Sep 27,2020 • Filed to: Hard Drive Recovery • Proven solutions
'How to format an external hard drive Mac? What format system to use when reformatting my storage drive for a Mac?'
To see the size of a specific file or folder, click it once and then press Command-I. To see storage information about your Mac, click the Apple menu in the top-left of your screen. Choose About This Mac and click the Storage tab. For Time Machine backups, it's good to use a drive that has at least twice the storage capacity of your Mac. The My Book Desktop External Hard Drive from Western Digital, while large, fits the bill for business owners in need of serious space: It comes in 3, 4, 6, 8, or 10TB varieties and offers Western Digital’s own backup solution for Windows users.
This is a frequent question asked by first-time, as well as the not-so-tech-savvy, macOS users. Learning how to format an external hard drive Mac is essential. Because saving all your data on the Cloud is nice and all, but physical storage is still popular. Especially if you don't have a stable internet connection or if most of your files are large.
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Luckily, you don't have to learn rocket science to be able to format an external hard drive for Mac or PC. The operation is pretty straightforward. When it comes to your iOS device, we have listed two methods for you, read below and explore more.
Part 1: What Is the Best Format for External Hard Drive Mac?
The first step to formatting your external drive for a Mac computer is choosing the right format. There are four possible choices:
- APFS (Apple File System)
- HFS+ (Mac OS Extended)
- exFAT (Extended File Allocation Table)
- FAT (MS-DOS)
To understand which is the best for you, let's have a comprehensive overview of each of them.
1. Apple File System
The APFS was first introduced in 2017 as a replacement for the HFS+. Nowadays, all new Macs come with the operating system preinstalled on APFS, as this system is optimized for use with SSD and flash storage drives. However, it still works with traditional HDD drives too.
This is the best format to pick if you have an external SSD or USB flash drive that you don't intend to use with a Windows device.
The biggest strength of this system is the speed, as well as the encryption and metadata handling. However, you won't be able to use this system with Time Machine.
2. Mac OS Extended
The HFS+, or Hierarchical File System plus on its real name, was the main file system used for Mac until 2017.
This type of file system is suitable to use with both HDD and SDD drives, but the latter will perform slightly better with the APFS mentioned above. If you have an older Mac, though, choosing the HFS+ is your best bet.
In general, all external drives formatted to HFS+ work nicely with older Mac versions but are incompatible with Windows.
3. Extended File Allocation Table
Designed by Microsoft, the exFAT is a good choice if you plan to use the external hard drive with both macOS and Windows systems. Yet, you won't get top performance on either. This choice is more appropriate for USB flash drives, although you can still use it for SDD and HDD units too.
The main issue with exFAT is that your drive will be more prone to fragmentation when used with Apple devices and is less stable than NTFS on Windows. If you really have to share the drive between Mac and Windows machines, that's your best option though.
4. MS-DOS
Macs also support FAT32 drives, marked as FAT in Disk Utility. This format should be avoided at all costs unless you're dealing with a really old Windows computer, which you really have to use in parallel with your Mac system.
Typically, there is no reason to choose this option unless you're planning to use the external hard drive on a Windows XP or earlier machine.
Part 2: How to Format an External Hard Drive Mac?
Now that you know which format to choose, it's time to learn how to format an external hard drive for Mac. There are essentially two methods, with Disk Utility or Time Machine function.
Note: If you plan to format an older external drive, perhaps one you used with another device, make sure to backup all data before proceeding. Formatting is a permanent procedure that can't be reversed. While there are data recovery software you can use if you lost data, it is always better to prevent.
That said, here's how to format an external hard drive Mac:
Method 1: Format Mac Hard Drive with Disk Utility
Disk Utility is a utility application proprietary to macOS that is used to both format and manage internal and external disks. Here's how to use it:
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.
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. Then, on the top side under the Disk Utility, click on the Erase button.
Step 3 Follow the on-screen prompts to select the desired file system and allow the drive to format. That's it! After the process is complete, you can either start using the drive or choose to create partitions on it.
Method 2: Format Mac Hard Drive with Time Machine
Formatting an external hard drive with Time Machine is as easy as formatting it with Disk Utility. Time Machine, however, gives you the possibility to create an automatic backup of the data on your hard drive before formatting it.
Before you proceed, therefore, you should first set up the external drive to use with Time Machine. To do this, open System Preferences and select Time Machine after you've connected the external drive to your Mac.
Now, click on Select Disk and select the desired drive from the list. Click on the Use Disk button. At this point, the system will run an automatic backup two minutes after you've clicked on the Use Disk button, or you can proceed with the formatting if the hard disk is empty.
To format an external hard drive for Mac with Time Machine, you must follow the steps below.
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.
Part 3: Bonus Tip – Data Recovery from Formatted Hard Drive on Mac
Sometimes, it may happen that you accidentally formatted an external hard drive containing important data. Whether it's your wedding pictures or your bachelor's degree thesis, chances are you want to get that data back as quickly as possible.
If you have a newer version of Mac, you can use the Apple Time Machine to recover your canceled files, or you could choose to use external software, such as Recoverit Data Recovery.
1. Recover Data with Apple Time Machine
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In the former hypothesis, you can try to recover your data with the Time Machine. This app is Apple's backup feature present on the newer systems. If you followed the steps above before formatting the hard drive with Time Machine and allowed the app to execute the backup, then there are high chances that you can recover any lost data without too much hassle.
To do so, just launch the Time Machine and browse through the folders to see if it has saved the files you require.
For easier browsing, you can use the time stamp feature on the right side of the screen and select the date or time when you executed the backup. Once you found the files, simply click on Restore to get them back.
2. Recover Data with Recoverit Data Recovery
If you didn't use the Time Machine function or couldn't find the files you need, you can try to recover any lost files with trusted third-party software, such as Recoverit - Data Recovery.
Recoverit (IS)
A Life Saver to Solve Your Data Loss Problems!
- It allows you to recover unlimited lost or deleted files from your Mac device, including photo, video, and audio data, document files, and more.
- It supports all types of Mac files irrespective of their extension.
- Compatible with both internal and external drives, USB pens, memory cards, and other hardware, so you can rest assured it will retrieve your data if it's there.
- Retrieve data from accidentally deleted files, lost or formatted partitions, data lost due to virus attacks, system crashes, or data lost by the Time Machine.
- It is free to download and supports all leading macOS versions, including the 10.14 release.
This system is also very easy to use, in just three easy steps:
Step 1Install the application and choose the desired location
Download and install the software on your Mac computer, then open it and select the external hard drive, partition, or location where you want to retrieve data.
Step 2Start the scan to retrieve your lost data
Click the Start button. The software will now scan the selected drive and display all retrieved data in an easy-to-scour list.
Step 3 Preview the recovered files and save them in your chosen location
Review and select the target files, then launch the recovery process. That's it. The software will restore your lost data.
Conclusion
As you can see, how to format an external hard drive Mac is not particularly complicated. The Disk Utility allows you to format the desired drive to the desired system in a blink of an eye. Backing up the data on your drive with Time Machine also allows you to avoid the recovery hassle. If you still lost some data, you even know which software to use to recover all lost files.
Now it's your turn. Use this guide to format your unreadable external drive, download, and use the data recovery software if needed, and don't forget to share this article with your Mac-addicted friends. They might make good use of it too.
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There's several reasons why you should routinely backup your Mac: to avoid the nightmare of losing important data, perhaps to move your files to a shiny new Mac; or because you're planning to install the latest macOS update and you want to be safe. Here are a few options on how to do that.
Bonus 2. What to Do If You Cannot Get the Lost Files from Backup
1How to Backup Mac to External Hard Drive with Time Machine?
Time Machine is a built-in backup feature of Mac, to back up all of your files, including photos, videos, music, apps, documents, and system files.
To create backups using the Time Machine, all you need is a large capacity external storage device. Important note: In order to prepare the external storage for backup, Time Machine will erase all the information in the external storage.
Steps to Backup Mac to External Hard Drive with Time Machine
Step 1. Connect your external storage device to your Mac
Connect the drive to the Mac. A message will pop up asking whether you want to use it for the Time Machine back-up.
If this doesn't happen automatically, you will need to trigger the back-up manually. Go on the Time Machine menu icon, and select Time Machine preferences.
Step 2. Select Encrypt Backup Disk (recommended)
Check the Back Up Automatically option then click on Select Backup Disk. It is safer to encrypt your data by check the 'Encrypt backups' option: this way, anyone who wants to access your data will need to enter a password.
Sometimes, the system may prompt you to erase the disk before doing the back-up: that may be because it is not formatted as required. In that case, click Erase (note that you will lose any data present on the external disk).
Step 3. Enjoy convenient automatic backups
Click on Use Disk button. Time Machine will proceed to automatically making regular back-ups on that external drive, as long as you keep keep it connected to your Mac - no need for you to do anything else.
Step 4. Start a manual backup (Optional)
You can also launch a back-up manually. Choose Back Up Now in the Time Machine menu icon. Here you can also check the backup status, or stop an ongoing backup.
Once you have a backup, it will be easy for you to restore all these files, in situations where you either mistakenly deleted them, or if your hard drive is damaged or needs replacing.
2How to Backup Mac to iCloud?
Another convenient way to backup your files is to use iCloud, since it doesn't require you to connect an external hard drive to your Mac. iCloud can automatically store your notes, calendars, bookmarks, photos, passwords, and more. And it now also includes iCloud Drive, which can store documents, desktop files, and other files of your choosing.
Steps to Back up Mac to iCloud
Following these instructions to backup your Mac to iCloud.
Step1. Sign in to iCloud
How To Set Up External Hard Drive For Mac Backup
To use iCloud and to access your files, you just need to be signed in to iCloud.
Go to Apple menu (Apple) and choose System Preferences > iCloud. Enter your Apple ID. The iCloud will be turned on automatically after you sign in.
Step2. Review your iCloud settings
Choose the apps that you want to backup with iCloud (e.g. Notes, Photos, iCloud Drive...).
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Important: To ensure the best iCloud experience, Apple recommends macOS Mojave or newer.
Bonus Tip 1: How to Restore from a Time Machine Backup
If you are using Time Machine for regular backups (and you should!), you can easily retrieve lost items or recover older versions of files.
Step 1. Restart your computer and hold down the Command + R simultaneously. It will boot into macOS Utilities.
Step 2. Select the first option and then click on Continue.
Step 3. Choose the backup you want to restore, then click on Continue button.
Step 4. Select one or more items you want to restore, then click Contine.
Restored items return to their original location, e.g. if an item was in the Documents folder, it will be returned to the Documents folder.
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Bonus Tip 2: What to Do If You Cannot Get Your Lost Files from Backup
What to do if your lost files doesn't come back after restoring? A professional software can help you find your lost files backup in this situation. There are specialized software to recover deleted or lost data. AnyRecover for Mac is one of the best and easiest to use - no expert skills needed!
AnyRecover for Mac can help whether the system crashed, you emptied your Trash, fell victim to a virus attack, or if your Mac suddenly stopped recognizing an external device like hard drive or memory stick, etc. It can recover most types of file (emails, documents, photos, music, etc) in just a few steps. Best of all, you can try it for free.
Features
Equipped with the latest data recovery algorithm that allows you to recover unlimited data from your Mac computer.
Recover files regardless of how you lost your files, it can help you recover data after system crashing, trash empting, formatting, etc.
Supports all storage mediums, including hard drive (external & internal), SD card, computer, digital camera, etc.
Compatible with all models of Mac, including MacBook Pro, iMac Pro, MacBook Air, MacBook, iMac and more.
Recover Everything You Want with AnyRecover
Step 1. Download & launch AnyRecover.
Step 2. Select the location/file type and start scanning.
Step 3. Preview the scanned files, then click Recover to retrieve them.
Congratulations, you have now recovered your files!
Nearly everyone has accidentally deleted or lost a file before. Whether it's an important document or holiday pictures, all files are just data on your Mac, and fortunately that data can be easily retrieved with AnyRecover. It offers a free trial for you!