How to format a hard drive using the command prompt toms. The formatted files erased by disk utility also can be recovered by free mac data recovery software. How to wipe a hard drive windows xp without cd easeus. How to format hard drives on windows, mac and linux. This will happen automatically if you install a new operating system, or you can manually format by selecting. If you have an external hard drive or usb flash drive that youd like to. Oct 22, 2018 formatting a hard disk drive hdd in an external hard drive enclosure is done the same way like an internal drive. How to format usb drive or external hard drive on mac. For stepbystep instructions on how to format newer versions of windows, click here. I have purchased a 1tb portable external seagate hard drive and i would like to use it with both my mac and windows computer. If you want to format your external hard drive to work with mac and windows computers, you should use exfat. Access the disk utility by going to finder and clicking on applications. Simply connect the external drive via thunderbolt, usb, firewire or esata to your computer, turn on the power and then use the native disk utility of the operating system or a 3rd party program.
But somehow, macos doesnt allow you to write data to the drive. Step 2 follow the steps above to format the drive, and then you can use it with time machine on your mac system. Windows 10 unformat how to unformat hard drive in windows 10. External data storage devices such as usb flash drives, external hard disk drives hdds, and solid state drives ssds provide one of the easiest ways to transfer files between separate computers without accessing the internet.
Reformat hard drive with windows xp whitecanyon software. Apr 21, 2020 i have purchased a 1tb portable external seagate hard drive and i would like to use it with both my mac and windows computer. Do you think this will create a drive that is usable on winxp 32, as well as win. How to format external ssd for mac time machine mashtips. How to format seagate drive for mac and pc quickly and securely. The maximum individual file size for exfat is 16 eb. Jun 30, 2018 you will learn how to format the external hard disk which has default ntfs format, to make it compatible with mac os. This will obviously erase anything that is currently on the drive. After installing and using an external usb, firewire, or esata hard drive under windows 7 or vista, the drive is not detected correctly in windows xp. How to format the c drive on a windows xp sp2 wikihow. How to format external hard drive mac 2 simple methods revealed. Being different from deleting a partition or formatting a hard drive, to wipe a hard drive means to completely erase data from a computer, leaving no chance of recovery. Step 1 open finder, applications, then go to utilities and disk utility. To change the format, you will need to use the disk utility option.
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. Feb 08, 2020 so, you just bought an external hard drive or a portable ssd and wanted to use it on your mac. 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 or partition an external hard drive for mac. Simply connect the external drive via thunderbolt, usb, firewire or esata to your computer, turn on the power and then use the native disk. Dec 18, 2009 to format a drive that way on a mac, run disk utility. Both mac os x and windows allow users to format their hard drives using builtin utilities. External data storage devices such as usb flash drives, external hard disk. In disk utility on your mac, you can format an external disk for a windows computer. Xp installation should begin, when you get to the drive choice, be sure to choose your usb drive. Nov 14, 2017 since i use a mac, i need to reformat the hard drive in order for it to be used. Macyourself blog archive how to format a drive for mac and pc. Ive just bought a my book western digital external hard drive, so that i can clone my macbook pro before i install boot camp just incase. Apr 24, 2020 fd 2tb 64mb cache external hard drive usb 3.
While using it, you dont need any extra operations, but follow the. How do i format it apparently in need to format as mac journaled if i want to reboot but then it. How to format toshiba harddrive for mac apple community. Mac can read all the file system formats including windows msdos, fat, fat32. Once the windows partition has been deleted, you can format the unpartitioned space. Therefore, even the oldest versions of operating systems such as windows xp sp1 and. Connect the external hard drive to mac and open disk utility.
Using elements external hd with windows xp wd community. I want to have a hardware tech replace the hard drive if its bad and install windows xp. You will need to specify the size of the partition, the drive letter you want to assign. In disk utility select the blank partition you just created and click on erase. A system repair disc does not install windows 7 and you will not need a product key to use a system repair disc. Your computer should automatically boot from the cd to the windows setup main menu.
How to format internal and or external drive to work properly on mac and windows computers. From there you can choose to create the volume format as mac os extended. How to format internal andor external drive to work properly on mac and windows computers. 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. For the time machine, you have to format the ssd from the default shipped format. How to format external hard drives for mac and windows. The best format choice of external drive on mac using the external drive on mac is a good idea as it provides additional storage.
The best partition scheme for a drive that will be used for both mac and windows is to format it exfat, and its actually easier to do it in windows than on the mac side. Select external hard drive, click on erase to format the external hard drive. Easeus partition master enables you to wipe a hard drive in windows xp without cd in two ways. Format external hard disk drive for mac os and windows. Reformatting a hard drive prepares the disk surface to accept and store data.
How to share an external hard drive between mac and windows. Now that you know which format to use, check out our guide on how to format your hard drive on. External data storage devices such as usb flash drives, external hard disk drives hdds, and solid state drives ssds provide one of the easiest ways to transfer files between separate computers without accessing the. Since i use a mac, i need to reformat the hard drive in order for it to be used. Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with windows and mac. Sep 26, 2018 windows pc and mac use different filesystems. The old hard drive is western digital wd2500aajs 250gb sata 3. How to convert a macformatted drive to a windows drive.
The best ways to format an external drive for windows and. How to format a hard drive windows 10, 8, 7, vista, xp. I know mac operating system doesnt fully supports ntfs formatted drive. Hook it up to your mac and launch the disk utility app, located in your. By default, windows computers will choose ntfs new technology file system for you because thats the native microsoft filing system. The world wide geek demonstrates how to format an external hard drive for mac os x. So, you just bought an external hard drive or a portable ssd and wanted to use it on your mac.
Format exfat scheme guid partition map scenario two split the drive to two partitions, then format each partition to. Apr 30, 2020 to format an external hard drive for mac with time machine, you must follow the steps below. A system repair disc can be created from any working windows 7 computer and can then be used to write zeros to any drive using the included format command, including the primary drive, no matter what windows operating system is on the computer. 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. Rightclick on the external hard drive and click format. How to format seagate drive for mac and pc quickly and. It is a effective windows 10 unformat software to help you recover formatted hard drive in windows 10 easily and quickly. You will learn how to format the external hard disk which has default ntfs format, to make it compatible with mac os.
It is important to reformat the hard drive before selling, donating, or returning a computer to an employer. You should save the contents of the drive somewhere and. Is there a way to make the elements usb external hard drive work with windows xp. In this video, i show you how to reformat an external hard drive to be compatible for use with a mac, or for both a. This will happen automatically if you install a new operating system, or you can manually format by selecting the unpartitioned space and pressing c. To format an external hard drive for mac with time machine, you must follow the steps below. 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. Apr 30, 2020 how to wipe a hard drive windows xp without cd. How do i format an external hard drive in windows xp. If youre lucky, you can just rightclick each partition on the mac drive and select delete volume to remove the partitions.
That said, if you are using smaller file sizes fat32 can suffice. Quickly format an external hard drive for mac and windows pc. Which of the two scenarios below would be the better format. Oct 16, 2019 the best format for external hard drives. How to use the format command to write zeros to a hard drive. I talked to a geeksquad tech at best buy about purchasing the drive from best buy and having them replace the hard drive and install windows xp. Select the drive in the sidebar select the drive and not the volume indented under the drive.
Apple mac machines support a different file system. How to format external hard drive mac 2 simple methods. Most of the ssds come in default exfat format that is compatible with both windows and mac. 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. But if you want the external hard drive to also work on a mac, you should choose exfat. External hard drives mac os and windows apple community. Securely format external hard drive on windows and mac with super eraser. Put your new xp sp2 cd into your mac and boot holding down the c key. 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. You may have to preformat this drive to ntfs, mine was already formatted. 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. What format for my external drive allows use with mac and windows. How to format drive for mac and windows computer technician blog.
However, you might do two passes via this method just to be safe. The best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. Also, since most windows pc do not have firewire, you should get a usb 2. Fat an ideal file system to use for usb flash drives or external hard drives that are. Easily format external hard drive on windows or mac. Now that we know the good and bad about every file system, let see how to format a drive in windows, mac, and linux. The best unformat software is designed for individual persons to unformat hard drive in windows 10, windows 7, windows xp, windows 8, and windows vista. 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. How to use external hard disk in both windows and mac os x. To reformat a hard drive with windows xp, insert windows cd and restart your computer. Thats all because its been initialized with windows nt file system ntfs, which is primarily for pcs.
You do not want to format the drive though for mac. If you buy a new external hard drive, you may notice that working between mac and pc is an often difficult but it doesnt need to be. So, it is better that you know your options and understand which format is right for you. Formatting an external hard drive how do i format an external hard drive in windows xp. How to format an external hard drive for mac and windows. How to format internal andor external drive to work properly on mac and. It used to but recently purchased drives now specify windows 7 and up.
Once the exfat partition is created then you would do what clinton suggested. People might need to format a hard drive or an external hard drive in windows 10 for various reasons. The best format for your external hard drive the hellotech blog. You will get a screen warning you that drive c needs. I need to format an external usb drive to use in both windows and mac. Thus, when it comes to wiping a hard drive, you need to make it clear why you have this need, and what data you dont want anymore. Formatting a disk or volume erases all the files on it. Formatting a hard disk drive hdd in an external hard drive enclosure is done the same way like an internal drive. Formatting an external hard drive microsoft community. Well show you everything you need to know about the.
Scenario one format the drive in mac computer to one single partition drive. Click go on the top tool bar, and select utilities. 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. Using one external usb drive for both windows and mac. So i want to clone my mac using super duper but also be able to use the harddrive when im running windows. The mac drive may have an efi system partition on it. External hard drives are usually formatted for windows. In windows just right click on the drive and select format. To format a drive that way on a mac, run disk utility. Mar 31, 2020 if you buy a new external hard drive, you may notice that working between mac and pc is an often difficult but it doesnt need to be. But it is hard to pick the suitable format as it depends on your usage. How to format an external hard drive with pictures wikihow. Need to reformat the hard drive in windows xp and start with a clean slate.
You can follow the question or vote as helpful, but you cannot reply to this thread. Wondering what the best format for your new external hard drive is. 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. Both fat32 and exfat can be used on windows pc and mac. With exfat, you can store files of any size, and use it with any computer made in the last 20 years. Press f8 to accept the windows xp licensing agreement. Aug 17, 2016 how to install, partition, format, or reformat a wd external hard drive in windows xp that is how i understand the process, currently. How to format a hard drive with windows xp howcast. How to format an external hard drive for mac os x wonderhowto.
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