Oct 16, 2019 the best format for external hard drives. Reformatting the disk still with the external disk selected in disk utility go to the erase tab, select mac os extended journaled from the format dropdown, choose to name the disk. How to format hard drives on windows, mac and linux. Can you help me with the easier method and the step by step for install centos so in the external hdd please. This solves the problem of your external hard drive not letting you add files. Place the linux install cddvd in the cddvd drive on the computer. Step 2 on the left side of the utilities screen, find the name of the external hard drive you want to format and select it. Linux is the absolute operating system suitable for geeks. The command line approach to disk erasure in macos is a bit different and it requires precise syntax to insure that you are erasing the proper disk, making this. Filesystem to use for external hard drive to be used with mac, linux. Format external hard drive to linux compatible file system.
Also you can enter a name for the drive under volume label. Linux format external usb hard disk partition nixcraft. Using gnomediskutility on linux mint, i format one spare drive to exfat gpt. Plug the external usb device into the usb port on the computer. External hard drive is popular storage device and it can be used to store all kinds of digital information such as images, documents, apps, emails, etc. With exfat, you can store files of any size, and use it with any computer made in the last 20 years. Dec, 2019 you can format the external hard drive or usb drive to make it compatible with both mac and windows machines. I have created linux bootable thumb drive using centos. Replace ext3 with ext2 or ext4 if you wish to format in these filesystems. Choosing the right format for your external hard drive b. This is because external hard drives in linux unlike windows and mac do not automatically start up so that users can access files. It will likely already be formatted, either for use. Complete the related information name, format, scheme, then click erase button. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac.
On the formatting window, select quick format option, choose file system format, and click start. How to format external hard drives for mac and windows. By formatting its linux drive, you can improve its performance as well. Also find out the difference between file system i. However, to use it on windows you can hfs explorer read only. How to choose the best format for usb drive on windowsmac. You can format an external hard drive or thumb drive to work seamlessly with both mac and windows by using the exfat file system. For most reasons to erase, including when reformatting a disk or selling, giving away, or trading in your mac. Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with windows and mac. Hi atanere, i would like to install centos on external hdd. By default, macs can only read ntfs and not write to them. If you are techy and use windows and mac computers frequently, then you might need to transfer data between mac and pc.
Best format for an external hdd in 2019 to be used in macos. Sometimes, a system can become slow by having limited free space. If you are having a hard time using the command line, try the disk utility app, which is simpler and uses the gui. Before you sell your sdcard or pendrive, you should format it. How to create an external usb bootable linux hard drive. This live usb loads perfectly by using the option key on my imac.
This is not hard to do, and will take you only about a minutes effort. By this way, you can easily format an external hard drive for mac and pc without losing any data. Select your external hdd on the left side and then select partition option. That said, if you are using smaller file sizes fat32 can suffice.
You can format the external hard drive or usb drive to make it compatible with both mac and windows machines. The exfat format supports virtually any size hard drive and file, unlike the outdated fat32 format. Click go on the top tool bar, and select utilities. In the main interface, right click the partition on that need. Mar 09, 2017 managing storage devices whether they are internal hard drives, ssds, pcie ssds, or external usb devices is always a tricky task. Feb 08, 2020 how to partition an external hard drive on mac. How to format an external hard drive for use with a mac. Most external hard drives you buy will come out of the box preformatted for a windows computer ntfs. Format an external hard drive or usb flash drive for mac os x. This is a default file system for linux os including raspberry pi. Format external hard drive for mac with disk utility. How to format a usb external disk for mac osx using disk.
In this guide, well show you how to format an external hard drive so you can not only get rid of the. Windows xp, mac os, and linux all support udf reading and writing. The answer is yes, in most cases, and it is actually quite easy to get your mac formatted stuff mounted on your linux system with readonly, and in most cases readandwrite, support. The computer will boot so you can see the post screen. This thing is still unknown for many users but doesnt worry its not complex. Dealing with macformatted drives on linux fosswire. How to format an external hard drive the easy way in 2020. After your drive is formatted, you can begin using it to store data. Click the icon of the unmountable external drive on the left part of the window. Using disk utility, you can erase and reformat your external hard drive to work on both mac and windows computers. The problems seem to be with inconsistent ability to readwrite the usb drive. How to format drive with compatible file system for mac. The answer is yes, in most cases, and it is actually quite easy to get your macformatted stuff mounted on your linux system with readonly, and in most cases readandwrite, support. The best format for your external hard drive the hellotech blog.
Rakesh shewale writes with a common question about formatting compatibility. I am new to linux mint, am very anxious to make it another os. If it is not ticked, you will lose all of your data. Once youve unboxed your new drive, connect it to your mac. Since it is an external drive, you might want to format with fat32 or ntfs, so you access the files when moving the disk around to different platforms. If you want to format your external hard drive to work with mac and windows computers, you should use exfat. How to format or partition an external hard drive for mac. How to format an external drive in os x by shujaa imran jan 2, 2016 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 apples mac lineup only. May 01, 2020 how to erase a disk for mac use disk utility to erase format a hard disk, ssd, flash drive, or other storage device. Which mac file system is best for an external drive. If your system has been corrupted by a malware, then you can wipe the hard disk of your linux to resolve this. This video explains, why external hard drive does not work with every operating system and how to solve it. You can use label name insted of partition name to mount disk using etcfstab.
These two do not play nice with each other but heres how you can get a usb, external hdd, or other storage device, to be readable and writeable on both operating systems. Quickly format an external hard drive for mac and windows pc. How to format a 4tb usb external drive to use on linux. Some versions of linux can write to ntfs while others may not. Highlight your drive and click partition in disk utility. Aug 30, 2016 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 to format drive with compatible file system for mac and. Buying and using an external hd is one thing, getting the most out of it is quite another.
Apr 14, 2020 by this way, you can easily format an external hard drive for mac and pc without losing any data. According my experience on windows you can install your ubuntu outside your internal hdd e. When you cant mount an external hard drive on your mac, you can try the 5 methods introduced in this. To format external drive to file system compatible with mac and pc, connect the drive to your computer and follow the detailed steps given below take formatting hard drive to exfat in windows 7 for example. Start by connecting your external hdd to mac s usb port.
Then below you will see the format type which will be ntfs or possibly msdos fat, we need to reformat the volume and make the format mac os extended journaled. Also, since you can run a full copy of os x on the external drive, it can be used for troubleshooting purposes on other macs or it can be as a kind of virtual os x. In order to format hard drive on linux, you need to follow these steps. In this article, i will talk about some of the basics of storage devices on linux. The maximum individual file size for exfat is 16 eb. If you have a mac you should format the drive for your mac first thing, before you start using it.
After youre done, dont forget to remove the external hard. Follow the path applicationsutilities and click disk utility. I have a number of these usb drives, and would like to format them ideally. Formatting external disk can be done via various methods and it can be formatted to a range of file system so that you can use the disk under. Jan 02, 2016 how to format an external drive in os x by shujaa imran jan 2, 2016 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 apples mac lineup only. If you format your external hard drive to hfs, you can use it on mac and linux by removing journaling.
Under file system, choose the file system you want to use. The easiest way is to drag it from one drive to another. Under the finder men, go to go utilities disk utility or type disk utility in the spotlight and hit enter. May 29, 2018 to format external drive to file system compatible with mac and pc, connect the drive to your computer and follow the detailed steps given below take formatting hard drive to exfat in windows 7 for example. In our example, we created a partition table for linux. If you want to create multiple partitions on your external hard drive in fact, you should for better file organization, heres a stepbystep guide. To format the newly created partition, issue the following command in the terminal prompt. Push the appropriate key f12 for dell laptops to bring up the one time boot menu select boot from cddvd. 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. Feb, 2018 using disk utility, you can erase and reformat your external hard drive to work on both mac and windows computers. Click the erase function on the top of the disk utility window. Rightclick on the external hard disk and select format option from context menu. Firstly, it allows you to run another copy of os x without needing any additional mac computer.
You can select the exfat format when using the disk utility to format the drive. How to access a mac drive from a windows or linux system. I bought a new external hdd for my mac about a month ago and formatted it to mac os x extended journaled. The best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. Mar 22, 2012 the best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. You want to use your external hard drive in both mac, pc and linux use fat32. The mac drive may have an efi system partition on it. Install, boot, and run mac os x from an external hard drive. Nov 21, 2015 this video explains, why external hard drive does not work with every operating system and how to solve it. To find out the label of an external hard drive, open up a terminal, and use the following command. How to erase a disk for mac use disk utility to erase format a hard disk, ssd, flash drive, or other storage device. I originally thought of using fat 32 as its compatible with both and windows but it has a 4 gig file size limit. Partition new disk using following command fdisk l grep disk fdisk devsdb format the new disk using mkfs. 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.
For example, if you want to label the new partition backup, enter. How to use external hdd with windowsmaclinuxandroid. Then, you can share external hard drive between mac and pc. This hard disk was setup and formatted by friend under windows xp ntfs partition. If youre lucky, you can just rightclick each partition on the mac drive and select delete volume to remove the partitions.
May 09, 2017 this is because external hard drives in linux unlike windows and mac do not automatically start up so that users can access files. How to format hard drives on windows, mac and linux techwiser. Step 1 connect the external hard drive you want to format to your mac, then start the disk utility app that you can find under applications utilities. I have external hdd of segate on which i want to install linux. Nov 19, 2015 if you format your external hard drive to hfs, you can use it on mac and linux by removing journaling. Sep 12, 2007 if you deal with macs at all, you might be curious as to whether linux is capable of dealing with disks and drives formatted for mac os x. Select the file system you want to use and give the drive a name. Dec 29, 2015 the instructions below are for windows 10, but other versions of windows from windows 7 and up can also format an external drive as exfat for use with mac as well. How to format external hard drive for pc, mac and linux. If you deal with macs at all, you might be curious as to whether linux is capable of dealing with disks and drives formatted for mac os x. However, if you want to convert ntfs to exfat to make external hard drive compatible with mac and pc, 3 steps are required.
Formatting an external hard drive would erase everything on it. Locate your external drive from the list of devices and drives. How to convert a macformatted drive to a windows drive. As darnir said, gparted is a suitable tool for this. Cannot mount external hard drive on mac, how to fix. Im having a hard time getting a 4tb external usb drive to work on both linux ubuntu 14. How to format a hard drive on mac to work on mac and pc. How to format external hard drive mac 2 simple methods. 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.
I have an external new hard drive connected using usb port under red hat fedora core linux. How to format an external hard drive with pictures wikihow. Linux offers its users gparted and fdisk from the command line. Now that you know which format to use, check out our guide on how to format your hard drive on. How to format a usb or external hdd so it works on both. Open the disk utility app and highlight your external hard drive. How to format external hard drive to use on mac and pc. With a tiny mistake, you may lose data or wrongly format your drive in a way that can lead to data corruption. In the end, i just erased the drive and formatted it to a so called fat msdos format. 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. This article shows you how to format an external hard drive via different methods, and you can follow these methods to format external hard drive for pc, mac or linux.
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