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.
To format the drive to work with both platforms you will need use a Windows computer to format the disk as exFAT. Update: 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.
- For more information about formatting exFAT to FAT32 in Windows 10, please refer to format exFAT to FAT32 CMD. AOMEI Partition Assistant is small tool with no bundle software. With its user-friendly interface, any user is capable of formatting.
- For example, PartitionGuru can format hard drive to exFAT as well. Step 1: Install and run this partition manager and you can see the hard drive in the software. Step 2: Select the hard drive you want to format and click the Format button on the tool bar.
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.
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.
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.
Recover Data from a Formatted Hard Drive
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.
Macs support a variety of file systems. By default, they format disks with the Mac-only OS X Extended file system. But, if you plan on using an external drive with both Macs and PCs, you should format the disk with the exFAT file system instead.
How to Check a Drive’s File System
RELATED:What File System Should I Use for My USB Drive?
So how do you know if your USB drive is using the right format? You don’t need to do anything special with Disk Utility–just plug in your USB drive and open the Finder. Right-click or Control-click the drive’s icon in the Finder’s sidebar (or on your desktop) and select “Get Info.”
You’ll see the drive’s file system displayed to the right of “Format” under the General heading. In the screenshot below, the drive is formatted with the exFAT file system.
How to Format a Drive on a Mac
If you want to use a different file system on your USB drive, you’ll need to “format” it. Again, formatting a drive will erase it completely, so make sure you have everything backed up that you want to keep.
To format a drive on a Mac, you’ll need the built-in Disk Utility application. Press Command+Space to open the Spotlight search dialog, type “Disk Utility”, and press “Enter” to launch the app.
Exfat Format Tool Mac
You can also open a Finder window, select “Applications” in the sidebar, and head to Utilities > Disk Utility.
Verify that the issue is not with the participant’s ISP by asking them to test a Web page they access frequently. Webex productivity tool for mac.
Your connected drives will appear under “External” in the Disk Utility’s sidebar. Select the drive by clicking its name.
Click the “Erase” button after selecting the entire drive to erase the entire drive and create a single partition on it.
You’ll be asked to provide a name for the disk, which will appear and identify the disk when you connect it to a Mac, PC, or another device.
You’ll need to choose between several file systems:
Mind mapping tool for mac. A 100% free mind map tool that is easy-to-use yet powerful. The predefined mind map symbols, prepared templates and advanced formatting tools enable users to create mind map faster than ever. Introduction to Mind Map. Works on Mac OS X 10.2 or later. Smart Mind Map Symbols and More. This is one of the most mac-like applications available, and feels at home on the platform. It has a very simple interface, and allows you to export to a variety of different file formats such as PNG, TIFF, PDF, RTF or HTML. Mindjet (Windows/Mac/iOS). Mindjet is more than just mind mapping software—it's a total suite of applications and tools designed to help you and the people you work with brainstorm, stay on top. XMind is an excellent mind mapping software that lets you quickly see the project you’re planning and organize your thoughts. It’s perfect for brainstorming with tools to keep all your ideas structured so nothing ever gets left out in the creative process. A good mind mapping app should allow you to start building your mind map on your Mac and pick up on your iOS device (or vice versa). Data Portability: Mind mapping is usually where ideas start, but seldom where they end.
RELATED:What’s the Difference Between FAT32, exFAT, and NTFS?
- OS X Extended (Journaled): This is the default, but it’s only natively supported on Macs. It’s also known as HFS+. This file system is necessary if you plan on using the drive for Time Machine backups–otherwise, you’ll want to use exFAT for maximum compatibility.
- OS X Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled): On a case-sensitive file system, “file” is different from “File”. By default, Mac OS X doesn’t use a case-sensitive file system. This option exists because it matches the traditional behavior of UNIX and some people might need it–don’t select this unless you know you need it for some reason.
- OS X Extended (Journaled, Encrypted): This is the same as the standard OS X Extended file system, but with encryption. You’ll have to enter a password, and you’ll need to provide that password whenever you connect your drive to your Mac.
- OS X Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled, Encrypted): This is the same as the standard OS X Extended (Case-senstiive) file system, but with encryption.
- MS-DOS (FAT): This is the most widely compatible file system, but it has some limitations–for example, files can only be 4GB or less in size each. Avoid this file system unless you have a device that requires FAT32.
- ExFAT: ExFAT is almost as widely compatible as older FAT file systems, but doesn’t have the limitations. You should use this file system if you may share the drive with Windows PCs and other devices like the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles. ExFAT is the ideal cross-platform file system. It’s not natively supported on many Linux distributions, but you can install exFAT support on Linux.
For external drives, it almost always makes sense to format in ExFAT, unless you’re using the drive for Time Machine.
It also create a system restore point before making changes that you can revert the changes made by Junkware Removal Tool if any case something wrong happened. Adware removal tool for mac free. Apart from removing malware it also remove junks from the computer and deletes unnecessary files or folders from the system.
RELATED:What’s the Difference Between GPT and MBR When Partitioning a Drive?
You’ll also be asked to choose between a partition scheme: GUID Partition Map, Master Boot Record, or Apple Partition Map. GPT is more modern, while MBR is older. Both also work with Windows PCs. APM is an older, Mac-only partition scheme.
This choice doesn’t really matter if you don’t plan on booting from the drive. If in doubt, just select the default GUID Partition Map (GPT) scheme. Avoid the Mac-only Apple Partition Map (APM) scheme.
Click the “Erase” button when you’re done and Disk Utility will format your disk with the settings you specified. This will erase all the files on the drive!
Format Tool For Mac
You’re now done–be sure to eject the disk before you remove it from your Mac. You can do this by clicking the eject icon to the right of the disk in the Finder or Disk Utility windows.
How To Format A Usb To Exfat
You can also right-click or Option-click the drive in Finder or on your desktop and select the “Eject” option.
Macs do have some limited support for other file systems–for example, Macs can read files on Windows-formatted NTFS volumes, but can’t normally write to NTFS drives. Macs don’t have an integrated way to format partitions with NTFS, either. Use exFAT for excellent compatibility with Windows without FAT32’s limitations.
READ NEXTHow To Format Exfat
- › What Can I Do with My Old iPhone?
- › How to Stream UFC 242 Khabib vs. Poirier Live Online
- › Free Download: Microsoft’s PowerToys for Windows 10
- › How to Overclock Your Computer’s RAM
- › What’s New in Chrome 77, Arriving September 10