Erasing your disk: For most reasons to erase, including when reformatting a disk or selling, giving away, or trading in your Mac, you should erase your entire disk.
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Erasing a volume on your disk: In other cases, such as when your disk contains multiple volumes (or partitions) and you don't want to erase them all, you can erase specific volumes on the disk.
Erasing a disk or volume permanently deletes all of its files. Before continuing, make sure that you have a backup of any files that you want to keep.
Here's how to do it: Step 1: Connect the empty external HD to your Mac and launch Disk Utility. Select the drive from the left sidebar, then. Step 2: Plug the hard drive into your Windows PC. Open the Start menu and search for Disk Management. Select the search.
How to erase your disk
- Dec 31, 2019 Select Mac OS Extended (Journaled), instead. If you prefer to use your external drive for both Mac and Windows, you can choose ExFAT, instead. You’ll also have the option to rename your external drive, if you wish to do so. Please be patient as the erasing process carries out.
- Now click the Erase tab. Set the format to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and the Scheme to GUID Partition Map.If you selected the drive name instead of its description you won’t see the Scheme option.
- Apr 01, 2020 The newer APFS format is better for some types of drives, including SSDs, while Mac OS Extended is great for older drives and macOS versions. Here’s a run-through of the pros and cons of both to help you decide. When to Use the Apple File System (APFS).
- Start up from macOS Recovery. Then select Disk Utility from the Utilities window and click Continue.
If you're not erasing the disk your Mac started up from, you don't need to start up from macOS Recovery: just open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder of your Applications folder. - Choose View > Show All Devices from the menu bar in Disk Utility. The sidebar now shows your disks (devices) and any containers and volumes within them. The disk your Mac started up from is at the top of the list. In this example, Apple SSD is the startup disk:
- Select the disk that you want to erase. Don't see your disk?
- Click Erase, then complete these items:
- Name: Type the name that you want the disk to have after you erase it.
- Format: Choose APFS or Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Disk Utility shows a compatible format by default.
- Scheme: Choose GUID Partition Map.
- Click Erase to begin erasing your disk and every container and volume within it. You might be asked to enter your Apple ID. Forgot your Apple ID?
- When done, quit Disk Utility.
- If you want your Mac to be able to start up from the disk you erased, reinstall macOS on the disk.
How to erase a volume on your disk
- Start up from macOS Recovery. Then select Disk Utility from the Utilities window and click Continue.
If you're not erasing the volume your Mac started up from, you don't need to start up from macOS Recovery: just open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder of your Applications folder. - In the sidebar of Disk Utility, select the volume that you want to erase. The volume your Mac started up from is named Macintosh HD, unless you changed its name. Don't see your volume?
- Click Erase, then complete these items:
- Name: Type the name that you want the volume to have after you erase it.
- Format: Choose APFS or Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Disk Utility shows a compatible format by default.
- If you see an Erase Volume Group button, the volume you selected is part of a volume group. In that case, you should erase the volume group. Otherwise, click Erase to erase just the selected volume. You might be asked to enter your Apple ID. Forgot your Apple ID?
- When done, quit Disk Utility.
- If you want your Mac to be able to start up from the volume you erased, reinstall macOS on that volume.
Reasons to erase
You can erase at any time, including in circumstances such as these:
- You want to permanently erase all content from your Mac and restore it to factory settings. This is one of the final steps before selling, giving away, or trading in your Mac.
- You're changing the format of a disk, such as from a PC format (FAT, ExFAT, or NTFS) to a Mac format (APFS or Mac OS Extended).
- You received a message that your disk isn't readable by this computer.
- You're trying to resolve a disk issue that Disk Utility can't repair.
- The macOS installer doesn't see your disk or can't install on it. For example, the installer might say that your disk isn't formatted correctly, isn't using a GUID partition scheme, contains a newer version of the operating system, or can't be used to start up your computer.
- The macOS installer says that you may not install to this volume because it is part of an Apple RAID.
About APFS and Mac OS Extended
Disk Utility in macOS High Sierra or later can erase using either the newer APFS (Apple File System) format or the older Mac OS Extended format, and it automatically chooses a compatible format for you.
How to choose between APFS and Mac OS Extended
Disk Utility tries to detect the type of storage and show the appropriate format in the Format menu. If it can't, it chooses Mac OS Extended, which works with all versions of macOS. If you want to change the format, answer these questions:
- Are you formatting the disk that came built into your Mac?
If the built-in disk came APFS-formatted, Disk Utility suggests APFS. Don't change it to Mac OS Extended. - Are you about to install macOS High Sierra or later for the first time on the disk?
If you need to erase your disk before installing High Sierra or later for the first time on that disk, choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled). During installation, the macOS installer decides whether to automatically convert to APFS—without erasing your files. - Are you preparing a Time Machine backup disk or bootable installer?
Choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled) for any disk that you plan to use as a Time Machine backup disk or as a bootable installer. - Will you be using the disk with another Mac?
If the other Mac isn't using macOS High Sierra or later, choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Earlier versions of macOS don't work with APFS-formatted volumes.
How to identify the format currently in use
If you want to know which format is currently in use, use any of these methods:
- Select the volume in the Disk Utility sidebar, then check the information shown on the right. For more detail, choose File > Get Info from the Disk Utility menu bar.
- Open System Information and select Storage in the sidebar. The File System column on the right shows the format of each volume.
- Select the volume in the Finder, then choose File > Get Info from the menu bar. The Get Info window shows the Format of that volume.
If your disk or volume doesn't appear, or the erase fails
- Shut down your Mac, then unplug all nonessential devices from your Mac.
- If you're erasing an external drive, make sure that it's connected directly to your Mac using a cable that you know is good. Then turn the drive off and back on.
- If your disk or volume still doesn't appear in Disk Utility, or Disk Utility reports that the erase process failed, your disk or Mac might need service. If you need help, please contact Apple Support.
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- If you can't start up from macOS Recovery, you can use a different startup disk instead.
- If Disk Utility shows a Security Options button in the Erase window, you can click that button to choose between a faster (but less secure) erase and a slower (but more secure) erase. Some older versions of Disk Utility offer the option to zero all data instead. These secure-erase options aren't offered or needed for solid-state drives (SSDs) and flash storage.
The easiest way to add storage to your Mac is to buy an external hard drive. Once you have it, your first task is to pick a suitable file system for that drive depending on your intended usage.
Using Apple’s free Disk Utility app, you can easily format the drive, give it a label, or even partition it and create multiple volumes from a single drive. Let’s take a look at your options, which file system is right for you, and how to get your drive ready for use.
Format Your Drive With Disk Utility
Once you’ve unboxed your new drive, connect it to your Mac. It will likely already be formatted, either for use with Windows (using NTFS) or for maximum compatibility (using FAT32). For a Mac user, neither of these file systems are desirable.
You can find Disk Utility under Applications > Utilities, or simply search for it using Spotlight. You should see a list of connected drives and mounted disk images listed in the left-hand sidebar. Click on one to select it and view its name, current file system, and available space.
You’ll see a list of controls along the top edge of the window. These are:
- First Aid: This allows you to check the disk for errors. macOS will prompt you to attempt a fix if it finds any problems. Use this on any drive that isn’t behaving normally.
- Partition: Partitions allow you to create multiple volumes from a single drive. An example of this is creating one partition to store your Time Machine backup and another to store data How to Partition Your External Time Machine Hard DriveHere's how to partition an external hard drive for Time Machine on your Mac so you can store other files too. Read More .
- Erase: Use this button to format your drive. You can select a new file system, and add a new label.
- Restore: Restore a previously created disk image to a drive.
- Unmount: Unmount drives for safe removal without risking data loss.
To format a new drive to a different file system, select it and click Erase. You’ll be given an option to name your new volume and specify a file system to use. Click Erase in the dialog box to begin the formatting process. Remember that you will lose all data on the drive by doing this.
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If you run into issues while formatting, see how to unlock your Mac external drive How to Unlock and Format an External Hard Drive for Your MacHere's a quick guide on how to format an external hard drive for Mac and solve any issues you may encounter. Read More before moving on.
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Available Mac File Systems Explained
Disk Utility allows you to choose from a variety of file systems. They are:
- Apple File System (APFS)
- Mac OS Extended (HFS+)
- exFAT (Extended File Allocation Table)
- MS-DOS (FAT)
Let’s take a detailed look at each of these, what they’re used for, and which you should pick.
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Apple File System (APFS)
APFS is Apple’s latest file system New macOS, New Filesystem: What Is APFS and How Does It Work?iOS already has APFS. Now it's the Mac's turn. But what exactly are we getting into this Fall? Read More , first introduced in early 2017 for iOS devices. It’s a replacement for Apple’s Mac OS Extended file system; all new Macs come with macOS preinstalled on an APFS file system.
Apple File System is optimized for use with solid state drives (SSDs) and flash storage, but you can also use it with traditional mechanical hard disk drives (HDDs) too. You should pick this option if you’ve got an external SSD or a new USB flash drive that you won’t use with a Windows machine.
The biggest improvement over Apple’s previous file system is speed. Copy and paste are virtually instantaneous thanks to the way the file system organizes your data. There’s also a focus on encryption and improved metadata handling—macOS makes heavy use of metadata when it comes to file storage.
External hard drive mac pc. It provides twice the speeds of standard USB 3.0 drives. G-Technology G-Drive USB 3.0 4TB external hard drive. It still uses a traditional hard drive, rather than an SSD, and while this means speeds aren't quite as fast as possible, it at least keeps the price down, while offering large capacities. There's also a USB 3.0 port for connecting to computers that don't have a Thunderbolt port.G-Technology G-Drive USB 3.0 protects your data from knocks and drops. ExpensiveIf you really want a super-fast external hard drive for your Mac, then the Samsung T3 SSD is easily one of the best.
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You can’t use APFS to back up with Time Machine (yet). APFS is not natively supported by Windows, but you can read and write to APFS partitions if you purchase Paragon APFS for Windows.
Good for: System volumes, hybrid drives, SSDs, and flash storage that you only use with macOS.
Bad for: Drives used with older (pre-2016) Macs and Time Machine volumes.
Mac OS Extended (HFS+)
Mac OS Extended, also known as HFS+ (Hierarchical File System plus), was the main file system used for Mac system storage from 1998 until APFS launched in 2017. If you bought a Mac between those dates, it shipped with macOS (or OS X, as it was known) installed on an HFS+ volume.
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This file system is still suitable for use with both mechanical and solid state drives, though SSDs will perform better when formatted to APFS. If you have older Macs (pre-2016), particularly those too old to update to a recent version of macOS, choosing macOS Extended will enable you to use your external drive with these machines.
External drives formatted to HFS+ will play nicely with old and modern versions of Apple’s operating system. In order to access the contents of a Mac OS Extended file system on a Windows PC, you’ll need additional software like Paragon HFS+ for Windows.
Good for: Mechanical hard drives and external drives shared with older Macs.
Bad for: External drives that you want to share with Windows machines.
exFAT
Designed by Microsoft to provide similar compatibility to FAT32 without the pesky limitations FAT32 vs. exFAT: What's the Difference and Which One Is Better?A file system is the tool that lets an operating system read data on any hard drive. Many systems use FAT32, but is that the right one, and is there a better option? Read More , exFAT is the format of choice for drives that you’ll share between both Windows and Mac computers. macOS and Windows can each read and write to exFAT volumes, making it ideal for flash storage and external drives.
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The problem with exFAT is that it’s more prone to fragmentation than using an Apple-proprietary file system. It’s up to you whether or not this trade-off is worth it, or whether you’d prefer to use third-party drivers instead.
exFAT is certainly more stable than third-party NTFS or HFS+ drivers, and many other consumer devices like TVs and media playback devices natively support exFAT.
Good for: Drives shared between Mac and Windows machines, especially flash drives.
Bad for: Drives that are predominantly used with a Mac (a third-party driver may be worth it, in this instance).
MS-DOS (FAT)
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Apple also includes support for FAT32, which is labeled as MS-DOS (FAT) in Disk Utility. You should generally avoid using FAT32 for any purpose unless you’re dealing with an old computer.
Occasionally you may need to transfer files to a flash drive for use with an older version of Windows, but that’s about the only time you should consider this option.
If you pick this file system, you’ll have to deal with volume size limits of 2TB and maximum file sizes of 4GB. exFAT is almost always a better choice.
Good for: Drives that you need to use with Windows XP or earlier.
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Bad for: Everything else.
Finally: Add Support for NTFS Drives
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NTFS, which replaced FAT32 with the arrival of Windows XP, is still the dominant Windows file system. FAT32 had a number of serious limitations, including a maximum file size of 4GB, and a maximum partition size of 2TB. This makes it unsuitable for modern purposes.
macOS can read NTFS file systems natively, but is unable to write to them. You can install third-party drivers that allow you to write to NTFS volumes, or enable macOS’s experimental support for writing to NTFS volumes. Avoid doing this if you don’t want to risk losing your data, since your Mac could end up corrupting the volume. You have been warned!
A far safer way to enable writing to NTFS drives is to buy a driver, like Paragon NTFS for Mac or Tuxera NTFS for Mac. These utilities have been tested far more thoroughly, and allow you to not only write to your existing NTFS volumes, but format new drives to NTFS.
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Still looking for additional storage? Check out our best external hard drives for use with your Mac The Best External Hard Drives for a MacNeed more storage? Check out the best external hard drives for Mac to add more space easily. Read More .