Method 3: Format external hard drive for Mac and PC. Want to use external hard drive under both Windows PC and Mac? In this case, you should consider the hurdle that these operating systems support different filesystems. The default file system in Windows is NTFS, while Mac OS users HFS.
- How To Format An External Hard Drive For Mac And Pc On A Mac
- How To Format An External Hard Drive For Both Mac And Pc
- How To Format An External Hard Drive For Mac And Pc
- Fat32 is another option, but it limits file transfer to 4GB, so choose exFat when formatting your drive. For Mac, format your drive under disk utility. For PC, format your drive under disk management.
- Select your hard drive, and choose 'Convert to MBR Disk'.Here's how to create a FAT32 partition from a Windows 7 PC. Open the Disk Management utility. To do so, select Start, Control Panel, System and Security, Create and format hard disk partitions. Alternatively, press the Start button and start typing partitions.
- Step 5: Click the icon for your external hard drive in the sidebar on the left. Step 6: Click the Erase tab along the top of the window. Step 7: From the Volume Format menu, choose Mac OS Extended. Step 8: Enter a name for the external hard drive in the Name field. Step 9: Click the Erase button. How to Reformat in Windows.
HomeHow ToMacOSHow to Format External Hard Drive for Mac and PC
You can format an external hard drive or USB so that it’s compatible for both your Mac and your Windows PC.
Without formatting the drive, you won’t be able to use your hard drive across different operating systems.
When you do format a hard drive, you’ll be able to access your data, media and files across any operating system. https://newcy302.weebly.com/revit-2019-download-for-mac.html.
This is extremely handy if you use a Mac and Windows operating system because you’ll be able to cross between both platforms and use your USB on anyone.
Remember that everything gets wiped off your hard drive when you format it, so you’ll need to back it up before you follow the steps down below.
Let’s get started…
![Hard Hard](/uploads/1/3/4/0/134043589/205152200.jpg)
Format Using MS-DOS FAT
The good thing about changing the format to FAT is that it works with all Macs and PCs, plus it uses less memory and it works faster.
The negatives of using Fat is that it can’t contain files bigger than 4GB.
To format your hard drive to FAT on Mac:
- Click on Spotlight and open Disk Utility
- Click on the USB drive you want to format
- Click the Erase tab at the top
- Choose the MS-DOS (FAT) in the format drop down
- Click Erase and follow the prompts
- Your external hard drive to now formatted
Remember that once you’ve formatted your hard drive, it will get wiped so you’ll need to backup the content on your external drive.
If you’re using a USB, you can simply drag its contents to a folder in your PCs hard drive and upload it back to your external hard drive once it has been formatted.
Format Using ExFAT
https://celestialsa581.weebly.com/best-calendar-app-for-macos-sierra.html. The good about formatting to exFAT is that it can handle unlimited file sizes and partition sizes.
Migrate to mac download windows. The cons of exFAT are that you can only use it with Mac OS X 10.6.5 or newer and your Windows PC needs to be either Windows Vista SP1 or Windows 7 and above.
Another problem with exFAT is that it’s extremely slow so moving files to this drive will take several minutes.
How To Format An External Hard Drive For Mac And Pc On A Mac
To Format using exFAT on Windows PC:
- Plug in your external hard drive in Windows PC
- Open File Explorer
- Right-click on your external drive and select Format
- Choose exFAT in the menu
- Click Start
- Your external drive is now formatted
After formatting your drive, it’s now compatible for both your Mac and your Windows PC.
Fat is the best option to use because you can use it on any OS, however, it can only contain 4GB which may not be enough for you.
How To Format An External Hard Drive For Both Mac And Pc
If you have a new OS system, I’d definitely recommend exFAT because it can contain unlimited data.
Bottom Line
Going into Disk Unity then clicking the erase tab is the quickest way to format an external drive on your MAC.
How To Format An External Hard Drive For Mac And Pc
If you have any questions or you’re having any problems, comment down below and I’ll help you further.
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You may wish to use an external FireWire or USB hard drive to store your Aperture Library, referenced images, or Vaults. Here are some suggestions on preparing the external hard drive for best performance with Aperture. Many external hard drives come pre-formatted as FAT 32. This is a native Windows file format that can be read by Mac OS X, but is not ideal for use with Aperture.
Before you begin to use your new external hard drive with Aperture, reformat it to the Mac OS Extended file system:
- Be sure your drive is attached and mounted.
- If you have already written any data to the drive, back it up before proceeding to the next step.
- In the Finder, choose Go > Utilities. The /Applications/Utilities folder will open.
- Launch Disk Utility.
- Click the icon for your external hard drive in the sidebar on the left.
- Click the Erase tab along the top of the window.
- From the Volume Format menu, choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled).
- Enter a name for the external hard drive in the Name field.
- Click the Erase button.