Yo just got a new external hard drive and want to use it on your Mac. However, the Mac OS does not allow you to write data to the drive. You may wonder how to reformat an external hard drive on Mac. Follow the tutorial below, you'll get everything covered.

1. Format Flash Drive Mac Os Extended Journaled Format
2. Format Flash Drive Mac Os Extended Journaled In Windows

• Bonus: How to Recover Data from Formatted External Hard Drive on Mac

Reformatting an external hard drive for use with Mac OSX is not as difficult as it might seem. In a few simple steps you are ready to go and can save your back-up files to the external drive, keeping your information safe and giving you peace of mind. Keep in mind that a MAC can generally read other file formats, but for the best performance and to create a bootable disk, formatting exclusively for MAC is required.

How to Format USB Drive in Windows or Mac. After choosing the best format for USB drive according to your needs, you might start to wonder: how do I format USB drive to NTFS/FAT32/exFAT/EXT 2,3,4/HFS+ in Windows operating system or Mac? Well, don't worry. If you need to format USB drive to NTFS/FAT32/exFAT/EXT 2,3,4/HFS+ file system, please. The following content first discusses on APFS vs Mac OS Extended; after that, it will tell you how to format a hard drive for Mac in several different ways. Tip: Do you know MiniTool Solution? It is a company devoting itself to developing software for different purposes (data recovery, disk management, system backup, etc.) and keeping them.

Jan 09, 2020 In this article, we are taking a closer look at the Disk Utility, which comes with all recent versions of the Mac OS X operating system and how you can use it to format USB drive on Mac. Format Flash Drive Mac with Disk Utility. Your Mac computer comes with a handy utility appropriately called Disk Utility, which can be used to format any. To format a drive on a Mac, you’ll need the built-in Disk Utility application. Press Command+Space to open the Spotlight search dialog, type “Disk Utility”, and press “Enter” to launch the app. You can also open a Finder window, select “Applications” in the sidebar, and head to Utilities Disk Utility. Format a flash drive to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) Ask Question Asked 6 years, 6 months ago. Active 6 years, 6 months ago. Viewed 11k times 2. Is it even possible.

Part 1: Which File Format You Should Choose?

Before you begin formatting the drive, there are a few things to do. The most important, you should decide which format to use.

There are a few file formats you can use, but it depends on the purpose you want to use the drive for. Which one is right for your circumstance? We'll describe them here, you'll know your choice after reading the details.

APFS: This is the default file system in Macs with High Sierra. It is efficient and reliable. However, it won't be readable and usable on machines that are not running Mac High Sierra, and Windows or Linux PCs. What's more, it is compatible with SSD and flash storage devices only.

Mac OS Extended (Journaled/HFS+): If you didn't update your Mac OS to High Sierra, the default file system on your Mac shoule be Mac OS Extended. Mac OS Extended (encrypted) would be an ideal option if you probably carry your laptop or external drive here and there. You can encrypt it so that no one can access the contents on your drive.

MS-DOS FAT (aka FAT32): In addition to Mac, it can also be written and read by Linux and Windows. It enables you to regularly share files with your friends who own a PC. Nevertheless, this older file system is limited to no more than 4GB and there might be security issue and disk errors.

ExFAT: It is similar to ExFAT which can be read by both Windows and Mac, but it can store more than 4GB files.

NTFS: As the default file system in Windows, it can only read by Mac OS, writing to it is not available. Luckily, there are third-party tools to help you do so.

Format Flash Drive Mac Os Extended Journaled Format

Part 2: Format External Hard Drive for Mac with Disk Utility

Formatting an external hard drive would erase everything on it. Hence, you must backup your important files before reformatting the drive if you want to save them. The easiest way is to drag it from one drive to another.

All is set, then you can go ahead to format the drive on your Mac. Disk utility - the MacOS utility application can help you with this. Just follow these steps below:

Step 1. Connect the external drive or the USB drive to the MAC.

Step 2. Start the Disk Utility, located under Applications > Utilities.

Step 3. Find the name of the drive in the left side of the Utilities window and select it. And click Erase button.

Step 4. Follow on-screen prompts to choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled) file system and allow the disk to format.

Bonus: How to Recover Data from Formatted External Hard Drive on Mac

In case you forgot to backup files before formatting the external drive. Here comes the cure - iMyFone AnyRecover - a one-stop solution to recover deleted, lost or formatted files from Mac.

Follow these simple steps using AnyRecover to get your files back!

Get Ready!

First, download and install AnyRecover, following on-screen prompts to accomplish the task.

Format Flash Drive Mac Os Extended Journaled In Windows

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Get Set!

• 1. After loading AnyRecover, plug your external hard drive into your Mac directly or via USB.

• 2. Next select the drive under 'External Removable Devices' tab, click 'Start' to begin scanning lost files on the drive.

Go!

• 1. AnyRecover takes a moment to scan your drive. Once done, it will list out all scanning results by file type.

• 2. Double click a single file to preview it before recovery.

• 3. Select the files and press Recover to get them back.

What If?

What if my files were not found? Fear not. We can take this a step further. Enable 'Deep Scan' to try one more time, follow the steps above just as before to locate and recover your files.

It is plain to see that AnyRecover for Mac is a tool worthy of top shelf treatment in your arsenal of items that are used to defend, recover and keep your system up and running. Don't get caught without the file you need for that meeting or stumbling looking for baby photos that were stored on disk and suddenly 'hid' from your view. Allow AnyRecover to find and recover your lost files. AnyRecover is easy to use but provides sophisticated results that mean you know what you're doing!

These instructions apply only to Mac computers with an Intel processor.
Erasing your Mac permanently deletes all of its files, so make sure that you make a backup of any files that you want to keep. If you're attempting to restore your Mac to factory settings, first learn what to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your Mac.

Start up from macOS Recovery

Turn on your Mac, then immediately press and hold these two keys until you see an Apple logo or other image: Command (⌘) and R. You may then be asked to select a user you know the password for. Select the user, then click Next and enter their administrator password.

Use Disk Utility to erase your disk

1. From the utilities window in macOS Recovery, select Disk Utility and click Continue.
   
2. Select Macintosh HD in the sidebar of Disk Utility. Don't see Macintosh HD?
   
3. Click the Erase button in the toolbar, then enter the requested details:
   • Name: Continue to use Macintosh HD as the name, or enter a different name.
   • Format: Continue to use APFS or Mac OS Extended (Journaled), as recommended by Disk Utility.
4. Click Erase Volume Group. If you don't see this button, click Erase instead.
   
5. If Find My is turned on for this Mac, you may be asked to enter your Apple ID to authorize the erase. Forgot your Apple ID?
6. After the erase is done, select any other internal volumes that may be listed in the sidebar, then click the delete volume (–) button in the toolbar to delete each volume.
   You don't need to delete the Macintosh HD volume you just erased, or any external volumes or disk images.
7. Quit Disk Utility to return to the utilities window.
8. If you want to start up again from the disk you erased, you should now reinstall macOS on that disk.

If you don’t see Macintosh HD in Disk Utility

Your built-in startup disk should be the first item listed in the Disk Utility sidebar. It's named Macintosh HD, unless you changed its name. If you don't see it there, choose Apple menu  > Shut Down, then unplug all nonessential devices from your Mac and try again.

If your disk still doesn't appear in Disk Utility, or Disk Utility reports that the erase process failed, your Mac might need service. If you need help, please contact Apple Support.

Learn more

For more information about using Disk Utility, see the Disk Utility User Guide.