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How do I make my external hard drive compatible with Mac?

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How do I make my external hard drive compatible with Mac?

How to format an external drive in OS X

  1. Connect the drive to the Mac.
  2. Open Disk Utility.
  3. Select the drive you want to format.
  4. Click Erase.
  5. Give the drive a descriptive name and leave the default settings: OS X Extended format and GUID partition map.
  6. Click Erase and OS X will format the drive.

What is the best format for a Mac external hard drive?

exFAT
The Best Format for External Hard Drives If you want to format your external hard drive to work with Mac and Windows computers, you should use exFAT. With exFAT, you can store files of any size, and use it with any computer made in the last 20 years.

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Do you need to format an external hard drive before using it?

Theoretically , All hard drives before use it should be formatted. Windows also would recognize the new drive and ask you if you want to format it. It should format to the same file system of your internal drive, such as NTFS, HFS+, FAT32, and exFAT.

What is exFAT on Mac?

ExFAT is a cross-platform solution for use with Mac and Windows devices, now serving as a base for files shared and edited between the two platforms. If you work with Mac and Windows computers often, ExFAT may be the best option for your Mac.

What happens if I format an external hard drive?

Reformatting will delete all the data stored on the drive, so if you need to reformat, do so as soon as you buy the drive. If you already have data stored on the drive, back that data up elsewhere, reformat the drive, and then put your data back on the drive.

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Does exFAT work on Mac?

ExFAT – A newer file format, supported in Mac OS X 10.6. 5 or later. It has one big advantage over FAT32: exFAT supports file sizes larger than 4 GB, so if you have a need to move huge files between Macs and PCs, this is likely the format you’ll want for your flash drive.

How do you format an external hard drive on a Mac?

Format Hard Drive (Mac) 1. Connect the external hard drive to the computer. 3. Open Disk Utility. 4. Select the external hard drive on the left-hand side. 1. Right-Click on the Windows icon in the lower left-hand corner. 3. Right-Click on the external hard drive in the Volume tab. 4. Click Format.

What is the best external hard drive for Mac?

External hard drives for Mac work pretty much the same as they do for a PC. The best external hard drives for Mac tend to connect to Macs via Thunderbolt or USB 3.0 cables. This allows for the fastest connectivity, generally speaking.

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How to reformat external hard drive Mac?

In the Disk Utility app on your Mac,choose View > Show All Devices.

  • In the sidebar,select the disk you want to format to use with Windows computers.
  • Click the Erase button .
  • Click the Scheme pop-up menu,then choose Master Boot Record.
  • Click the Format pop-up menu,then choose one of the following:

    • What is an external storage device?

    An external storage device, also referred to as auxiliary storage and secondary storage, is a device that contains all the addressable data storage that is not inside a computer’s main storage or memory. An external storage device can be removable or non-removable, temporary or permanent, and accessible over a wired or wireless network.