Hard Drive Format Best For Mac

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Hard Drive Format Best For Mac

idaclisrarare 2021. 4. 22. 23:36

Whether you're 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. Here are the basic steps involved.

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If you have an external hard drive or USB flash drive that you’d like to use on both Macs and Windows PCs, choosing the right file system to format the drive can be confusing. Learn a few ways to make your drive Mac and PC friendly. Mar 22, 2012 The best ways to format an external drive for Windows and Mac. Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with. Mac hard drive free download - Mac Free External Hard Drive Recovery, Mac Free Hard Drive Data Recovery, Free Mac External Hard Drive Data Recovery, and many more programs. Best Video Software. 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. Connect the drive to your. The best ways to format an external drive for Windows and Mac. Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with Windows and Mac. And, no: the answer isn't always FAT32.

Use Disk Utility to Format an External Drive. After you connect an external drive to your Mac, open the Applications folder from the Finder window. The Disk Utility application is located in the Utilities sub-folder. Launch Disk Utility and then click to select the external hard drive listed on the left.

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File Systems Explained

When you first set up a hard drive for use with a computer, you have to format it using a file system. Different operating systems (like Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux) use different file systems to organize and store data, so you need to use the file system most applicable for your needs. Here are a few of the more popular file systems you'll see:

NTFS: This is Windows' default file system. Windows can read and write to NTFS-formatted drives. OS X and Linux can only read NTFS-formatted drives, but not write to them—unless you have a third-party driver like NTFS-3G installed.
FAT32: FAT32 is an older file system. You can't install newer versions of Windows on a FAT32 system, but it can be handy for external drives since it can be read and written to by Windows, OS X, and Linux. However, it has one major downside: You can only store files 4GB or smaller on a FAT32 drive, which means it isn't ideal for large files like movies.
ExFAT: ExFAT is less commonly used, but is similar to FAT32 without the downsides. Both Windows and OS X can read and write ExFAT-formatted drives, and it can store files over 4GB. This makes it ideal for flash drives.
HFS Plus: Also known as Mac OS Extended, this is OS X's default file system. OS X can read and write to it. If you're running Windows on your Mac with Boot Camp, you can read HFS Plus drives, but not write to them. A third party tool like Paragon HFS+ will allow any Windows system to read and write to HFS Plus drives.

These are just a few examples of popular file systems, and the only ones you'll really encounter as a Windows or Mac user. Which one you use depends on the drive and what you're using it for. For example, if you have an external drive you only use with Windows computers, you'll want to format it as NTFS. If you have a drive you're using with Windows PCs and Macs, ExFAT is probably the best option.

Note that when you format a hard drive, it erases all the content on your drive, so make sure you choose the right file system before you copy your data. In some cases, it's possible to convert your drive without losing files—like converting a hard drive from FAT32 to NTFS—but under most circumstances, the only way to change your file system is to erase the drive and format it from scratch.

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How to Format an External Drive or Flash Drive

So you've just bought a new external drive or flash drive, and you need to start using it. Note that we recommend formatting every drive you buy, even if it works when you plug it in—many external and flash drives come with extra software that, in our opinion, isn't very good, and formatting it removes that annoyance (not to mention gives you a bit of extra space on the drive).

In Windows

To format an external drive in Windows:

Plug your drive into the computer and, if necessary, into a wall outlet.
Open Windows Explorer, click the 'Computer' section in the sidebar, and find your drive.
Right-click on the drive and choose 'Format.'
Under 'File System,' choose the file system you want to use. See the above section for more details on which one to pick.
Give your drive a name under 'Volume Label,' and check the 'Quick Format' box.
Click 'Start' to format the drive. You'll get a notification when it's done (it should only take a few seconds).

When you're done, open up the drive in Windows Explorer and you can begin dragging files to it, or backing up your computer.

Remember that when you format a drive, it won't show the exact same amount of free space as it does on the box. This is because computers measure space differently than they are marketed, so you'll never get that exact same number, at least on Windows.

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In OS X

To format an external drive on a Mac:

Open Finder and go to /Applications/Utilities and double-click on Disk Utility.
Select your drive in the left-hand sidebar and go to the Erase tab.
Under the 'Format' menu, choose the file system you want to use. See the above section for more details on which one to pick.
Give your drive a name and click the Erase button. It should only take a few seconds to format your drive.

When you're done, click on the drive in Finder. You can start dragging files to it, or set it up as a backup drive with Time Machine.

How to Format Your Computer's Main Hard Drive

If you want to erase your computer's main hard drive, things get a little more complicated. You obviously can't erase the drive while you're using it, so you'll need to format from a bootable CD or USB drive. What tools you use depend on what you're trying to do.

Mac And Windows Compatible Format

If you're going to sell your computer or the hard drive, you'll want to securely wipe it using these instructions beforehand. After you've done so, you can reinstall your operating system (if necessary) as described below.

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If you just want to reinstall your operating system (or install a new one), the installer can do the formatting for you. Just insert your Windows, OS X, or Linux installation disc (or drive), boot from it, and enter the installation.

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If you're installing OS X or Linux, you usually just need to choose the option to install from scratch, which will erase your drive. In the Windows installer, wait until you get to the screen with a list of your drives. Click 'Drive Options,' then click the 'Format' button to format the drive as NTFS before you click Next and install Windows. Make sure you've backed everything up before you reinstall!

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That's all there is to it. The process is much simpler than this long guide would have you believe, and once you've gotten the hang of it once or twice it'll be like riding a bike. All it takes is a few clicks to get a fresh, clean drive formatted for your needs.

Emailable Tech Support is a series of easy-to-share guides for the less tech savvy people in your life. Got a beginner tech support question you constantly answer? Let us know at tips@lifehacker.com. Remember, when you're just starting out computing, there's very little that's too basic to learn.

Hard Drive Format for Mac and PC

Both Mac OS X and Windows allow users to format their hard drives using built-in utilities. Even though most people associate formatting with system installation, there are many other reasons why you might want to format your hard drive.

When you purchase a brand-new hard drive, there’s no guarantee that it will be pre-formatted from the factory, nor is there any guarantee that it will come with the right file system. Optimization is another good reason for hard drive formatting. Data fragmentation remains an issue even in the era of mobile devices, and in some cases formatting is the fastest way how to solve it. Of course, you may also just want to quickly delete the content of an entire hard drive.

Regardless of why you want to format your hard drive, there are some considerations to be made before you begin. First and foremost, you need to decide which file system to use. Mac OS X uses the HFS Plus file system, while Windows uses the NTFS file system. Both Mac OS X and Windows also support the FAT32 file system, but we don’t recommend it for hard drives. Because FAT32 supports only up to 4 GB large files, it should be used only with flash drives. If you need to format external hard drive Mac or Windows, you may also consider the exFAT files system. 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.

How to Format a Hard Drive for Mac

Mac OS X users have at their disposal a handy tool called Disk Utility. With it, it’s possible to easily format and storage device with just a few clicks. You can launch it from the App list or use Spotlight. The main window of the utility contains a list of storage devices, storage device details, and formatting options.

Best Hard Drive Format For Mac And Pc And Linux

Select your storage device, choose your desire file system, specify the name, and click on the Erase button. Click on the Erase button again to confirm your decision and wait for the process to end.

Format Usb For Mac And Pc

How to Format a Hard Drive for Windows

To format a hard drive for Windows, open the File Explorer and click on This PC. If the hard drive you want to format is connected to your PC, it should be there. Right-click on it and select the Format option from the context menu. Keep in mind that you can only format storage devices that are currently not in use. Windows will present you with a formatting window where you can specify various formatting parameters. After you confirm your selection, it should take just a few moments for the formatting process to finish.

Best Format For Hard Drive Mac

Recover Data from a Formatted Hard Drive

External Hard Drive Best Format For Mac

Realizing that you’ve forgot to back up a critically important file from a newly formatted hard drive feels horrible. Without a capable data recovery tool, there’s nothing you can do about it. That’s why countless people from around the world have turned to Disk Drill, selecting it as their data recovery tool of choice.

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