Select the external hard drive on the lefthand side. How to format external hard drive mac 2 simple methods. 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. Partition hard drive for mac and windows, in 6 easy steps. Designed to work with windows or mac computers, this compact external hard drive makes backup a snap. A mac can see a ntfs formatted external hard drive but cannot write to it.
With the windows external hard drive, you can load windows os on your macbook. Simplify file storage and access with this 2tb buffalo linkstation nas server. Macs can read ntfsformatted hard drives, but cant write to them. External hard drive for mac and pc with data interchangeable. Heres how to create a fat32 partition from a windows 7 pc. To use hfsexplorer, connect your macformatted drive to your windows pc and launch hfsexplorer. However, one thing to note here is that this function is only available for pro and enterprise versions of windows. Mac os x can read ntfs drives but cant write to them. Apple mac machines support a different file system. Be sure to doublecheck this you could accidentally wipe the wrong drive if you select the wrong disk here.
Just drag and drop to get set up, connect the portable hard drive to a computer for automatic recognitionno software requiredand enjoy plug and play simplicity with the included 18 inch usb 3. Its a standard hard disk drive with an rpm of just 5,400. It will automatically locate the connected drive, and you can load it. Desktopbound and portable platterbased storage has never been cheaper. How to format an external hard drive for mac and pc. This command erases the entire selected disk, including all its files and partitions whether. How to format external hard drive to use on mac and pc. Best external drives for mac and pc interchangeable 2020. Storage devices such as external hard drives can also be available on your network. How an external drive connects to your pc or mac is second only to the type of storage mechanism it uses in determining how fast youll be able to access data.
The easiest way to do that is hit cmd and the spacebar at the same time and type in disk utility to find the program. Password protect external hard drive on windows just like mac, windows also comes with a builtin disk encryptor called bitlocker drive encryption. For those who use both microsoft windows and apple macos, having a single external hard drive that is compatible with both operating systems could be very. External hard drives, thumb drives, usb drives, flash memory cards, and devices like ipod are examples of storage devices that you can connect to your mac using thunderbolt, usb, or firewire cables, or connect wirelessly using bluetooth. In the disk management, youll see your external hard drive as partition or. To format an external hard drive for mac with time machine, you must follow the steps below. Gtechnology portable external hard drive 2tb from the sleek design to the preformatting, this terabytesized drive is perfect for mac users who need a little extra space and offers the transfer rate up to 140mbs for accessing all your files.
Now connect the external hard drive to windows 8 computer and format it in fat32 file system. Use the exfat file system and never format your external. Mar 31, 2020 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 view hidden files in a usbexternal hard drive in. External hard drive not showing up in windows or os x.
Moving files from macformatted external hard drive to pc. The best external hard drive data recovery software. Bonus tip data recovery from formatted hard drive on mac. In mac os, you have to take advantage of the terminal application to reveal or view the hidden files or folders in the device. If you want to make use of your mac s thunderbolt port, then this is the best external hard drive for macs. For some mac models, the partition option would be greyed out in disk utility.
Just transfer all useful files out from the external hard drive to other devices on mac. Here are the steps to partition an external hard drive for mac and windows pc, which is a little tricky. Quickly format an external hard drive for mac and windows pc. But somehow, macos doesnt allow you to write data to the drive. Open the disk utility app and highlight your external hard drive. Because i own more windows pcs than mac, windows will end up getting the lions share of the external hard disk. Feb 21, 2012 the drive should automatically mount on your mac s desktop if the finder preferences are set to show external drives. To use windows software on a macbook, you need the help of the thirdparty toolaomei partition assistant professional, which brings a feature called windows to go creator to help you to create a windows external hard drive. Click the file menu and select load file system from device. For mac users, youll need to reformat it, and theres no usb 3.
In this video tutorial, i show you how to easily format an external hard drive to work on both a mac and a pc. How to format seagate drive for mac and pc quickly and securely. Its fast 540 mbs read and write speeds are more than enough to transfer any file. This software is designed in such a way that you can use any storage device for the backup and restore the backup directly to your iphone. How to password protect external hard drives on mac and. Connect your external hard drive to your windows 10 pc. The 8 best external hard drives and ssds for mac and pc users. If youre looking for a macfriendly external hard drive thats built for durability, take a look at lacies rugged thunderbolt usbc portable hard drive.
How to convert a macformatted drive to a windows drive. With its distinctive rubber bumpers and brushed aluminum chassis, the drive offers drop resistance up to 5 feet, crush resistance that can withstand up to a 1ton car, and ip54 water. This means you can copy files from an external hard. If you are transferring data from an os 10 system to an os 9 computer, or trying to access the data through os 9 with a drive formatted through os 10, you will need to have installed os 9 driverswhen you erase the drive. For example, here wed type select disk 2 finally, type clean and press enter. Partition a hard drive for macos time machine and windows. Unfortunately, it doesnt work as well with any other operating systems. Select your hard drive, and choose convert to mbr disk. How to share an external hard drive between macintosh and. 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. Typically, an external hard drive that works on a windows pc uses an ntfs file system. Apr 30, 2020 to format an external hard drive for mac with time machine, you must follow the steps below.
Apple macs can format external hard drives to the exfat file system. The right connections buying an external hard drive for your mac is not all that different from buying one for your windows pc, except for one very important complication. If you need to format external hard drive mac or windows, you may also consider the exfat files system. Thats all because its been initialized with windows nt file system ntfs, which is primarily for pcs. How to share an external drive between a mac and a pc. However, if still the issue is not resolved, you can avail of professional help. How to view hidden files on a usb or external hard drive in mac. The 8 best external hard drives and ssds for mac and pc. Most external hard drives hd are sold in a format called ntfs, which is designed to work with windows.
A terminal is the native commandline tool that comes with all mac computers. How to boot windows on your mac from external hard drive. How to format external hard drives for mac and windows. Plug in the external hard drive into mac and open the finder 2. Unlike fat32, ntfs supports windows file permissions and is more stable. The mac drive may have an efi system partition on it. Seagate stgx400 portable 1tb external hard drive hdd. Apr 07, 2020 the best external hard drives for 2020. How to format external hard drive mac 2 simple methods revealed. Change the partition layout from current to 1 partition.
Windows operating systems will support fat 32, ntfs file format. So, we suggest that its better to use a pc to partition an external hard drive for macos and windows. How to format an external hard drive on windows and mac. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac. This reduced power draw helps preserve the battery life of the mac you plug the drive into. Macs can also read and write to exfat drives thanks to the agreement made with microsoft. This is a common problem, especially when connecting hard drives between mac os x, windows and linux. Connect the external hard drive to your mac and copy the important data to the mac pc. The 8 best external hard drives and ssds for mac and pc users in.
How to share an external hard drive between mac and windows. It can also happen on a single system where it was working just fine for a long time and then suddenly stops being recognized by the operating system. If you want to create multiple partitions on your external hard drive in fact, you should for better file organization, heres a stepbystep guide. 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. Apr 21, 2020 i have purchased a 1tb portable external seagate hard drive and i would like to use it with both my mac and windows computer. How to format a hard drive to work on mac and pc youtube. Format and external hard drive on mac first, lets see how to format an external hard drive or usb drive in macos which works with both mac and pc platforms, first plugin your drive in macos machine. Best external hard drives for macs in 2020 techradar. Whether you go the software or hardware route depends on your situation. This small compact ssd drive from samsung comes with both a usbc to usbc cable and a usbc to usba, meaning its perfect to use with your macbook or mac. When you format your external hard drive, it should be formatted for mac os extended.
Format external hard drive with windows builtin tool. Step 1 open finder, applications, then go to utilities and disk utility. Click go on the top tool bar, and select utilities. Both fat32 and exfat can be used on windows pc and mac.
Highlight your drive and click partition in disk utility. Now you would be able to use the external hard disk on both the computers. Mar 15, 2018 to use hfsexplorer, connect your macformatted drive to your windows pc and launch hfsexplorer. Use external storage devices with mac apple support.
Lacie rugged mini 2tb external hard drive portable hdd usb 3. Of course, if you have a backup already, ignore this step. It enables you to change the permissions on files and folders. Buying an external hard drive for your mac is not all that different from buying one for your windows pc, except for one very important complication.
Drive speed is measured in revolutions per minute rpm, based on how fast the drive can spin. 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 limit of the standard fat32 file system is unacceptable. The best external hard drives are fast, dependable and easy to use. Moving data between two systems using an external hard drive. Can a single external hard drive work on both mac and pc. I hope you enjoyed my article on how to make an external hard drive compatible with mac and pc without reformatting. How to install windows 10 on your mac using a boot camp. Alternatively, press the start button and start typing partitions. Either way there is a solution to having an existing external hard drive for mac and pc.
The best external hard drives for mac in 2020 pcmag. How to format an external hard drive on windows and mac youtube. External hard drives formatted specifically for windows usually use ntfs. If you need to use a single external hard drive to format for mac and pc, however, there are a couple of. Ntfs is the most common format for new external hard drives and can be used with windows computers. I know mac operating system doesnt fully supports ntfs formatted drive. The best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. Open the disk management tool by rightclicking this pc manage disk management. The overall best external hard drive for mac or pc. Moving data between two systems using an external hard. Fantom drives 10tb external hard drive 7200rpm usb 3. Mac or windows computer not recognizing your external hard drive or flash drive. Unlike fat32, ntfs supports windows file permissions and is more.
These steps for fixing an external hard drive not recognized on windows and mac are suitable for external hard drives of all capacities and manufacturers. If the drive is not formatted, you may get a message saying that the drive. Aug 30, 2019 plug in the external hard drive into the system and open windows explorer by clicking on the computer section in the side bar, you will see your external hard drive get attached to your system. The faster ssd drives on a mac may well use an apfs file system. Well show you everything you need to know about the. Restart your mac with the external windows drive 1 close any apps you may have open, then restart. Next time you boot from the external drive, windows will complete the installation process. Installing windows on external drive with mac partition on. At this point, the windows installer has copied all the files to the external drive, and has set up a boot environment that you can start your mac from. If youre lucky, you can just rightclick each partition on the mac drive and select delete volume to remove the partitions.
How to format an external hard drive for mac and windows. Desktop external hard drives usually run at 7200 rpm to offer all the speed they can. To put in simple words, if you want to share the external hard drive between macintosh and windows pc, you need to format an external hard drive for the respective system. Step 2 follow the steps above to format the drive, and then you can use it with time machine on your mac system. Feb 08, 2020 so, you just bought an external hard drive or a portable ssd and wanted to use it on your mac. External hard drive compatible with mac and pc without. To do so, select start, control panel, system and security, create and format hard disk partitions. An external hard drive is typically formatted for use by a single operating system type.