![]() So, you just bought an external hard drive and wanted to use it on your Mac. But somehow, macOS doesn’t allow you to write data to the drive. That’s all because it’s been initialized with Windows NT File System (NTFS), which is primarily for PCs. Apple Mac machines support a different file system. In this post, I’m going to show you how to format your external drive for a Mac compatible file system i.e. Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Just follow this easy step-by-step guide and you’re all set. Important note: If you have useful files stored on the external drive, be sure to copy or transfer them to another safe place prior to formatting. The operation will erase all data and your files will be gone for good. You could use a recovery program like to retrieve them, but the odds of recovery vary. Pro tip: If your external drive has a large volume, like mine – a. ![]() Option: Partition the Hard Drive. Create sections called partitions in a large external drive. Each partition appears on your computer as a separate disk. Each partition can be managed as a separate hard drive for organizing folders, storing backup files, or as a hybrid system containing Mac- and Windows-formatted drives. I highly recommend you also create multiple partitions. I’ll also show you how to do that below. Most External Hard Drives Are Initiated with NTFS During the last several years, I’ve used several removable drives, including a 500GB WD My Passport, 32GB Lexar flash drive, and a few others. Three weeks ago, I bought a brand new 2TB Seagate Expansion to backup my MacBook Pro before I updated to the latest macOS, 10.13 High Sierra (also see those I encountered). When I connected the Seagate to my Mac, the drive icon showed up like this. When I opened it, the default content was all there. Since I wanted to use it on Mac, I clicked the blue logo with the text “Start_Here-Mac”. It brought me to a webpage on Seagate’s site, where it clearly indicated the drive was initially set up to work with a Windows PC. If I wanted to use it with Mac OS or Time Machine backup (which is my intent), I’ll need to format the drive for my Mac. I then right-clicked the external drive icon on Mac desktop > Get Info. Windows 10 adobe compatibility guide. It showed this format: Format: Windows NT File System (NTFS) What is NTFS? I’m not going to explain here; you can read more on. The problem is that on macOS, you can’t work with files saved on an NTFS drive unless you use a paid app. How to Format an External Drive to Work with Mac (from NTFS to Mac OS Extended)? Note: The tutorial and screenshots below are based on macOS Sierra 10.12.5. They might be different if your Mac has a different version. Step 1: Open Disk Utility. The quickest way to do this is a simple Spotlight search (click the search icon on the upper right corner), or go to Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility. Step 2: Highlight your external drive and click “Erase”.
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