#How to format hard drive mac and pc how to
#How to format hard drive mac and pc for mac
#How to format hard drive mac and pc mac os
#How to format hard drive mac and pc Pc
#How to format hard drive mac and pc plus

ItвЂ™s not capable to store files larger than 4GB. It can only support 4GB file size and up to 8TB hard drivers. It doesnвЂ™t support big features but offers great compatibility which means itвЂ™s compatible with all versions of Windows. This format is pretty old but supported and itвЂ™s not efficient as compared to NTFS. FAT32, NTFS, and exFAT letвЂ™s have a look whatвЂ™s the difference between these formats. There are three common file system types to format an external USB or hard drive, SSD drive, SD card and etc.

#How to format hard drive mac and pc for mac

Understand file systems for Mac and Windows Sounds good to you right? So letвЂ™s started, how this works. After cross-compatible formatting, simply unplug the drive from one machine and then plug it into another. So to get rid of these situations we bring here a guide that will help you to format your drive which works on both platforms and you donвЂ™t need to format and backup data every time.

#How to format hard drive mac and pc Pc

You donвЂ™t need to format the hard drive every time you can choose a filesystem while formatting the drive so the hard drive or USB drive work on both Mac and PC Windows and macOS filesystems are different and you might need to format the drive every time to use on both platforms. If you are tech savvy and use Windows and Mac computers frequently, then you might need to transfer data between Mac and PC. This thing is still unknown for many users but doesnвЂ™t worry itвЂ™s not complex.

#How to format hard drive mac and pc mac os

However, if your external hard drive is for use with Macs only, Mac OS Extended (Journaled) would be the best option since itвЂ™s compatible with all Macs.You can format the external hard drive or USB drive to make it compatible with both Mac and Windows machines. Using exFAT, you can store files of any size and use them with computers made in the last 20 years. If you want to use your external hard drive with Mac and Windows computers, the best format to use is the exFAT. You can also drag the white dots at the edge of the circles to change the size of each partition.ДЄdditional FAQs What Is the Best Format for a Mac External Hard Drive? Select a name, format, and size for each partition.

#How to format hard drive mac and pc plus

To create a partition, at the bottom of the pie chart, click the plus (+) sign.

Select your external hard drive, then choose вЂњPartitionвЂќ from the top menu.

With your external hard drive plugged into your Mac, access вЂњDisk Utility.вЂќ.

This is ideal if you use a Mac and PC and want to transfer files between both operating systems via your external hard drive. Once your drive has been formatted (see the steps above), you can partition it into two formats. It will also help protect your drive if itвЂ™s infected with malware since it would be contained in one partition section. A partition offers dedicated space for a bootable backup of your OS or your Time Machine backup files.

#How to format hard drive mac and pc how to

How to Partition an External Hard Drive on a MacД«y partitioning your external hard drive, you can have separate drives for Mac, PC, and other operating systems.

Now select the вЂњEraseвЂќ button and wait a few minutes as your hard drive formats.

At the вЂњSchemeвЂќ option, choose вЂњGUID Partition Map.вЂќ.

To use the drive with both Mac and Windows, select вЂњExFAT.вЂќ.

For compatibility between newer and older Macs, choose вЂњMac OS Extended (Journaled).вЂќ.

For a Solid-State Drive, choose вЂњAPFS (Apple File System).вЂќ This option might not be available if you havenвЂ™t formatted the drive before, so choose another one, then reformat it into APFS if needed.

Add a name for your hard drive, then set its format:.

At the top of the pop-up window, select вЂњErase.вЂќ Then proceed to fill in your external hard drive details.

To be sure youвЂ™ve set the top level, click the right-pointing arrow on the left of the drive icon. Be sure not to select your external driveвЂ™s lower level, as this will cause formatting problems.

Click on the first level of your external drive.

In the pop-up on the left, your external hard drive should appear in the list under your MacвЂ™s internal drive, under the вЂњExternalвЂќ heading.

Choose вЂњUtilitiesвЂќ then вЂњDisk Utility.вЂќ.

From the вЂњFinderвЂќ window, select the вЂњApplicationsвЂќ folder from the left pane.

Select the вЂњGeneralвЂќ tab, then check that the вЂњExternal DriveвЂќ checkbox is checked.

If it doesnвЂ™t, try opening вЂњFinder.вЂќ Then choose вЂњPreferences.вЂќ

Once connected, a drive icon should appear on your desktop.

Plug your external hard drive into your Mac.

If youвЂ™re using a MacBook to format the drive, ensure itвЂ™s either fully charged or connected to a power supply to ensure it doesnвЂ™t turn off in the middle of the process.