Step 3: As you click on the Erase button, you will see several fields in the section. Step 2: From the left side panel, pick the volume or the drive that you want to format and switch to the Erase tab. If the Security Options button is not available, Disk Utility cannot perform a secure erase on the storage device. Step 1: Connect the USB drive or external drive to Mac and launch the Disk Utility from Applications. 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. You can format your external drive directly from Disk Utility in macOS.
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We recommend formatting the drive before usage so that you don't encounter any issues.
#Imac format external drive mac os#
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. What External Drive Format Should You Use Before you begin, make sure the external drive you're going to use is formatted as Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Click on the Format menu and choose either MS-DOS (FAT32) or ExFAT. Click on the USB drive in the sidebar in Disk Utility. Go to Applications>Utilities and launch Disk Utility. Go to Spotlight Search, type in Disk Utility, and click the first option. To format a USB drive in FAT32 or exFAT: 1.
#Imac format external drive portable#
Ĭlick the Scheme pop-up menu, then choose GUID Partition Map. Connect an external hard drive to your Mac. If you want to transfer files from a Mac to Windows PC and vice versa using an external portable hard drive then you have to have the external drive formatte. 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.
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It is not impossible and relatively easy to do Juozavas macrumors newbie. From there you can choose to create the volume format as Mac OS Extended. In Disk Utility select the blank partition you just created and click on erase. 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. Connect the external hard drive to Mac and open Disk Utility.