How to format a hard drive windows 10, 8, 7, vista, xp. It can be fully supported by windows systems and readonly supported by mac os. 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. Can a windows computer read a macformatted hard drive. To do this on windows 8 or windows 7, press the windows key once, type. How to format usb flash drive on mac stepbystep tutorial. When i format it with osx, win7 wants me to format it. While formatting a pen drive you will see fat32, exfat, and ntfs as the available file system. How to format an external drive to work seamlessly. How to format drive with compatible file system for mac and. The naming of the drive does not matter and as described in the original post, the format must be windowsrecognizable fat. Disk drill, a premium data recovery solution for mac os x with support for all popular file formats and common storage devices, is here to help you recover deleted files from usb flash drive.
A vast majority of video production will be done on a mac or windows operating system, so we arent going to cover linux. Install windows on the external ssdhdd for your mac. 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. How to format drive with compatible file system for mac. Quickly format an external hard drive for mac and windows pc. How to format a windows disk drive for a mac i get this question a lot i have an external hard drive that is ntfs formatted windows format, and i want to reformat it for my mac hfs. However for external hdd you wont see the fat32 windows dont suggest fat32 for bigger drives however to get other format option you can use thirdparty software. Zero everything first, then do an hdd format proscons of what. It can be done so save you money and dont buy a dvd drive for this. The best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac. If you format your external hard drive to hfs, you can use it on mac and linux by removing journaling. Sep 03, 2011 i need to reformated my wd 1tb external hard drive and was wondering what is the best file format to use ms dos fat32, mac os extended journalled etc all i store on it are all my videos, tv shows, and backups of all my work, documents etc, but i dont use it with time machine.
Begin by connecting the storage device to your mac, and then launch disk utility using spotlight. Want to format an external hard drive for mac and windows pc. Stepbystep instructions to format a hard drive in windows 7, including screenshots for each step to make the process easy to follow. Formating in win7 full format windows 7 help forums.
This mac propriety file system and is used in ios and mac. I need to reformated my wd 1tb external hard drive and was wondering what is the best file format to use ms dos fat32, mac os extended journalled etc all i store on it are all my videos, tv shows, and backups of all my work, documents etc, but i dont use it with time machine. Windows 7 has its builtin utility disk management that can be used to format hard drive. To format as a mac disk, choose either apfs or mac os extended journaled. Im in the dark about how many partitions the mac can handle but im assuming osx needs 2 and windows 8 uses 3, so, well. There are a few thirdparty products that allow mac os x to read ntfs formatted drives but as far as im aware the free ones arent as well maintained as the commercial ones. Step 1 open finder, applications, then go to utilities and disk utility. Disk wont format external drives for mac wd community. Jul 15, 2009 format a drive for mac os x and windows. 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. I understand that you are facing issues with windows 10. This video will show you how to install windows 7 via bootcamp on you macbook air with out a dvd drive. How to format external hard drives for mac and windows. Mac computers are capable of formatting any storage device internal or external such as hdd ssd, usb flash drive, and external storage.
This tool can help in formatting hard drive, usb flash drive, memory card and other storage media under windows or mac os. And apfs takes the advantages of strong encryption, space sharing, disk snapshots and is compatible with ssd on new mac. Operation failed dont understand the space issue and since the disk is unmounted ii am unable to do. Also find out the difference between file system i. While formatting, you would be asked to pick a file system for the disk. How to format external hard drive mac 2 simple methods. Mac os x has had support for reading ntfs formatted disk for a few versions, but still doesnt have write support. Step 2 follow the steps above to format the drive, and then you can use it with time machine on your mac system. Nov, 2019 a system repair disc can be created from any working windows 7 computer and can then be used to write zeros to any drive using the included format command, including the primary drive, no matter what windows operating system is on the computer.
I will be formatting a whole drive, with two partitions. Formatting a disk or volume erases all the files on it. Jul 28, 20 this will work in all modern versions of apple mac osx including 10. Hard drive format software for mac mac disk format software. Windows cannot see the mac drive since its in the hfs format, windows uses ntfs, and the only common format. How to format a usb external disk for mac osx using disk. Even if the mac is unable to mount the storage, following this method will enable you to format the storage. Format a disk for windows computers in disk utility on mac apple. I recently bought a 250gb hard drive for my apple imac, and i want to take the 160gb hard drive that is in there now, and make it formatted to a pc windows xp how do i do that. A solid state drive is primarily used on mac machine. 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.
If you want to format a hard drive or usb flash drive on your computer, disk formatting tool is the best choice. For this reason, a macformatted hard drive is not directly compatible, nor readable by a windows computer. How to format hard drives on windows, mac and linux. Easeus partition software is a popular disk partition management tool that is available for all hard disk related jobs such as format disk partition, extend system partition, settle low disk space problem, convert mbr to gpt without data loss and vice versa.
Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with windows and mac. Fat 32 is the most compatible disk format which is why its the most widely used on usb thumb drives its compatible with both mac and windows. In this article, we will introduce 5 disk formatting tools for windows and mac to help you securely format hard driveusb flash drive or memory card on a pc or a mac. Some external drives such as those that come with backup software preinstalled. When i format the drive using win7, osx wants me to initialize it. Format a disk for windows computers in disk utility on mac. Format hard drive in windows 10 with easeus management software. I tried alt at chime with the original mac gpu card and i was always able to get into the boot option menu. How to format a laptop hard drive with pictures wikihow. Connect the hdd to a mac and format the drive as fat32 and then connect the same mac hdd to windows and convert it to ntfs. Nov 21, 2015 this video explains, why external hard drive does not work with every operating system and how to solve it. However, to use it on windows you can hfs explorer read only.
If you want to recycle a ssd, formatting is the best way to remove all history data from the ssd. How to format a drive in exfat formatting in windows 73 ways. Unlike windows os, mac os doesnt provide quick format tool. To format the drive to work with both platforms you will need use a windows computer to format the disk as exfat. Start by connecting your external hdd to macs usb port. How to format a mac hdd to win ntfs using win 10 microsoft. Initially external disks may be formatted for windows and after you connect it to your mac it appears in the device list in the finder, but is a read only. How to format hard drive to exfat in windows 7810 three ways. Detailed tutorial about how to format hard disk windows 7. How to format a new sata external hard drive on a windows. Thats why were using a bootable windows 710 installation dvd or usb drive which allows us to format the hard disk. Therefore, make sure that the file system is supported by your mac or windows.
It is an wired apple keyboard and works fine preboot. Following site procedures for reformatting to mac os extended journaled and erasing the disk using mac disk utility, i received the message unmounting disk mediakit reports not enough space on device for requested operation. But in order for the computer and drive to talk to one another, the drive has to be formatted. How to format a hard drive with windows 7 by drew prindle. That said, if you are using both a pc and mac in the workflow, youll need to use a. Ps, i have an external hard drive case that the 160gb is in. As both windows and mac provide native solutions to format hard drive, you should avoid using any unreliable thirdparty tool. How to use external hdd with windowsmaclinuxandroid. Mac pro 1,1 and switching from win7 to osx macrumors forums. Jul 26, 2019 if its an external hard drive, you can format it with exfat, which doesnt have the limits and it compatible with both windows and os x. Hierarchical file system plus, also known as mac os extended, is the primary file system format used in mac computers. How to use the format command to write zeros to a hard drive. At the time of the original posting in 2011, there were some problems getting a mac formatted exfat drive working with windows, it had trouble recognizing those drives. If you move a hard drive between the two operating systems, heres what you need to know.
Not really interested in the pros and cons of normal vs quick format types. It is recommended to choose the compatible format that the system lists. Mac computers are capable of formatting any storage device internal or external such as hddssd, usb flash drive, and external storage. In this tutorial, i will show you how to reformat the hard drive in your mac and reinstall os x for that factory fresh finish. In disk utility on your mac, you can format an external disk for a windows computer. Mar 22, 2012 the best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. From all above, you can have a general idea of fat32 and exfat file system. This hard disk formatting software can help you formatwipe your entire hard drive in a single step. For mac, the mac os extension is the file system included in mac os 10. Best format for an external hard disk apple community.
Fortunately, there are some mac hard drive format software or smart disk formatting applications can help you securely and easily format, reformat, or erase hard drive under mac os. Thus, if you want to make a hard drive compatible with windows 7 and mac, you may need to format the drive to exfat or fat32. A system repair disc can be created from any working windows 7 computer and can then be used to write zeros to any drive using the included format command, including the primary drive, no matter what windows operating system is on the computer. We all make mistakes, and you wouldnt be the first person in the world to accidentally format a usb flash drive. There may be occasions, however, when you want to reformat your mac s hard drive. Using a thirdparty application, it may be possible for a windows computer to read a macformatted hard drive. How to format an external drive to work seamlessly with macs. Initially external disks may be formatted for windows and after you connect it to your mac it appears in the device list in the finder, but is a read only disk meaning that you cant write to it in its current format. All hard drives require formatting before you can use them on your computer. If its an external hard drive, you can format it with exfat, which doesnt have the limits and it compatible with both windows and os x. 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. If youre erasing your startup disk, you might be prompted to enter your apple id. If the builtin disk is set up with apfs, please do not change it to the mac os extension.
Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with. This will work in all modern versions of apple mac osx including 10. How to format a drive on a mac 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. Nov 30, 2010 this video will show you how to install windows 7 via bootcamp on you macbook air with out a dvd drive. Bonus tip data recovery from formatted hard drive on mac. That said, if you are using both a pc and mac in the workflow, youll need to use a different format. Although it is possible to format a drive as exfat from disk utility on. Dec 29, 2015 how to format a hard drive for both windows and mac. How to format an external hard drive with pictures wikihow. How to format a windows disk drive for a mac seagate blog. Here are two outstanding mac hard drive format software tools you can rely on. 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. If you need to format external hard drive mac or windows, you may also consider the exfat files system. A hard drive can be used on any type of computer pc or mac.
It appears the issue has since been fixed and disks. Jan 27, 2019 to format the drive to work with both platforms you will need use a windows computer to format the disk as exfat. Installing windows 7 with usb flash drive on macbook air. Im trying to format my wd red 3tb drives so they can be read on both my win7 and osx machines 10. Actually, most external hard disks could be compatible with mac and pc as long as you format them correctly. Why need to format external hard drive for mac and pc. To format external hard drive for mac with time machine, you must follow the steps below. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac laptop mag.
By full format, i mean a normal format, as opposed to a quick format. I checked the disk utility, and it only will let me format it to a mac format. How to convert a macformatted drive to a windows drive. Dec 29, 2018 install windows on the external ssd hdd for your mac. How to format a hard drive on windows or mac avast. This is a default file system for linux os including raspberry pi. How to format a physical hard drive, or only a single partition. Can i share the hdd data drive between windows and osx, or should i split the hdd and let each os have its own data partition.
437 1556 951 316 651 279 203 313 463 419 1593 949 71 577 753 800 821 134 929 71 648 1591 1079 64 637 314 202 1104 1252 435 527 832 1530 1227 1283 21 476 666 697 255 560 481 462 1380 323 333 1243