When youre reformatting a hard drive, windows will ask you what format to use. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac. Format an exfat external hard drive to fat32 with easeus. This is useful if a drive is being used under both operating system osto move files between the two environments.
Choose this format if the size of the disk is 32 gb or less. Step 1 open finder, applications, then go to utilities and disk utility. It must be a windows 7 issue because vista would format it just fine. To add an external usb drive to the console, they have to format ps hard drive to fat32. How to format usb flash drive to fat32 in mac os x. Now, how can i reformat and install os x from the installer placed in the external hard drive.
I have backed up all my data i dont have enough hard drive space to make a time machine backup. How to format a wd hard drive to exfat or fat32 file system. It has been the standard format for hard drives and floppy disks so to maximize the compatibility across modern systems including mac, linux, and windows. In the format window, feel free to label your volume as you wish under volume label.
However note that there is a 4gb file limit with fat32 and use the mac to format as an xp pc can only format a 32gb partition though it can read bigger fat32 partitions. To format the usb drive to fat32, follow the next steps. Cache how to download youtube videos how to edit a pdf how to set up. So in any case where the fat32 file system is required, you can apply the following two methods to format the external hard drive to fat32 in windows 1087 at once. However, fat32 is a legacy file system designed for low capacity hard drives and it is not recommended for modern hard drives or operating systems. How to format hard drive to fat32 file system up to 2tb. You can use lacie setup assistant to format your lacie hard drive when it is first connected to a. Fat32 and ntfs are the most common formats, but whats the difference. However, there are two limitations during when converting ntfs to fat32 in external hard drive with disk management. Supports up to 2tb for computer internal hard disk, windows external hard drive with a xbox360 and sony external hard drive with a ps3. Highlight your drive and click partition in disk utility. Easeus partition master free is more than just a disk formatting tool.
However when i format it to fat32 using wd drive manager on my mac it only formats about 2tb. The mac drive may have an efi system partition on it. The maximum size of the file you can store in the hard drive with fat32 is 4 gb along with 8tb maximum partition size. So i hooked it up to my vaio pc, running xp and formated it. 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. Select your usb flash drive on the sidebar, choose erase.
Connect the usb fash drive to the mac os x computer. Note that not all hard drives support all of the operating. Select the drive you want to format and click erase button. The usbc end is connected to the lacie hard drive and the type a end is. How to format usb flash drive to fat32 on mac os xmacos. The problem windows cannot format drive to fat32 that is larger than 32gb1tb. Which means you can use it on both apple and windows hope you enjoy, and. Quickly format an external hard drive for mac and windows pc. There is a new version of fat microsoft created called exfat which is. A pdf of this user manual and software utilities are pre loaded on the drive. Fat32 has several limitations, including a 4 gb perfile limit. To format an external hard drive for mac with time machine, you must follow the steps below. Go to applications utilities double click and open disk utility.
Rename the usb flash drive, choose the format as msdos fat for format, master. I am wanting to format all 6tb to fat32 so i am able to use it on my playstation 3, along with my mac and pc. This video is about how to covert you portable hard drive to fat 32. In the lowermiddle window pane of the computer management window, rightclick on your highlighted external hard drive and click format. File system formats available in disk utility on mac. Select the volume you just created this is the subentry under the drive entry from the left side list.
Format hdd to fat32 in windows 10 with command prompt. Fat32 is a system used by microsoft windows for organizing files on disks and drives. Disk utility on mac supports several file system formats. How to format external hard drive to fat32 in windows. How to format a wd hard drive to exfat or fat32 file system answer id 291 a western digital external hard drive can be used on both windows and mac osx. I just recently bought my 6tb my book studio edittion ii wd hard drive. Click the format popup menu, then choose one of the following. How to format a flash drive with a mac to fat32 techwalla. How to convert a macformatted drive to a windows drive. Formatting with this tool is much quicker than the command. If you need to format external hard drive mac or windows, you may also consider the exfat files system. Click on the partition button and wait until the volumes mount on the desktop. In order to find the cards device name do the following.
Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with windows and mac. Step 2 follow the steps above to format the drive, and then you can use it with time machine on your mac system. If you want to create multiple partitions on your external hard drive in fact, you should for better file organization, heres a stepbystep guide. Hi all, i recently received an external hard drive for my bday and my friend loaded a ton of pictures and movies onto it for me. Windows 7 unable to read external drive formatted fat32. A pdf of this user manual and software utilities are preloaded on the drive. Open the disk utility app and highlight your external hard drive.
How to format or partition an external hard drive for mac. 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. I recommend ntfs over fat32, but fat32 can be great because it will work anywhere and is great if you have legacy equipment. As earlier stated, you need to first back up your usb drive before formatting the drive as you may not be able to recover the contents again. I might partition the drive in two 2tb then format to fat32 on mac osx and on windows format in ntfs and then try to. To format a usb flash drive to fat32 in mac os x follow these steps. Bonus tip data recovery from formatted hard drive on mac. For details on the disk formatter utility, see the disk formatter software manual pdf file. Besides all the backup options shown, if the 2t bytes disk is full maybe some of the methods expressed can not be done unless you partially zip it. The best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. So i got a wd my passport ultra which seems to be in ntfs format and i can only read it on my mac. Choose this format if the size of the disk is over 32 gb. The only hard drive format that can be reliably used by both is called fat32, or msdos fat as its called on mac computers.
For most reasons to erase, including when reformatting a disk or selling, giving away, or trading in your mac, you should erase your entire disk. The maximum individual file size for exfat is 16 eb. A window pops up to warn you that all data on the drive will be lost. If you have an ntfs drive you can use macos disk utility to reformat it to fat32. Highlight the sd card device upper icon, not the sd card volume lower icon click erase at the top of the window. How to convert external hard drive to fat32 on mac os x.
Select the quick format option, and then click the start button. How to convert a 2t hard drive fat32 to exfat without. Convert ntfs to fat32 in external hard drive without. Fat32 is a system used by microsoft windows for organizing. Now, you can follow the steps to be highlighted below to get it successfully formatted. Then i would suggest you to search for a third party software which directly converts the to ntfs format for windows operating system. How to erase a disk for mac use disk utility to erase format a hard disk, ssd, flash drive, or other storage device. If youre lucky, you can just rightclick each partition on the mac drive and select delete volume to remove the partitions. Windows will go ahead and begin formatting the drive in fat32. Lacie porsche design mobile drive user manual optional.
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. But, if you want to use an external hard drive on your mac that was mainly used on a windows computer, you might encounter a problem. When i plug the stick into my windows 7 64 bit machine, it wants to format it. If you are not comfortable with the previous method. My old drive was two 1tb drives and i never had any issues with it.
There may be a kind of risky way to do it without backup. I want to know what i should do to make the hard disk compatible with bot mac os and pc. A western digital external hard drive can be used on both windows and mac osx. Format a disk for windows computers in disk utility on mac. This is useful if a drive is being used under both operating system osto. Although other forums suggest starting in os9 and formating to fat32, this option is not listed in the format window. A fat32 partition can reach up to 32gb when formatted on a windows pc. Connect the hdd to a mac and format the drive as fat32 and then connect the same mac hdd to windows and convert it to ntfs.
I have just saved necessary files and also the installer for os x 10. Linux will format fat 32 on a 1 tb or larger drive, and do it without hesitation. Fat32 is a rather old file system, so it is not as efficient as the most modern, which is ntfs. Format external hard drive in fat32 using swissknife. This is useful if a drive is being used under both operating system os to. How to convert external hard drive to fat32 on mac os x for free using disk utility. I did a little search through these dorums and it seems like i ned to format the hard drive to fat32 in order to add things to it. Lacie porsche design mobile drive user manual coolblue.
Swissknife is a nifty little program that is completely free and that you can use to format many. How to format external hard drive mac 2 simple methods. You can also format the drive in a variety of other formats depending on your needs. 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. In the fat32 format window, select the drive to format and type a volume label if you want to. Replace the letter x with the letter of your external hard drive in windows. Cant read macformatted fat32 flash drive i formatted a 64gb flash memory stick on a mac with msdosfat32 format and copied some files to it just fine. Format a flash card as fat16 in mac os x finding the cards device name. A fat32 partition can reach 2tb when formatted on a mac. Some interesting tips on using large firewire drives.
How can i reformat the internal drive and install mountain. I have tried formating the drive with wd drive manager on my mac. It lets you create, delete, and clone partitions in addition to formatting hard drives to chosen formats. That said, if you are using smaller file sizes fat32 can suffice. Seagate backup plus slim user manual optional formatting and. You can set up gdrive mobile usb for use on both windows and mac system by formatting the drive as fat32. Seagate backup plus desktop user manual optional formatting. How to format external hard drives for mac and windows. However, i cant actually use the hard drive myself. How to format usb drives larger than 32gb with fat32 on. Even if your external hard drive doesnt come preformatted in fat32, you can format it yourself using either a mac or windows pc. How to format a wd hard drive to exfat or fat32 file system wd. For a hard drive to be able to be read and written to in both a pc and mac computer, it must be formatted to exfat or fat32 file format. This is probably a good format if you use a mac and pc.
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