The 8 best external hard drives and ssds for mac and pc users in. Using an external hard drive on mac without formatting. Well show you everything you need to know about the. Wd 1tb silver my passport for mac portable external hard. Desktop external hard drives usually run at 7200 rpm to offer all the speed they can. I have one plugged in per usb and it shows the drive but when i open it it seems empty for a couple minutes until it finally loads its content.
This would have changed your raw drive into ntfs file system and the data you have stored in it can be used again. I usually use a firewire that connects into the hard drive in two places. Shop our selection of mac external hard drives at staples. An external drives file system is the most important factor that determines whether or not its readable by macs, pcs, or both. How to write to an external hard drive on mac os x. Choose the best external hard drive for your mac or. Video editors will often find they need to share files between a pc and a mac. For 1st time user of a brand new external hard drive, you will be required to initialize the disk for use, if your mac shows it as initialized external hard drive when connecting, it means your new external hard drive is not activated and not ready for use, your mac needs to use its own language to assign a starting value to the variable of this external hard drive. Someday when we are going to resell, donate or throw away our external hard drive, usb drive, memory card, we should not only format the external hard driveusb but also destroy and wipe all personal data on our device. Usbc to usbc and usbc to usba, so youll probably be covered in this department from the getgo. I feel old saying this, but having used computers since before external hard drives existed, i can say with certainty that buying a hard drive is easier today than its ever been before. Best external hard drives for macs in 2020 segmentnext.
Now your external drive has been formatted to be fully compatible with apple macos, and you can edit, read, and write files to it as you want. Best external hard drives for macs in 2020 techradar. How an external hard drive can help make your mac fast again. How to format toshiba harddrive for mac apple community. This reduced power draw helps preserve the battery life of the mac you plug the drive into. How to share an external hard drive between mac and windows.
How to format external hard drive mac 2 simple methods. Then, you can share external hard drive between mac and pc. If you want to create multiple partitions on your external hard drive in fact, you should for better file organization, heres a stepbystep guide. First, lets see how to format an external hard drive or usb drive in macos which works with both mac and pc platforms, first plugin your drive in macos machine. Partitioning an external hard drive for m apple community. How to fix raw external hard drive without formatting. How to partition an external hard drive on mac and windows. Western digital my passport 4tb external hard drive. If you want to transfer files from a mac to windows pc and vice versa using an external portable hard drive then you have to have the external.
Apr 14, 2020 by this way, you can easily format an external hard drive for mac and pc without losing any data. It seems they formatted the drive to the mac format, but i have no way to access the data, at least i think. The wd my passport external hard drive for mac comes in a wide variety of capacities, ranging from 1tb to 4tb. This section of the tutorial deals with each and every one of them in great detail. May 30, 2014 exfat is both mac and windows friendly so that you can use the external in either if you ever needed to plug it directly into a windows machine. External hard drives are handy tools in storing files, data and documents. While drives are sold as plugandplay, formatting prior to use will give you optimal performance and compatibility with your mac. Follow these instructions if you plan to share an external hard drive between pc and mac computers. Can verify and repair internal drive very slow but cannot boot from it.
When trying to save large files in final cut pro, the hard drive would save numerous. Dont know how to format portable hard drive for mac and pc. Having the best external hard drive or ssd for your mac or pc is. Hi, i am trying to access my wd hard drive which i have been using on my mac from my pc. The best external hard drives for mac in 2020 pcmag. Seagate backup plus 4tb desktop external hard drive for mac. The previous defunct hd was also fat32, which i did not realize upon receiving and using. Best mac external hard drive in 2020 mac external hard. With the release of the macos high sierra operating system. It allows users to free up space on their phones and laptops and carry all their data safely in one place. Feb 08, 2020 now your external drive has been formatted to be fully compatible with apple macos, and you can edit, read, and write files to it as you want. Looking to add storage, or for a smart way to back up your mac. Most or we can say almost every external hard disk comes in ntfs windows nt file system format but ntfs format is not supported by mac os. Drive speed is measured in revolutions per minute rpm, based on how fast the drive can spin.
How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac. How to format external hard drives for mac and windows. Compare portable, usb and external hard drive models for office and home and shop online. Quickly format an external hard drive for mac and windows pc. Discover the world of external hard drives for mac. Find out which hard drive can help increase your storage or safely back up your mac. This page details what is available for each operating system. Step 2 follow the steps above to format the drive, and then you can use it with time machine on your mac system. The external hard drive supports aes 256bit hardware encryption, and it can also be protected by an optional password. While it comes formatted for windows, it can easily be reformatted for mac users or for those who use both systems. Once thats done if i navigate to the next folder it takes minutes again until that. External hard drives are not only useful for storing data but are an excellent way to transport files from one location to another.
To use my old external hard drive without formatting it, on my new mac. When you take into account price, ease of use, and portability, the seagate backup plus slim is the most reliable hard drive you can carry around with you at all times. Apr 04, 2018 the external hard drive supports aes 256bit hardware encryption, and it can also be protected by an optional password. Dec 10, 20 how to set up an external hard drive for use with mac os x by shujaa imran posted on dec 10, 20 dec 9, 20 in mac when you first attach a hard drive to your mac, it should automatically mount and be ready to use. Buy wd 1tb silver my passport for mac portable external hard drive usb 3. While drives are sold as plugandplay, formatting prior to use will give you optimal performance and.
Anyone else having issues with external hard drives on yosemite. I read the internal hard drive disk not recognized thread and believe a lot of it does not apply to me because i used the sata cable from ifixit successfully for several months. It also allows the users to remain extra cautious so that the issue is never faced in any case. When you take into account price, ease of use, and portability, the seagate backup plus slim is the most reliable hard. How to get external hard drive to work with mac os x. I want to use one for pc storage, one for mac storage and the last for mac backup. 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. Accessing mac formatted wd hard drive from pc external. In this video tutorial, i show you how to easily format an external hard drive to work on both a mac and a pc. How to format external hard drive on mac wondershare. Here are the best mac hard drives and external storage options in 2020. In the age of digital photography, external hard drives have become an. How to format external hard drive to use on mac and pc. How to format an external hard drive for use with mac and pc.
You get 200gb of free onedrive cloud storage for up to 2 years, and this is included with your purchase when you register a new backup plus drive. Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with windows and mac. If you purchase an external hard drive as an addition to expand the storage space of your computer, most likely you would need to format it. If you work solely on a mac, but need to send files to someone working on a pc, your external hard drive needs to be set up for both operating systems. Connect the external hard drive to your mac and copy the important data to the mac pc. Mac external hard drives offer large storage capacity in a small device that is portable and extra protective of data. 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. There are various reasons why you might need to format external hard drives. Bonus tip data recovery from formatted hard drive on mac. Buying an external hard drive for your mac is not all that different from buying one for.
The portable hard drive sold by seagate does not require additional drivers for most environments see the notes below for your specific operating system. Step 1 open finder, applications, then go to utilities and disk utility. How to format external hard drives on a mac sweetwater. Someday when we are going to resell, donate or throw away our external hard drive, usb drive, memory card, we should not only format the external hard drive usb but also destroy and wipe all personal data on our device. Nov 25, 2015 so, you brought an external hard drive, but surprisingly its not working on your mac. Ssds are highspeed, and that makes them the goto memory option for ardent gamers, graphic designers, and other professionals who value speed over all else.
External hard drives free delivery possible on eligible purchases. So, you brought an external hard drive, but surprisingly its not working on your mac. I had information from a broken mac backed up at best buy, but because my mac broke, now i only have a windows computer. When you get a new hard drive, it may already be formatted for windows or mac. Mar 22, 2012 the best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. Buy seagate backup plus 4tb desktop external hard drive for mac with mobile device backup usb 3. In windows just right click on the drive and select format. Mar 07, 2020 external hard drives are not only useful for storing data but are an excellent way to transport files from one location to another. This external hard drive from seagate is the perfect solution for backing up your mac. Aug 27, 20 using external drives to save space on your mac. How to use mac formatted external hard drive on windows. How to format or partition an external hard drive for mac.
Now connect the external hard drive to windows 8 computer and format it in fat32 file system. Top 10 best external hard drives for photographers 2019. Now you would be able to use the external hard disk on both the computers. Format your portable hard drive to fat32 and exfat can achieve the purpose of use it in both windows computer and mac computer. Use these steps to format external hard drives for both operating. How to set up an external hard drive for use with mac os x by shujaa imran posted on dec 10, 20 dec 9, 20 in mac when you first attach a hard drive to your mac, it should automatically mount and be ready to use. The best external hard drives you can buy business insider. Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with. Well, here is a simple fix format an external hard drive for mac. How to set up an external hard drive for use with mac os x. Partitioning an external hard drive for mac and pc i want to partition an external hard drive 3tb into 3 even partitions.
Its good to have an external hard drive which can be used for backup and other purpose. Mac hard drives are available in three primary forms. The portable hard drive sold by seagate does not require additional drivers for most environments see the notes below for. Here provides you two methods to formatting external hard drive for mac and pc. However, if you want to convert ntfs to exfat to make external hard drive compatible with mac and pc, 3 steps are required. What features should you look for when buying external hard drives for mac devices. Trying to access from pc via usb cable with only one access point in wd hard drive, but it doesnt show up on the pc.
Even though most people associate formatting with system installation, there are many other reasons why you might want to format your hard drive. By this way, you can easily format an external hard drive for mac and pc without losing any data. Mar 12, 2015 i feel old saying this, but having used computers since before external hard drives existed, i can say with certainty that buying a hard drive is easier today than its ever been before. Oct 15, 2015 hi, i am trying to access my wd hard drive which i have been using on my mac from my pc. The external drive sold by seagate does not require additional drivers for most environments.
Any purchases made through these links go to supporting formed from light. How to format a hard drive to work on mac and pc youtube. Both mac os x and windows allow users to format their hard drives using builtin utilities. To deal with the raw external hard drive issue, there might be the need to format the drive to turn the raw files to ntfs.
To format external hard drive for mac with time machine, you must follow the steps below. 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. Te lights are on on the wd and i can unmount it, but cannot find it anywhere where i can access and copy files over. I received a replacement 750gb external hard drive from western digital. After you buy a new external hard drive which comes in with only one partition from the manufacturer, when you intall it in mac or pc, you always would rather to partition external hard drive into separated partition to store different types of files. How to format external hard drive and usb drive under macos.
How to format an external hard drive for mac and windows. Lets take a look at the different types of formats, and which are best for video production. That makes it a great choice for content creation when youre out and about. Once the exfat partition is created then you would do what clinton suggested. Aug 11, 2014 anyone else having issues with external hard drives on yosemite. The best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. Use an external hard drive enclosure to get rid of viruses on your computer how to. Using external dock, i can now boot from the external drive.