#Reformat external hard drive mac and pc how to#
#Reformat external hard drive mac and pc for mac#
#Reformat external hard drive mac and pc mp4#
#Reformat external hard drive mac and pc install#

ItР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›s limited on Windows machines, but Apple users will be able to read and write to HFS Plus-formatted drives without issues.

#Reformat external hard drive mac and pc for mac#

HFS Plus: Similar to how NTFS is default file system for Windows, HFS Plus is the default file system for Mac operating systems.

It canР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›t store files larger than 4GB, though, so it has fallen out of favor in recent years. FAT32 also works across Linux, Windows and macOS, and in years past, it was the de facto option for flash drives.

FAT32: This is the older, uglier cousin of ExFAT.

Though not as prevalent as NTFS, youР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›ll often find flash drives and external solid-state drives formatted to ExFAT out of the box because multi-platform support and the lack of file size restrictions make it an ideal choice for plug-and-play setups. Windows and macOS can read and write data to ExFAT.

ExFAT: This isnР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›t exclusive to any OS.

You can read and write on Windows platforms, but macOS and Linux users will only be able to read data from an NTFS-formatted drive. Like most file systems, NTFS is restricted once you move outside of Windows.

NTFS: This is what Windows uses by default.

Because of that, weР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›re going to go over the most commonly used file system options so youР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›ll know whatР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›s what. The one yours uses largely depends on the drive and the computer OS youР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›re using. Unfortunately, there isnР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›t a de facto file system that all hard drives use. Beforehand, just be sure your files are backed up with an online backup service, such as Backblaze(read our Backblaze review).Р В РІР‚СњР вЂ™Р’В«efore getting into the formatting process, though, itР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›s important to go over what youР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›ll be formatting the drive with: a file system.Р В РІР‚СњР В РІР‚РЋile systems are what operating systems use to store information on a storage device.

#Reformat external hard drive mac and pc install#

In the same way a fresh install of your OS can solve most issues, reformatting your hard drive is a critical step in troubleshooting problems. Outside of formatting for initial use, you may need to reformat your hard drive if you encounter errors.

#Reformat external hard drive mac and pc how to#

In fact, thatР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›s one of our recommended troubleshooting steps in our how to solve an external hard drive not showing up guide. Most external drives come ready to use on your computer, but in rare cases, youР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›ll need to format your drive. The data isnР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›t erased completely, but weР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›ll touch more on that later. Instead, formatting is used to get the hard drive to a state in which it can be used by the computer, which requires all written data to be erased from the drive. Though thatР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›s true to a degree, itР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›s not the sole purpose of the process. Most people associate hard drive formatting with erasing a hard drive. LetР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›s first talk about hard drive formatting, file systems and how formatting doesnР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›t necessarily erase all data from your drive. WeР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›ll show you how to format your hard drive on Mac and Windows computer operating systems, and explain key settings on both operating systems.Р В РІР‚СњР вЂ™Р’В«efore getting to that, though, itР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›s important to understand what hard drive formatting is. In this guide on how to format external hard drives, weР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›re going to help you make sure your portable disk works with everything. It can also be used to prep a hard drive for use with another operating system. Formatting allows you to overwrite all the information on the hard drive, resetting the file structure and how the drive interacts with the operating system. If youР В Р вЂ Р В РІР‚С™Р Р†РІР‚С›РЎС›ve run into issues with your hard drive, formatting is one of the first steps you should take to troubleshoot it.

#Reformat external hard drive mac and pc mp4#

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