How to format an external hard drive to work on Mac
To ensure that an external hard drive will work fully on your Mac, it needs to be converted to the file read standard used on Apple computers. This can be done by formatting the machine, which will erase all files if it is used, but will have no problem if newly purchased. Check out the step by step below to format an external hard drive to make it work on your Mac.
Tip: Formatting an external hard drive to work on Mac is ideal for creating system backup restore points!
How to format an external hard drive to work on Mac
Before we get started, it's good to be clear that just plugging in the external hard drive into the Mac will work without problems. However, not all machine-related Mac functions can be used, such as creating restore points through Time Machine. If you work with both Mac and PC and want to use external hard drive on both, we recommend that you leave it as it is. But if you use only one Mac, it is best to format.
First, the most obvious: plug your hard drive into the computer. If it is a used hard drive, be sure to back up the data on it as mentioned at the beginning of the text. Then go to Finder and choose Go and then Utilities . Activate Disk Utility and select the peripheral from the side menu that will open as shown below.
Choose the Erase option from the top bar;
From the menu that appears, choose Mac OS Extended from the Volume Format selection bar.
To start the process, name the hard drive in the Name box and confirm the Erase button. From there, just wait for the Mac to format your external hard drive to its best reading standard, allowing you to use all system capabilities related to the peripheral.
See too:
What did you think about our tutorial on how to format an external hard drive for Mac?
The process is quite simple and shouldn't cause any major problems as it does not require advanced knowledge on Mac. However, we know that questions may arise and we asked you: did you manage to format from our tutorial? Comment with us and share this tutorial with your friends who also use Mac!
