How to force a hard drive to unmount for formatting in mac os. You cannot reformat the startup drive from which you booted and from which the system is currently running. Depending on how the drive is currently formatted, and whether or not you want to reformat it, you have a few possible options. The best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. Then youd run disk utility to erase your startup drive. Furthermore, newer web browsers and programs wont run on our very outdated operating system anymore. Use your os x usb key or recovery partition to reformat and reinstall os x. Erase and reformat a storage device in disk utility on mac. This insures that you will have a compatible hard drive with. If you have a mac lying around, you can plug the drive into a mac and back up the files. There is only one rule that you need to keep in mind when reformatting a drive.
In this video we look at the process of formatting a hard drive, flash drive, or ssd on an apple computer. Format external hard drive for mac reformat external hard. How to format an external drive in os x by shujaa imran posted on jan 2, 2016 dec 29, 2015 in mac most external drives ship in formats that are universally recognised amongst nearly all operating systems fat, im looking at you, but there may be times where you might want to completely wipe a drive andor set it up to be compatible with. Disk utility will automatically choose the format for you. Heres how to reformat a hard drive with mac os x 10. Heres how to format a drive using a mac including how to format a drive for. Some mac users may require the ability to erase a disk or erase a hard drive from the command line on mac os, a task which is typically performed through the disk utility application from the gui. 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. In this tutorial, i will show you how to reformat the hard drive in your mac and reinstall os x for that factory fresh finish. How to properly format reformat a hard drive for mac os a hard drive or hard disk can be used in any type of computer, whether for pc windows or for mac. Have you ever tried to format a disk in mac os x and disk utility wont unmount the hard drive for formatting. Make your mac feel like new again with a fresh install of os x.
Follow these instructions if you plan to share an external hard drive between pc and mac computers. To format any of the partitioned drive volumes, open the disk utility program provided in mac os x. By default, they format disks with the mac only os x extended file system. The mac os x extended volume format is optimal for macs.
Enter a name for the disk or volume, such as macintosh hd. Reformatting your drive mac are you finding that you are unable to drag documents and folders to your external hard drive. First, back up the data on the macformatted drive if you have anything important on it. Mac pro 4,1 with a windows hard drive, cant get back to os x. Sep 29, 2000 do you know a way in macos x public beta to format an existing partition to ufs. I also have a radeon hd 7970 3gb graphics card that was for a mac but does not give me the boot screen on start up.
How to force a hard drive to unmount for formatting in mac. Run mac os x on an appletv with an external hard drive how to. But, if you plan on using an external drive with both macs and pcs, you should format the disk with the exfat file system instead. Instructions for how to format your external drive so that it will be fully usable in macos. 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. For instance, is the hard drive internal or external.
By default its the disk built into your mac, named macintosh hd. A list of all the hard drive partitions will be visible in the left pane. How to format an external drive for mac compatibility. Checklist for reformatting your mac os x asian efficiency. Click the erase button or tab, then complete these fields. There may be occasions, however, when you want to reformat your mac s hard drive. Reformatting a mac drive let us now take a look at the procedure for reformatting hard drive on mac systems. Mac os x installation basics sata drive seagate support uk. Since formatting an external hard drive will erase all of its. 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.
Both mac os x and windows allow users to format their hard drives using builtin utilities. Oct 14, 2007 disk utility can see the the drive, but it has no volumes on it. This will demonstrate how to format a hard disk to be completely mac os x compatible, the entire process is handled through disk utility as demonstrated with an external hard drive. If you havent used your hard drive in a while, or you just bought a new one, you may have to reformat it to be compatible with your computer. Open the disk utility app and highlight your external hard drive. How to write to an external hard drive on mac os x. Dec 24, 2010 reformatting a mac drive let us now take a look at the procedure for reformatting hard drive on mac systems. The videos below demonstrate the complete process of formatting an external hard drive for full mac os x compatibility, this uses the new disk utility in modern versions of mac os x. Launch disk utility and then click to select the external hard drive listed on the left. When booted from the dvd you should be able to run disk utility to format or repair the hd harddrive as well as running the osx installer. Weve shown you how to securely wipe a hard drive with your mac, and doing so in recovery mode isnt really different from doing so within macos. Use the exfat file system and never format your external drive again. To begin reformatting after backup, insert the installation disc of mac os x and restart the computer. Mar 29, 2019 writing to an external hard drive using max os x can sometimes be more complicated than one would assume.
For most reasons to erase, you should erase the disk, which also erases all volumes on that disk. Highlight your drive and click partition in disk utility. The following is based on the latest version of macos. Apple file system format or the older mac os extended format, and it automatically chooses a compatible format for you. Nearly all mac s sold after july 20, 2011 came with factory installs of os x 10. If you connect your wd hard drive without reformatting, youll be unable to copy files to the disk as mac read only supports ntfs file system. Feb 03, 2020 disk utility in macos high sierra or later can erase most disks and volumes for mac using either the newer apfs apple file system format or the older mac os extended format, and it automatically chooses a compatible format for you. If it does work, i can successfully verifyrepair it, and change ignore.
Power on the computer while holding down the option key. How to reformat mac os x without a recovery disc or drive. How to reinstall macos from macos recovery apple support. How to format external hard drives on a mac sweetwater.
How to install macos or os x on a new hard drive for your mac. How to format or partition an external hard drive for mac. If a wireless network is available, you can choose it from the wifi menu in the menu bar. Whether you are trying to backup mac to an external hard drive, wipe out any personal information and sell the computer, or even use a new operating system, you need to format the hard drive on your mac or pc. I wonder if its possible in x or if i have to get back to os 9 which i try to use the less now. Oct 29, 2019 to format external hard drive for mac with time machine, you must follow the steps below.
Fortunately, there are also several ways to do it, ranging from internet recovery to installation discs. Either way, youll need your mac os x installation dvd that came with your apple system, as youll be booting your computer from this disk to reformat your internal drive. It can happen for external usb and firewire as well as internal disks. Once your data is backed up and youve signed out of everything that might connect your old mac to your personal information, you can erase everything on it by reformatting the hard drive. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac laptop mag. Instead, well just be wiping the drive and starting over from scratch. Reformatting the drive will erase all data on the drive, so you should copy any data you want off the drive prior to formatting. If i create a volume, or try to, disk utility will either freeze or successfully create a volume. How to format external hard drive mac 2 simple methods revealed. Reformatting an external hard drive for use with mac osx is not as difficult as it might seem. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac. Hard drives file systems files data dual boot windows mac mac os x os x. In disk utility on mac, you can erase and reformat storage devices to use with your mac.
This process wont actually convert the file system. Reformatting an external hard drive for use with mac osx is not as. If the right boot order is set, you should see the set up screen of mac os x. Follow the instructions that appear on screen, license agreements and all, and choose the hard drive to use in. There are several reasons you might need to install a new copy of macos or os x on the hard drive in your mac or macbook. Install all the apps from your external hard drive all your serials and licenses in 1password will come in handy.
Mar 22, 2012 the best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. Jul 24, 20 all os x boot hard drives not solid state disks should be futher erased with the security option. How to recover data from formatted external hard drive on mac. When you purchase something after clicking links in. Use the exfat file system and never format your external.
If your drive is already formatted for mac os x, it is immediately enabled for writing. Depending on how you started recovery mode, you may be presented with the option to start disk utility right away, as seen above. If it does create one, when i restart from the os x cd to reinstall, the volume is no longer there. Learn more about erasing hard disks on mac from apple. Autocad installation on casesensitive volumes is not supported. Mac os x installation basics sata drive seagate support asean. Feb 08, 2020 how to partition an external hard drive on mac. Before using an external hard drive on a mac, you should format it using disk utility. Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with windows and mac. Open the utilities provided on the disk and open the disk utility in particular. Jul 12, 2012 use your os x usb key or recovery partition to reformat and reinstall os x. This is the only file system on which autocad for mac 2011 through 2017 will run. Im really concerned by the filename size limitations when expanding x packages. Hard drive reformatting procedure for mac and windows.
Oct 06, 2016 have you ever tried to format a disk in mac os x and disk utility wont unmount the hard drive for formatting. For instructions on how to format a drive in mac os 10. How to format hard drive for mac compatibly in os x disk. I dont have the original install disks and even if i could find them, the disk drive. Reformatting imacs corrupted hard d apple community. You would need to boot from a different volume, whether a different partition, or from a dvd. You can, however, format a windows hard drive from a mac if you connect the windows hard drive to the mac and format it through disk utility, or the command line as described above. How hard is it to reformat the hard drive on a mac computer.
For example, if you have a 1tb hard drive, 500gb of storage can be used with your windows. Format an external hard drive or usb flash drive for mac os x. Reformatting imacs corrupted hard drive suggestions please because of a failed optimisation i feel i now have to completely wipe, reformat and reload osx onto my imacs internal hd, but never having done this before i want to make sure i. Click the erase tab, choose a volume format from the dropdown menu and then type a name for the drive. The command line approach to disk erasure in macos is a bit different. This is the new file system that apple bought to macs with high sierra and it will be the.
How to wipe your mac and reinstall macos from scratch. Use disk utility to erase format a hard disk, ssd, flash drive, or other storage device. How to properly formatreformat a hard drive for mac os. Assuming the installation went fine, the next process is to restore everything. This may be apfs, or it may be mac os extended journaled depending on how the drive is currently. After realizing that you can reformat wd hard drive to fat32 or exfat to make it compatible with mac os x and still can be used under windows, it is time to check out how to reformat wd hard drive for mac and pc in windows successfully.
Fortunately disk utility, built right into macos, can help. When the installer screen appears, do not click continue. Mar 15, 2018 just install it, and mac drives will show up like any other drive. Guid table formatting for intel mac start up disks. This tutorial will install the latest os x yosemite on y.
Zero all data or move the slider one spot to the right, this has a effect of wiping all data off the drive and also eliminates bad sector issues that can prevent a drive from formatting or even installing os x. Use disk utility to erase format a hard disk, ssd, flash drive, or other storage. How to properly format reformat a hard drive for mac os. If you want to create multiple partitions on your external hard drive in fact, you should for better file organization, heres a stepbystep guide. How to convert a macformatted drive to a windows drive.
Jan 15, 2020 macos recovery makes it easy to reinstall the mac operating system, even if you need to erase your startup disk first. These steps can be used for both internal and external drives. How to reformat mac os x without a recovery disc or drive step 1 back up your files. In such a case, its necessary to reformat wd hard drive to make it compatible with mac operating system. Dec 29, 2015 follow these instructions if you plan to share an external hard drive between pc and mac computers. This is a simple procedure and is achieved the same way for all drive types and through.
Quit out of the disk utility app, and this time choose reinstall os x and continue. How to check a macs free hard drive space macworld. Reformatting the drive will erase all data on the drive, so you should copy. 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. Some people are asking for a way to format a hard drive for mac. I want to buy a hard drive on ebay that is wiped clean but formatted with ntfs.
Select the volume format from the volume format popup. Learn how to use macos recovery to reinstall the mac operating system on your builtin drive or an external drive. How you format a mac hard drive is entirely dependent on what kind of drive you plan on formatting. Choose either apfs or mac os extended journaled to format as a mac volume.