To format or reformat an external hard drive on mac, youll need the builtin disk management tool called disk utility. Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with windows and mac. How to format or partition an external hard drive for mac. Tab on recovery, select advanced startup and click restart now. How to format an external hard drive for xbox one minitool. The slim, compact casing and flat top make the canvio basics a true portable hard drive easy to carry and store in any pocket or bag. The reason is perhaps that seagate external hard drive has been well known for a long time as one of the most reliable drives for storing data. Reformatting an external hard drive for use with mac osx is not as difficult as it might seem. In this era, people are using handy hard drives to store their data more than ever because of their convenience. This toshiba canvio basics portable hard drive transfers data at up to 5gbps for rapid file access using usb 3. Then, you need to choose the best file system for your external hard drive and follow these steps.
How to share an external hard drive between mac and windows. Right click on the toshiba external hard drive and select format. Learn how to use macos recovery to reinstall the mac operating system on your builtin drive or an external drive. So whether you have a macbook pro, air or imac youll learn how. However, the files etc on the external unit cannot be accessed. Hello all, i am switching completely from mac to windows.
Any hard drive can be formatted for mac and here is how you do it. How to format external hard drive mac 2 simple methods revealed. Select the disk from the menu, select your language, then choose disk utility from the utility dropdown menu and proceed to reformat it to the right settings. How to format an external hard drive for mac youtube. How to fix toshiba external hard drive not accessible in. How to format an external hard drive on mac recoverit. Step 2 now, go to the applications folder on your mac, and launch the disk utility from the utilities folder. The best way to do it is with a drive formatted as fat32. Format an external hard drive or usb flash drive for mac os x. This process wont actually convert the file system. How to reinstall macos from macos recovery apple support. How to format toshiba harddrive for mac apple community. Toshiba portable hard drives canvio premium for mac. Its a good idea to backup your data for your mac using time machine.
It is not as complicated to reformat an external hard drive for use with mac os x as it may look. How to reformat your toshiba portable hard drive to mac os x. Ready to use with your pc4 and no software installation required. Computersdealsshould i reformat a lenovo 1tb usb external hard drive f310s for mac. A lot of people including you, storing important data on seagate external hard drive instead of on your pc mac hard drive. Available in several capacity sizes up to 4 tb, canvio basics hard drives are perfect for storing data, music, movies and pictures. Looking to share an external hard drive between a mac and pc. Apple file system format or the older mac os extended format, and it automatically chooses a compatible format for you. You cannot reformat the startup drive from which you booted and from which the system is currently running.
Today, in this article, we will list the best external hard drive for mac that you cannot miss up to now. 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. Besides, we will also tell you how to recover lost data from the toshiba external hard drive with free mac data recovery software iboysoft mac data recovery. How to format an external hard drive for mac and pc. I have an external hard drive which is formatted for mac and has been loaded with movies stored on a mac computer.
In windows just right click on the drive and select format. The mac drive may have an efi system partition on it. You would need to boot from a different volume, whether a different partition, or from a dvd. So if you are formatting a drive that has already been used, be sure to copy any files you will ever want to see again onto a computer or backup drive. The easiest way to do that is hit cmd and the spacebar at the same time and type in disk utility to find the program. If your external hard drive is readonly on your mac due to its ntfs file system, you can easily fix it by reformatting the device to a mac compatible format with the builtin disk utility on mac. Time machine backups, youll want to choose the older mac os extended journaled format. Jan 24, 2017 using disk management to format toshiba external hard drive to fat32 is way, but the hard drive shouldnt be bigger than 32gb and you shouldnt forget to backup data before processing or your lose everything on it. In this guide i will show you how you can properly format reformat a hard drive for mac os.
Jan 15, 2020 have you thought of expanding your xbox ones storage capabilities by adding an external hard drive. Step 1 open finder, applications, then go to utilities and disk utility. The best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. But unfortunately it bit the dust and i decided to get a pc.
How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac. How to reformat mac os x without a recovery disc or drive. Please see the link below for instructions on how to format the drive on a windows computer. Toshiba hdtb410xk3aa canvio basics 1tb portable external hard drive usb 3. Follow these easy steps to format a hard drive in windows 10, windows 8, windows 7, windows vista, or windows xp. If you want to create multiple partitions on your external hard drive in fact, you should for better file organization, heres a stepbystep guide.
Toshiba hdtc920xr3aa canvio advance 2tb portable external. Reinstall from macos recovery macos recovery makes it easy to reinstall the mac operating system, even if you need to erase your startup disk first. Please note that reformatting the drive will erase all the information on the drive. Toshiba canvio for desktop 6tb external hard drive hdwc360xk3j1. 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. The canvio advance is the easytouse storage solution for people who look for inner values and outer beauty. Plug in the external hard drive into the system and open. How to format an external hard drive on windows and mac. Connect the external drive or the usb drive to the mac. How to format an external drive for mac from ntfs to mac os extended. Select the external hard drive in the left hand sidebar and click on the erase tab.
If you cant see it, just check the settings of your mac. However, the seagate backup plus has been designed exclusively for mac users and provides a great experience without any of that silly reformatting nonsense. All was well till i plugged it into the asus and now i can not open the hard drive to put the files back on it. These devices are usbpowered and can be used with a single usb cable connected to a pc or laptop. Two solutions to format toshiba external hard drive to fat32. Feb 21, 2020 another common cause for the external hard drive read only problem on mac is the formatting errors of the storage device itself. Feb 21, 2012 looking to share an external hard drive between a mac and pc. How can i reformat my external hard drive without losing. Note that using a drive frequently between windows and mac could increase the chances of file corruption, so make.
This wikihow teaches you how to change an external usb hard drives format on windows and mac computers. Format external hard drive for mac reformat external. In this article, we will provide you 7 useful solutions to the issue of toshiba external hard drives not showing up on mac. Though this format has some limitations, it enjoys nearly universal support. Dec, 2007 how to reformat mac external harddrive for pc. How to convert a macformatted drive to a windows drive. How to reformat your toshiba portable hard drive to mac os x 1. Pick your toshiba drive in your disk utility window. How to reformat mac external harddrive for pc march 2014. How to fix toshiba external hard drive not showing up. How to format an external drive for mac compatibility.
Mac users often fret when purchasing portable hard drives and ssds as they are often not compatible with their machines and require reformatting before use. Follow the steps to format your toshiba hard drive for mac step 1 connect your toshiba hard drive to your mac using a compatible medium and make sure the connection remains uninterrupted. Well show you everything you need to know about the. Now it is your turn to have a try on the suggested xbox one external hard drive format. Reformatting 3tb wd my book for mac to windows wd community. I tried to format my toshiba external hard drive to accept asus pc and macbook air files. This is a simple procedure and is achieved the same way for all drive types and through all connections, be they usb, firewire, or thunderbolt. Feb 08, 2020 how to partition an external hard drive on mac. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac laptop mag.
Toshiba canvio external hard drive manual for mac users, here you can see how it works on mac, setup time machine to backup your. Step 2 follow the steps above to format the drive, and then you can use it with time machine on your mac system. For instructions on how to format your hard drive on a mac, please reference the following links. Formatting a drive will erase all data and partitions on the disk. I used the format ms dos fat on the mac and erased the hard drive. You do not want to format the drive though for mac. Get this toshiba canvio basics portable hard drive for convenient file access and storage. Go to disk utility if you dont know where that is type it into the magnifying glass spot. If you have any suggestion, please put it in the comment zone. Someday if you want to use that external hard drive for pc, you also have the solution. After the fourth year of ownershipusage, hard drive failure rates skyrocket. Find the name of the drive in the left side of the utilities window and select it. How to fix toshiba external hard drive not showing upworking. Formatting a hard drive is the best way to start from scratch on a geeky project.
Toshiba external hard drive how to set up on mac youtube. How to format an external hard drive with pictures wikihow. Give your drive a name and select the file system you want from the format dropdown. Once disk utility is open youll see the list of available drives on the left. Before you can use it though, you need to properly format or reformat a hard drive so that it will become compatible or readable with the operating system that you are using. Extra security protect your private data from unauthorised users using the supplied canvio password tool for mac. Heres how to format a drive if you are planning to use it with a mac. Now either because of time, corruption or because it may have been formatted for a mac when i plug it into my pc i cant access it. Opening disk management can be done a number of ways depending on your version of windows, but the easiest method is to type diskmgmt. Buy toshiba hdtc920xr3aa canvio advance 2tb portable external hard drive usb 3. Top 5 best external hard drive for mac updated 2020. The 1tb capacity offers plenty of storage space, while a sleek and compact design ensures easy portability. I wasnt interested in using it for backups but that is certainly an option.
Use disk utility to erase format a hard disk, ssd, flash drive, or other storage device. For macs, the drive will ask you if you want to use time machine as your backup application and the seagate drive as your backup device. How to format external hard drive mac 2 simple methods. Connect your toshiba external hard drive to the computer using the usb cable. Using your toshiba external hard drive to backup to. The canvio basics focuses on profile and classic design. Up to 4 tb of portable storage packed into a sleek and solid casing available in four different colours to match your personal style. Yes, its recommended to format the drive on a windows computer. I can find it under device manager and disk management but thats it. The canvio ready portable hard drive offers simple plugandplay operation. In this article format toshiba hard drive for mac, 5 minute guide how to get your toshiba drive working on your mac. For instance, is the hard drive internal or external. 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. Show the toshiba external hard drive on the desktop.
The model i have can be used for either a pc or mac. A stepbystep guide on how to format an external drive ntfs for mac compatible file. If you see a warning says the device is only being mounted in readonly mode while connecting, your hard disk is diagnosed to have formatting errors that prevent you from writing files to it. Open disk management, the hard drive manager included with all versions of windows. Aug 30, 2019 today this video will show you how to format an external hard drive on windows and mac. In order to thoroughly check out and find the exact problem, you can try to reboot pc into safe mode to see where toshiba external hard drive can work or not.
I removed everything from the hard drive, put it on my pc. In this post, youll learn how to format an external drive to a mac compatible file system and recover files from a reformatted hard drive. Instead, well just be wiping the drive and starting over from scratch. Even though mac computers are capable of reading hard drives that are formatted for windows, if you intend on using your external hdd as a bootable disk or want to use it to backup files with your mac s time machine, you must format it to be entirely mac compatible. How to share an external drive between a mac and a pc. Before that, remember to back up your external hard drive quickly with a highlyefficient data backup software since the formatting will erase all. After recovering data from your toshiba external hard drive, youre safe to reformat it by the following three ways.
If youre lucky, you can just rightclick each partition on the mac drive and select delete volume to remove the partitions. Reformatting is a process that assigns a new file system. Jan 11, 2012 how to reformat your toshiba portable hard drive to mac os x bought this great toshiba portable hard drive for my macbook to use to store files, essentially as another drive. Start the disk utility, located under applications utilities. This guide would show you how to format external hard drive on mac and how to recover formatted files from external hard drive on mac. You can use your toshiba canvio drive as a destination for your time machine backups but you can only use drives formatted as mac os extended journaled file system for a time machine backup. Select the drive you want to reformat in the lefthand sidebar. Formatting a hard drive can change the file system to make it compatible with your computers.
Intuitively drag and drop files to and from your pc or laptop. Click on start button, type cmd in the search box and then press enter. If you have a mac lying around, you can plug the drive into a mac and back up the files. Then i moved to mac os there actually when i connected my hard drive i was not able to transfer anything from mac to hard drive and also cant make any changes in. Highlight your drive and click partition in disk utility. Select fat32 in the file system line and then choose quick format. However, you cannot always find the perfect products, especially if you are a mac user. Buy toshiba canvio slim 1 tb external hard disk drive only for rs.
First, back up the data on the macformatted drive if you have anything important on it. You are ready to go in a few quick measures, so you can transfer your backup data to the hard disk, keep your documents safe so give you peace of mind. Formatting a hard drive for windows will be discussed in another article. Go to finder, click on the icon for the toshiba and click get info youll see. Should i just wait until i get the new laptop and attempt to reformat the drive on it. Oct 29, 2019 to format external hard drive for mac with time machine, you must follow the steps below. Step 1 open finder, applications, then go to utilities and disk utility step 2 follow the steps above to format the drive, and then you can use it with time machine on your mac system. When i bought i was working with the windows system, where it worked perfectly. I then rightclicked the external drive icon on mac desktop get info. The canvio for desktop is powered by toshibas 7200 rpm drive with 128mb buffer to help deliver a reliable and responsive performance. In a few simple steps you are ready to go and can save your backup files to the external drive, keeping your information safe and giving you peace of mind. Toshiba external hard drive set up guide for mac 2019 youtube.
This toshiba canvio basics portable hard drive transfers data. How to use toshiba external hard drive on mac solved. How to format a hard drive windows 10, 8, 7, vista, xp. Mar 22, 2012 the best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. Is there any way i can reformat the hd to work on my pc without losing the movie. Yes, its recommended to format the drive on a windows.
Usually, a correctly connected external hard drive will show up on the desktop, in finder and disk utility. Or reformatting your toshiba hard drive for your mac this is an outline of what youre going to do. All was well till i plugged it into the asus and now i can not open the hard drive. 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. In disk utility, on the left side will be a list of the drives, select the toshiba canivo and then on the right side of the window there will be a few tabs. Dec 29, 2015 your exfatformatted drive or partition can now be used for both windows and mac. How you format a mac hard drive is entirely dependent on what kind of drive you plan on formatting.
Click the windows start button and click the control panel. Open the disk utility app and highlight your external hard drive. Discover one of the easiest ways to add storage to your computer with toshiba s canvio basics portable hard drive, offering simple plugandplay operation. Bought this great toshiba portable hard drive for my macbook to use to store files, essentially as another drive. Electronics free delivery possible on eligible purchases. Oct 15, 2015 please note that reformatting the drive will erase all the information on the drive. How to reformat my external hard drive for windows 10.