#How to format external drive for mac os windows#
If you see this message, it just means that Windows does not recognize the file system on the drive. When you connect a HFS+ formatted drive to Windows, you’ll get a message stating that the drive needs to be formatted in order to be used. The only other option is to format the hard drive and use the FAT32 format for the best compatibility. You can get Windows to do it, but you have to purchase third-party software. Windows is worse in the sense that it cannot even read or write to HFS+ formatted volumes by default. Now OS X can read and write to FAT32 formatted drives, but can only read NTFS volumes. When it comes to file formats, there are a couple of major formats that are used about 99% of the time: FAT32 and NTFS for Windows and HFS+ (Mac OS Extended) for Macs. Scroll down to the Not Showing Up section below.
If the drive is not showing up in Disk Management or Disk Utility at all, you have some other type of problem. If the drive has a file system not recognized by OS X, you’ll need to erase it and the format it using FAT or HFS+. If the drive is showing here, but not on the OS X desktop, then click First Aid to try and repair the drive. If not, go to Disk Utility and check to see if it appears under the heading External. On Macs, the drive should automatically appear on the desktop. If the drive is showing, but you’re getting messages about the drive needing to be formatted, etc., then read the next section below. Pick a letter for your drive and you should be good to go. In Disk Management, just right-click on the disk and choose Change Drive Letter and Paths. Normally, Windows does this automatically, but sometimes because of other connected devices, your external hard drive will be recognized, but not have any drive letter assigned to it. If the drive shows up here, but not in Windows Explorer, you might have to assign a drive letter to the disk. In order to figure out whether your problem is related to formatting or to not being recognized, go to Disk Management in Windows or Disk Utility on OS X and see if the drive shows up there.
#How to format external drive for mac os drivers#
This is usually a problem with drivers or hardware. If the Security Options button is not available, Disk Utility cannot perform a secure erase on the storage device.The other main reason is that the drive simply is not being recognized by Windows or Mac and therefore won’t even show up on your system at all. Secure erase options are available only for some types of storage devices. (Optional) If available, click Security Options, use the slider to choose how many times to write over the erased data, then click OK. If the Scheme pop-up menu isn’t available, make sure you selected the storage device you want to erase-it’s at the top of the hierarchy.Ĭlick the Format pop-up menu, then choose a file system format. Ĭlick the Scheme pop-up menu, then choose GUID Partition Map. In the sidebar, select the storage device you want to erase, then click the Erase button. If you want to erase any other type of storage device: Double-click Disk Utility in the /Applications/Utilities folder. Note: If you want to get your Mac ready to trade in, sell, or give away, and your computer is a Mac with Apple silicon or an Intel-based Mac with an Apple T2 Security Chip, use Erase Assistant.