How you format a Mac hard drive is entirely dependent on what kind of drive you plan on formatting. For instance, is the hard drive internal or external? And if internal, has it been partitioned or are you looking to reformat the entire system to factory state? Whatever your formatting situation, this how-to guide will cover each of these step-by-step.
- Hp Usb Disk Storage Format Tool For Mac
- Format External Hard Drive Mac
- Format Hard Drive For Mac And Pc
Before you go messing around in the Disk Utility application, make sure you know what the drive is going to be used for. If it’s an external hard drive, for instance, do you plan on hooking it up solely to Macs or Windows PCs as well? Each one has its own compatible format, so you’ll have to be careful which you choose. FAT 32 is the most compatible disk format which is why it’s the most widely used on USB thumb drives — it’s compatible with both Mac and Windows PCs. HFS+ is the native Mac OS file system, and NTFS is Windows’ (Macs can read what’s on NTFS-formatted drives, but they cannot write).
Before you start formatting any hard drives, make sure you’ve backed up your data! Formatting an external hard drive will delete any information on the device, likewise reformatting your system will essentially bring your Mac back to a clean factory state, thus removing all information you’ve stored on it. Conclusion: Be sure to backup first.
Formatting an external hard drive or internal hard drive partition:
- Step 1:
If you plan on formatting an external hard drive then make sure it’s plugged in an appears on your desktop. If you plan on formatting an extra internal drive, make sure you’ve partitioned one (note: if you have yet to do so check out our How to partition guide for Macs). - Step 2:
Open Finder (either through Spotlight or the icon in the dock). - Step 3:
Click on Applications (on the left). - Step 4:
Scroll down and find a folder named Utilities. Double-click on it.
Paragon Disk Wiper for Mac allows to create a bootable USB-flash drive or external hard drive that will help you to completely erase a whole hard disk, a separate partition or just clean free space. After booting your Mac with the bootable media you will be able to use Wipe Wizard to irreversibly. To format an external drive on a Mac: Open Finder and go to /Applications/Utilities and double-click on Disk Utility. Select your drive in the left-hand sidebar and go to the Erase tab. Here's how to format a drive if you are planning to use it with a Mac. Launch Disk Utility. Either head to Applications > Utilities, or tap Command + Space and start typing Disk Utility. Paragon Disk Wiper for Mac allows to create a bootable USB-flash drive or external hard drive that will help you to completely erase a whole hard disk, a separate partition or just clean free space. After booting your Mac with the bootable media you will be able to use Wipe Wizard to irreversibly.
- Step 5:
Once in the folder, you’ll see an application named Disk Utility, double-click on it to launch the program. - Step 6:
Find the hard drive you want to format, and highlight it. If it’s an external hard drive then it should appear in the left nav bar. If it’s an internal drive partition then it should also appear in the left nav bar as whatever you named it after partitioning.
- Step 7:
If you look to the right, there’s tab named Erase, click it. - Step 8:
Underneath it you’ll see a “Format” option. Here you’ll find a drop down menu with MS-DOS (FAT), which you would select if you’re planning on using the drive with Windows and Mac systems or installing Windows; and Mac OS Extended (Journaled), which you should select if you plan on using the drive solely with Mac computers or installing another version of Mac OS. If you’re looking to dual-boot with Linux or run Windows Boot camp, you can format the partition as “MS-DOS (FAT),” however, these programs typically come with an option to partition your drive during setup. Just make sure you know how much hard drive space you can allow to dedicate to another operating system. - Step 9:
After choosing the format, press the “Erase…” button, which will begin the formatting process.
Reformatting your internal system hard drive:
Reformatting your internal drive means a fresh start; the drive will look like it just came off the factory line. Those who usually want to reformat the entire internal drive are generally looking to get rid of any personal information so they can sell the device, or perhaps they’re looking to clear their system after downloading some unsavory software off a certain P2P network.
Mac tools plastic tool cart. Either way, you’ll need your Mac OS X installation DVD that came with your Apple system, as you’ll be booting your computer from this disk to reformat your internal drive.
- Step 1:
Insert the Mac OS X install disc and restart your computer while holding down the C key on your keyboard, so the Mac boots from the install disc. - Step 2:
Double-click the “Install Mac OS X” icon. - Step 3:
There will be an opportunity to click an “Options” button to save existing files, a setting to “Archive and Install” and “Preserve Users and Network Settings.” However, if you want to erase everything and reinstall, select “Erase and Install.” From here the install disk should guide you through the reformatting process.
And that’s how to format a Mac hard drive! Leave any questions below. And if you want to know how to partition a Mac hard drive, we’ve covered that as well.
Disk Utility, a free application included with the Mac operating system, is a multipurpose, easy-to-use tool for working with hard drives, SSDs, and disk images. Among other things, Disk Utility can erase, format, repair, and partition hard drives and SSDs, as well as create RAID arrays.
![Hdd Format Tool For Mac Hdd Format Tool For Mac](/uploads/1/3/3/8/133864058/976220726.jpg)
![Hdd Hdd](/uploads/1/3/3/8/133864058/652721643.jpg)
This guide is for the version of Disk Utility found in OS X 10.10 Yosemite and earlier. Disk Utility underwent some changes in the version included with OS X El Capitan and the new macOS version of the operating system. If you need to format a drive using OS X 10.11 (El Capitan) or later, check out Format a Mac's Drive Using Disk Utility (OS X El Capitan or later)
Getting to Know Disk Utility in OS X Yosemite and Earlier
Disk Utility works with disks and volumes. The term 'disk' refers to the drive itself. A volume is a formatted section of a disk. Each disk has a minimum of one volume. You can use Disk Utility to create a single volume or multiple volumes on a disk.
It's important to understand the relationship between a disk and its volumes. You can erase a volume without affecting the rest of the disk, but if you erase the disk, then you erase every volume that it contains.
Disk Utility has three main sections: a toolbar that spans the top of the Disk Utility workspace; a vertical pane on the left that displays disks and volumes; and a work area on the right, where you can perform tasks on a selected disk or volume. Disk Utility is located in Applications > Utilities. Launch it.
If you plan to use Disk Utility for system maintenance purposes as well as for working with hard drives, add it to the Dock. Right-click the Disk Utility icon in the Dock and select Keep in Dock https://newrhino.weebly.com/blog/lex-tool-for-mac. from the pop-up menu.
Erasing a Non-Startup Volume
Erasing a volume is an easy way to free up drive space. Many multimedia applications, such as Adobe Photoshop, need a large amount of contiguous disk space to work. Erasing a volume is a faster way of creating that space than using third-party defragmenting tools. Because this process erases all the data on a volume, many multimedia-savvy individuals create small volumes to hold a project's worth of data and then erase the volume before starting the next project.
The
Hp Usb Disk Storage Format Tool For Mac
Erasing or Formatting a Mac's Startup Drive Using Disk Utility
Format External Hard Drive Mac
Disk Utility can't directly erase or format a startup disk, because Disk Utility and all of the system functions it uses are located on that disk. If Disk Utility tried to erase the startup disk, it would at some point erase itself, which could present a problem.
To get around this, use Disk Utility from a source other than the startup disk. One option is your OS X Install DVD if you have one, which includes Disk Utility. Macs without optical drives use the Recovery volume.
- Insert the OS X Install DVD in your Mac's CD/DVD reader.
- Restart the Mac by selecting the Restart option in the Apple menu. When the display goes blank, press and hold the c key on the keyboard.
- Booting from the DVD can take time. After you see the grey screen with the Apple logo in the middle, release the c key.
- Select Use English for the main language. when this option appears, and then click the arrow button.
- Select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.
- When Disk Utility launches, the drive from the disks and volumes listed at the left side of the Disk Utility window.
- Click the Erase tab. The selected drive's name and current format display in the right side of the Disk Utility workspace.
- Click Erase. Disk Utility unmounts the drive from the desktop, erases it, and then remounts it on the desktop.
Is there a snip tool similar to microsoft for mac. For Macs that do not have an optical drive, you can boot from the Recovery HD to run Disk Utility.
You can then use the steps in the Erase a Non-Startup Volume section.
Format Hard Drive For Mac And Pc
- Quit Disk Utility by selecting Quit Disk Utility from the Disk Utility menu item. This takes you back to the Install OS X window.
- Quit the OS X Installer by selecting Quit OS X Installer from the Mac OS X Installer menu item.
- Set the startup disk by clicking the Startup Disk button.
- Select the disk you want to be the startup disk and then click the Restart button.