People might need to format a hard drive or an external hard drive in windows 10 for various reasons. Even though most people associate formatting with system installation, there are many other reasons why you might want to format your hard drive. For instructions on how to format your hard drive on a mac, please reference the following links. Opening disk management can be done a number of ways. Jan 17, 2019 starting clean how to format new hard drive on windows 10 formatting is an essential task before starting to use a new drive, and in this guide, well show you how to do it on windows 10. Apr 18, 2019 how to wipe a hard drive in windows 10 and macos. Oct 28, 2016 here is short video on how you can read or access the hard drive that was formatted for mac, using a windows. The maximum individual file size for exfat is 16 eb. The easiest way to do that is hit cmd and the spacebar at. Remember, this will erase all the files on the drive.
You can format a hard drive or usb flash disk specifically so that it will be compatible with both mac os x and windows pc computers. After disk management opens, which might take several seconds, look for the drive you want to format from the list at. 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. For this reason, a mac formatted hard drive is not directly compatible, nor. But if you try to use an external hard drive thats been formatted for mac os. How to format new hard drive on windows 10 windows central. How to format external hard drive mac 2 simple methods revealed.
How to use the format command to write zeros to a hard drive. Easily format external hard drive on windows or mac. How you format a mac hard drive is entirely dependent on what kind of drive you plan on formatting. However, you might do two passes via this method just to be safe. I can find it under device manager and disk management but thats it. If youre lucky, you can just rightclick each partition on the mac drive and select delete volume to remove the partitions. Now either because of time, corruption or because it may have been formatted for a mac when i plug it into my pc i cant access it. Can a windows computer read a macformatted hard drive. For instance, users want to write data to and read data from, to do a clean installation of the windows system, to get rid of a virus or malware, to erase the data before giving the drive to someone else or throwing it away, or some other reasons. The operating system has an inbuilt tool, which is known as disk utility.
Format a disk for windows computers in disk utility on mac. Read this stepwise tutorial and learn how to format hdd for mac and windows like a pro. On mac computers, use the finder app to browse and manage files on your computer and external hard drives. Apr 17, 2020 to format external hard drive for mac with time machine, you must follow the steps below. Formatieren einer festplatte fur windowscomputer mit dem. In the main interface, right click the partition on that need. Here is short video on how you can read or access the hard drive that was formatted for mac, using a windows. Use disk utility to erase format a hard disk, ssd, flash drive, or other storage device. How to format new or second hard drive on windows 10mac. 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. How to format external hard drives on a mac sweetwater. Mar 15, 2018 rather than use a macformatted drive, you should get the important files off of it and use exfatformatted drives for moving data between macs and pcs. How to format a disk or drive in windows 10 format is the process of preparing a data storage device such as a hard disk drive, solidstate drive, or usb flash drive for initial use to accept windows files.
It is a quick way to format external hard drive on mac. How to format hard drive for mac and pc on windows. The best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac cnet. File systems compatible with windows include fat32 and ntfs. Step 1 open finder, applications, then go to utilities and disk utility step 2 follow the steps above to format the drive, and then you can use it with time machine on your mac system. May 29, 2018 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. Step 1 open finder, applications, then go to utilities and disk utility step 2 follow the steps above to format the drive, and then you can use it with time machine on your mac system part 3. To access the disk management tool, click the windows icon and type disk management. Some people are asking for a way to format a hard drive for mac. How to convert mac only external hdd to windows compatible. For this reason, a macformatted hard drive is not directly compatible, nor readable by a windows computer. How to format a hard drive on windows or mac avast.
External hard drives use either spinning disks or solid memory to save your files. How to format a hard drive windows 10, 8, 7, vista, xp. Sep 26, 2018 windows pc and mac use different filesystems. How to format an external hard drive for mac and windows. There are a number of tools that can help you in this regard. Using it, you can erase a hard drive, create new partitions, and even repair your disk as well. In this video i help you guys convert your mac only external hdd into a windows compatible one. Rather than use a macformatted drive, you should get the important files off of it and use exfatformatted drives for moving data between macs and pcs. How to wipe a hard drive in windows 10 and macos techradar. Some hard drives may also include drivers, firmware, or format wizards so be sure to check the user manual before formatting the hard drive. Open disk management, the hard drive manager included with all versions of windows. How to format drive with compatible file system for mac. Choosing the right format for your external hard drive. Moving files from macformatted external hard drive to pc.
This file system is specifically for mac systems and windows cant read this file system. To format the primary drive the hard disk where the operating system resides you need to boot into the setup program on windows 7 or windows 10 and use it to format your drive. If your mac or pc has a windows os installed, then you wont face any trouble managing it. How to reformat my external hard drive for windows 10. How to reinstall macos from macos recovery apple support. Choose the exfat file system in the list and click start. For a windows computer to be able to read a hard drive, it needs to have a file system format that is compatible with windows. Aug 22, 2019 how to format hard drive on mac and pc. Whether you are trying to backup mac to an external hard drive, wipe out any personal information and sell the computer, or even use a new operating system, you need to format the hard drive on your mac or pc. 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.
The best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. Erase the mac partitions, including the efi system partition. The two solutions above can help you format external hard drive on windows or mac. Bonus tip data recovery from formatted hard drive on mac.
Please keep in mind that reformatting will result in the loss of all the data on the hard drive so make sure you back up your data elsewhere before starting. If a wireless network is available, you can choose it from the wi. First and foremost, you need to decide which file system to use. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac laptop mag. File systems compatible with windows include fat32 and ntfs why not. The system tells you what key to press during the restart, so pay attention to your screen and be quick at pressing the right key.
Starting clean how to format new hard drive on windows 10 formatting is an essential task before starting to use a new drive, and in this guide, well show you how to do it on windows 10. Nov, 2019 a single pass of zeros to a hard drive should prevent all software based file recovery programs from extracting information from the drive, which the format command in windows 7 and vista does by default. Paragon disk wipe allows you to create a bootable usbflash drive or external hard drive that will help you to completely erase a whole hard disk, a separate partition or just clean free space. Mac os journaled is the formatting option for mac and ntfs or msdoc is the formatting option for pc. Plug your hd into the mac and open disk utility, which can be accessed by searching for it in spotlight. Neither mac os nor windows recognize each others volume formats. How to format an external hard drive on windows 10. Give the drive a descriptive name and leave the default settings. You can select to use a fat, fat32, exfat, ntfs, or refs file system when formatting. Therefore, it is necessary to present a tutorial guide here to format or partition a hard drive within mac os.
Click go on the top tool bar, and select utilities. How to format a hard drive using the command prompt toms. When you plug a drive thats been formatted for mac into a windows pc, you may find that it isnt readable. How to format your hard drive seagate support canada. How to convert an external hard drive from apple to pc. Ive ordered a usb to sata cable to format the drive from another mac, but can i format the drive, as os x extended journaled, in windows. The best ways to format an external drive for windows and.
Format hard drive on windows 7 or earlier versions step 1 restart your computer and press f8 or del key to enter the bios settings. 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. How to format a new or second hard drive on mac mac is obviously a very much different operating system from windows, let alone their features and steps to format a hard drive. You cant format the hard disk on which windows is stored while windows is running, for the same reasons that you cant work on a cars engine while you. How to convert a macformatted drive to a windows drive. Just transfer all useful files out from the external hard drive to other devices on mac. That said, if you are using smaller file sizes fat32 can suffice.
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. Choosing the right format for your external hard drive b. How to convert a macformatted drive to a windows drive back up the drive s data first. While you have bought this drive, you will find the drive already formatted for your mac or windows system. In disk utility on your mac, you can format an external disk for a windows computer. Just like windows, macos also gives us a seamless option to format hard drive for mac and pc.
How to format external hard drives for mac and windows. Buying an external hard drive is one of the best options for adding the storage space to the mac computer system. However, it is not possible to format hard drive to exfat, the only option under the window of format file system is ntfs default. Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with windows and mac. Be absolutely sure you have your files off the drive and that youve selected the correct drive you want to format. For instance, is the hard drive internal or external. A complete solution do you wish to format hard drive for mac and pc, but cant find a solution. From all above, you can have a general idea of fat32 and exfat file system. The mac drive may have an efi system partition on it. How to format external hard drive mac 2 simple methods.
Quickly format an external hard drive for mac and windows pc. How to format drive with compatible file system for mac and. To format external hard drive for mac with time machine, you must follow the steps below. Mac os x uses the hfs plus file system, while windows uses the ntfs file.
But unfortunately it bit the dust and i decided to get a pc. Securely format external hard drive on windows and mac with super eraser. Mar 22, 2012 the best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. Apple file system format or the older mac os extended format, and it automatically chooses a compatible format for you. Whether youre selling your computer, trying a new operating system, or setting up an external drive for backups, sometimes you need to completely erase and format a hard drive. One simple way to make the drive readable on both platforms is to format it to exfat, which both operating systems can understand. Dec 22, 2019 how to format external hard drive mac. Of course, if you have a backup already, ignore this step. Read mac formatted drives with windows the tech guy. Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with. This will erase all contents on the disk, however, so youll need to. Please see below on how to reformat your external hard drive on mac and windows. A single pass of zeros to a hard drive should prevent all software based file recovery programs from extracting information from the drive, which the format command in windows 7 and vista does by default.
Learn how to use macos recovery to reinstall the mac operating system on your builtin drive or an external drive. Also, you can manage the internal partitions, merge them, create new. To format the drive in windows, rightclick it in the file explorer window and select format. Jan 15, 2020 learn how to use macos recovery to reinstall the mac operating system on your builtin drive or an external drive. But before you can do anything, you need to make it clear that the hard. Every major version of the operating system provides a dedicated solution to format hard drive as well as external storage units. Both mac os x and windows allow users to format their hard drives using builtin utilities. Both fat32 and exfat can be used on windows pc and mac. Sometimes, you may want to try format directly to format your external hard drive partition to exfat for mac and windows.