From the volume format menu, choose mac os extended. Linux has its own proprietary ext formats and if you are only going to use your external drive with a linux machine, you can safely go ahead and pick that format. How to format a mac drive to ntfs in windows quora. Aug 09, 2017 read, write and format ntfs drive with easy tips working on macos sierra 2017.
Best format for an external hdd in 2019 to be used in macos. Know how to change format of external hard drive without. Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with windows and mac. I want to reformat my 1tb ntfs drive to a format that can be read by linux and windows but wont cause freezing issues when copying files to and from it on ubuntu. Some versions of linux can write to ntfs while others may not. So you figured, fine, ill just get an external hard drive. To get around this problem or prevent it from being a problem later you could format the drive as an ntfs partition. Once youve unboxed your new drive, connect it to your mac. How enable ntfs writing on mac write to ntfs drives. If you do not need that functionality, ntfs is generally more efficient. A file system is a method and structure of data used by an operating system, called windows, linux or mac os, for reading media files such as disks, removable drives, etc. The best ways to format an external drive for windows and. By default, they format disks with the maconly os x extended file system.
Wondering what the best format for your new external hard drive is. Formatting an external hard drive would erase everything on it. From all above, you can have a general idea of fat32 and exfat file system. You can format external drive to use on mac and pc. It is time to learn how to format your external hard drive or other external drives to a common file system for mac and windows. If you keep your hard drives outofthebox ntfs format for all the reasons fat32 displeases, theres a workaround that will allow your mac to read and write files to the drive. To read an ext4 drive on windows, you can ext2read and osxfuse for mac. Nov 19, 2015 how to format an external hard drive or pen drive. Now right click on the external drive and click on format option doublecheck the drive name and capacity to make sure you are going to format the right drive. Oct 07, 2019 now, i have identified the drive devsdc1, is my attached 16gb usb drive. To format your external drive hard drive in windows which works with both platforms, first plugin your drive with windows machine. Oct 14, 2019 two methods to format external hard drive to ntfs. Click the icon for your external hard drive in the sidebar on the left. Luckily, there are thirdparty tools to help you do so.
The article is aimed at beginners and new users of linux. How to format external hard drive to ntfs in window1087. The best format for your external hard drive the hellotech blog. We here will show you the full guides on how to format fat32 and ntfs drives on mac as an example. By default, macs can only read ntfs and not write to them. The best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac.
How to format an external hard drive the easy way in 2020. Once you have it, your first task is to pick a suitable file system for that drive depending on your intended usage. Then, you need to choose the best file system for your external hard drive and follow these steps. Use the exfat file system and never format your external. Now, you can just format the usb drive in linux by entering the mkfs command.
Once the formatting process is finished, you can store the files in this newly formatted usb flash drive or. Ive been having some issues with my external ntfs drive. Main difference between exfat and ntfs is that exfat drives can be read on a mac as well. Feb 08, 2020 the problem is that on macos, you cant work with files saved on an ntfs drive unless you use a paid app like paragon ntfs for mac. Changing hard drive format from ntfs to mac compatible. The easiest way to add storage to your mac is to buy an external hard drive. Linux offers its users gparted and fdisk from the command line. The tutorial and screenshots below are based on macos sierra 10. Fat32 and ntfs are the most common formats, but whats the difference. Now that we know the good and bad about every file system, let see how to format a drive in windows, mac, and linux. In this case, you should consider the hurdle that these operating systems support different filesystems. Mar 09, 2017 with a tiny mistake, you may lose data or wrongly format your drive in a way that can lead to data corruption. How to convert a macformatted drive to a windows drive.
Mar 22, 2012 the best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. To do this, you have to enter the unmount command, following by the identifier. How to format hard drives on windows, mac and linux. Probably the need to format a hard disk is due to an unsuccessful installation of a new os or to some problem of unknown origin.
How to format a drive as exfat on linux if the issue is with your computer or a laptop you should try using reimage plus which can scan the repositories and replace corrupt and missing files. Format usb drive to ntfs so it is usable under windows. I have a hard drive which i used to use on my windows computer, and is in ntfs format, so i can only read files on it with my macbook. There are many graphics tools to manage your hard drive. So i was wondering, if i were to reformat my external usb drive, what format should i consider. This is not hard to do, and will take you only about a minutes effort. Also find out the difference between file system i. Click on the erase button to format usb flash drive or external hard drive. If you have a mac you should format the drive for your mac first thing, before you start using it. How to format in ntfs with disk utility on os x yosemite. You can format an external drive in os x using disk utility and terminal. Enter a name for the external hard drive in the name field.
With exfat, you can store files of any size, and use it with any computer made in the last 20 years. Many people think it is hard to format the windows drive on macintosh. How to format an external hard drive for mac and pc. A new window will pop up asking which file system youd like to format the external drive to. Once the formatting process is finished, you can store the files in this newly formatted usb flash drive or external hard drive. Now, i have identified the drive devsdc1, is my attached 16gb usb drive.
The below steps for formatting external drive is for windows 10 and also works the same with an old version of windows. Oct 16, 2019 the best format for external hard drives. The default file system in windows is ntfs, while mac os users hfs. If you are going to format extra internal drive on mac, you have to partition hard drive on mac. Microsoft ntfs for mac by paragon software supports all the versions of ntfs from windows nt 3. Format external hard drive for mac with disk utility. How to format drive with compatible file system for mac and.
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. No worry, actually it is not impossible to realize it no matter you use an external or internal drive of your windows system. However, while doing this, there are things you have to keep in mind and follow the correct steps. But, if you plan on using an external drive with both macs and pcs, you should. Most external hard drives you buy will come out of the box preformatted for a windows computer ntfs.
Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with. Share your experience, how do you use an external hard drive on both mac and pc. I currently have a corrupted ntfs external drive that i want to re format in a format that can be read by linux and windows suggestions. #3 how to use ntfs hfs exfat formatted external hdd on android. Having external hard disk and want to change format to ntfs file system.
Heres how to format a drive using a mac including how to format a drive for. If you want to format your external hard drive to work with mac and windows computers, you should use exfat. If you want to write to ntfs formatted hard drives in mac os x, youre going to need the help of a thirdparty. When the driver is installed, you format your ntfs disks with disk utility where you select windows nt filesystem as the format. I havent tried this one, but it should also do the job. But it wont be readable or usable by a mac that isnt running high sierra, and windows or linux machines wont be. How to format a hard drive to ntfs in linux make tech easier. Is it safe to convert usb drive format from fat32 to ntfs. We can not format any disk on linux systems which are already mounted. Managing storage devices whether they are internal hard drives, ssds, pcie ssds, or external usb devices is always a tricky task. However, the write support in the os settings is not active.
How to format external hard drive for pc, mac and linux. When youre reformatting a hard drive, windows will ask you what format to use. This hard drive is currently ntfs file format, the disk info is as follows descriptio. How to format external hard drive to use on mac and pc. Buying and using an external hd is one thing, getting the most out of it is quite another. Jan 16, 2020 how to format a hard drive to ntfs in linux by odysseas kourafalos posted on jan 16, 2020 jan 15, 2020 in linux if you are a dual user, bouncing from linux to windows and back, or are cooperating with windows users and need access to the same files, it is best to have a common partition in ntfs format, since it is accessible by both oses. Feb 06, 2008 i recently switched from a pc to a macbook pro. Ntfs is native to windows, and most hard drives are preformatted for this file system. Whenever we attach a usb drive in ubuntu, it automatically mounted to the system. Ntfs is a modern format system and windows also uses this format for itself and for other nonremovable drives by default. Which mac file system is best for an external drive. The main windows disk format, ntfs, isnt supported by macos. How can i change the format so that i can write files to the hard drive with my macbook. Therefore, sl ntfs software acts as an interface for the mac os 10.
If you want to format external hard drive to ntfs file system, you need to install a ntfs for mac tool on your mac. How to format and create a usb drive or pen drive that is compatible with windows 10, 8, 7 or mac or linux. Select the partition you want to format to linux file system, and click format button from toolbar. It will likely already be formatted, either for use with windows using ntfs or for. If the external hard drive is pre formatted for mac, disk management will list 3 partitions and you will not be able to delete the health efi system partition because its a protected partition. The problem is that on macos, you cant work with files saved on an ntfs drive unless you use a paid app like paragon ntfs for mac.
For me if youve got a mixed environment with linux, mac and windows, a nas drive is a better investment than a usb drive, since you can have the nas formmatted in ext3 or ext4 and still access with all oss, since the clients do not interact directly with the filesystem. To format or reformat an external hard drive on mac, youll need the builtin disk management tool called disk utility. Using apples free disk utility app, you can easily format the drive, give it a label, or even partiti. How to use external hdd with windowsmaclinuxandroid. You could save the file to an ntfs partition or a dvd. How to format usb drive in linux command line tecadmin. To put it simply, if you want to share external hard drive between mac and pc, you need to format an external hard drive for mac and pc.
Linux is the absolute operating system suitable for geeks. How to format drive with compatible file system for mac. This because ive seen a lot of people writing about the lack of proper ntfs support in linux and the potential risk of data loss. Learn to format hard drive that compatible in windows and macos. Therefore, slntfs software acts as an interface for the mac os 10. Choosing the right format for your external hard drive b. Mar 15, 2018 most mac users will be better off formatting external drives with exfat, ensuring they work well on both windows and mac os x without any extra work. In order to format the flash drive in linux, we need to unmount it first. If you have an external drive you only use with windows computers, you may wonder how to format an external hard drive to ntfs effortlessly. In this article, i will talk about some of the basics of storage devices on linux. They might be different if your mac has a different version.
Select that disk and click the erase button, the one highlighted in red in the screenshot below. To do this, run it, select the disk you want to format to ntfs from the left pane, click on the icon with the two gears under its graphical representation and choose format partition. How to format an external hard drive for use with a mac. When i bought my 1tb external drive, i also choosed ntfs i didnt. Overwrite exfat format of 8tb external drive with ntfs. How to format in ntfs with disk utility on os x yosemite adddictedtomacintosh. Ntfs partitions have a file size limit only limited by the partition size. Want to use external hard drive under both windows pc and mac. Microsoft ntfs for mac by paragon software is able to get access to compressed files and folders, it has no problems with sparse files and enables all the needed operations with files and folders with security permissions. However, linux supports ntfs, which makes for a decent gobetween if you have both windows and linux machines. The format window pops up and you can select linux filesystem from ext4, ext3 and ext3 from dropdown list.
Windows can read and write to ntfsformatted drives. It makes sense that reading the files in both format is relatively the same speed, but that ntfs is slightly slower when writing due to this overhead. Apr 14, 2020 why need to format external hard drive for mac and pc. Now enter the volume label as you need and change the file system for exfat and click ok. With a tiny mistake, you may lose data or wrongly format your drive in a way that can lead to data corruption. The drive hardware is going to perform the reading and writing of the data, but the ntfs file system has the added overhead of journaling any transaction that alters data. When i format a drive to ntfs under windows and plug it into the ubuntu machine it is perfectly usable, but when i format it under ubuntu using disks delete all partitions and create one single partition with ntfs it does not show up when plugged into windows machine.
If you are a user moving from windows to linux and vice versa or are cooperating with windows users and need access to the same file, it is best to have a common partition in ntfs. Why need to format external hard drive for mac and pc. Ntfs3g is an opensource program that, when coupled with macfuse, will let you use your ntfs drive on your mac. I have new external usb drive which im trying to format to ntfs so i can also use in in windows. Format new external drive as an ntfs partition it services. Ill store my media files on it while keeping the internal hard drive clear for apps and the os. This is a default file system for linux os including raspberry pi. Use the exfat file system and never format your external drive again. How to format volumes to extfs or ntfs using terminal.
How to format an external drive for mac from ntfs to mac os extended note. For different operating systems, such as windows, mac os x and linux, there always is a different file system to organize and store data. Format windows ntfs hard drive on ubuntu using command line. Quickly format an external hard drive for mac and windows pc. How to format or partition an external hard drive for mac. Now that you know which format to use, check out our guide on how to format your hard drive on. If your drive is formatted as windows default format ntfs. Disk management and a thirdparty format external hard drive software. All data on the external hard drive will be erased by this procedure. How to format a hard drive to ntfs in linux by odysseas kourafalos posted on jan 16, 2020 jan 15, 2020 in linux if you are a dual user, bouncing from linux to windows and back, or are cooperating with windows users and need access to the same files, it is best to have a common partition in ntfs format, since it is accessible by both oses. So i decided to put the hard drive into my ubuntu server. I currently have a corrupted ntfs external drive that i want to reformat in a format that can be read by linux and windows suggestions. Most mac users will be better off formatting external drives with exfat, ensuring they work well on both windows and mac os x without any extra work.
As the default file system in windows, it can only read by mac os, writing to it is not available. With tuxera ntfs for mac, you can use apples disk utility or tuxera disk manager to format ntfs drives. How to format external hard drive, usb flash drive on mac. If you format your external hard drive to hfs, you can use it on mac and linux by removing journaling. If you want to format mac external hard drive, connect the external hard drive youd like to format to the computer. This works in most cases, where the issue is originated due to a system corruption. Or perhaps you are setting up an external drive for backups. In this guide, well show you how to format an external hard drive so you can not only get rid of the. However, to use it on windows you can hfs explorer read only. A lot of people including you, storing important data on seagate external hard drive instead of on your pcmac hard drive. It let me copy files from my external on to my macbook pro no problem but now i want to delete some things. Whats the difference between fat32, exfat, and ntfs. Nov 21, 2015 this video explains, why external hard drive does not work with every operating system and how to solve it.
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