This format was optimized to minimize the amount of drive storage space used for a single file the previous version used sectors loosely, leading to rapidly lost drive space. 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. Many systems use fat32, but is that the right one, and is there a better option. Any place that a computer or other electronic device stores data employs some type of.
For example, if the volume identifier of an external hard drive is disk2s, you should enter diskutil repairvolume disk2s. Everything you need to know about your macs hard drive. Simple and easy to use, macdrive is recognized as the leader for accessing mac disks from windows for almost 20 years. A raw external hard drive indicates a logical volume with an undefined or unsupported file system. To format external drive to file system compatible with mac and pc, connect the drive to your computer and follow the detailed steps given below take formatting hard drive to exfat in windows 7 for example. Under file system, choose the file system you want to use. If you have both windows and mac computers in your office, its important to understand their different storage requirements before buying an external hard drive. Click erase button, the external hard drive will be formatted.
Both mac os x and windows also support the fat32 file system, but we dont recommend it for hard drives. How to erase a disk for mac use disk utility to erase format a hard disk, ssd, flash drive, or other storage device. If you find your external hard drive is ntfs format, thats what the cause is. To use hfsexplorer, connect your macformatted drive to your windows pc and launch hfsexplorer.
Choosing the right format for your external hard drive b. How to format a wd hard drive to exfat or fat32 file system. How to format a hard drive on windows or mac avast. If you want to create multiple partitions on your external hard drive in fact, you should for better file organization, heres a stepbystep guide.
Your exfatformatted drive or partition can now be used for both windows and mac. How to format drive with compatible file system for mac. How to format or partition an external hard drive for mac. The data is usually organized in folders called directories, which can contain other folders and files. Read more, exfat is the format of choice for drives that youll share between both windows and mac computers. A hard drive may turn raw due to various factors such as malware infections, file system errors, corrupt file, system crash, etc. How to repair mac hard drive andor file system when disk. Click start to initiate an allround scan on the device you selected. However, you can format the drive to work with both windows and mac by using the exfat filesystem. It will automatically locate the connected drive, and you can load it. How to change the file system of a drive on windows 10. How to format external hard drive to use on mac and pc.
This is useful if a drive is being used under both operating system osto move files between the two environments. Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with. How to repair mac hard drive andor file system when disk utility cant hard drive issues on a mac a rarity, but a pain nonetheless earlier this week i received a call from a local business client who was having problems publishing a selfmaintained website for their store. Disk utility on mac supports several file system formats. Mac os x uses the hfs plus file system, while windows uses the ntfs file system. Designed by microsoft to provide similar compatibility to fat32 without the pesky limitations, exfat is the format of choice for drives that youll. You may use disk utility application to perform hard drive partitionrelated tasks on mac operating system, such as to format, repair, erase or create hard drive partitions and end up with an erased hard drive moreover, by doing so, crucial data may be deleted by mistake from your mac. The best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac cnet.
Instructions for raw external hard drive data recovery. There are three common filesystems that are used today. This will generate a popup message asking you to confirm your choice. In disk utility on your mac, format disks or volumes using apple file system apfs, mac os extended, msdos fat, and exfat. Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with windows and mac. Click the file menu and select load file system from device. The best external hard drives for mac in 2020 pcmag. If your external hard drive cant be repaired with disk utility and terminal, the file system of this drive might be seriously. Apfs to mac os extended reformat with disk utility no need for terminal commands im going to show you how to fix you macbook hard drive using disk utility to. Ntfs is a file system that is optimal for windowsbased computer. How to format a wd hard drive to exfat or fat32 file system answer id 291 a western digital external hard drive can be used on both windows and mac osx. Rightclick the drive and select the option of convert to apfs. Download and launch the anyrecover software on your pc, and choose the external device you want to recover data from under the external removable devices tab step 2. Note that using a drive frequently between windows and mac could increase the.