- How To Format External Ssd For Mac Apfs
- How To Format Ssd Drive
- Format New Ssd Windows 10
- How To Format Ssd For Mac Using Windows
- Format Macbook Ssd
How to Format a New Internal SSD in macOS High Sierra. 2) Once at the macOS Utilities menu, select Disk Utility. 3) In the menu bar at the top of the screen click on the View menu and select Show All Devices. This should allow the SSD to show up in the left column, if it does not show up quit Disk Utility and reopen it. How to format an drive to use with a Mac & PC. If you want to format a drive so that you can copy files between a Mac and a PC you'll want to follow the tutorial above, but choose ExFAT from the.
To format or reformat your solid state drive using Microsoft ® Windows ®, follow these instructions: 1. Click on Start or the Windows button, select Control Panel, then System and Security. Select Administrative Tools, then Computer Management and Disk management.
So, you just bought an external hard drive or a portable SSD 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 Data Rescue to retrieve them, but the odds of recovery vary.
Pro tip: If your external drive has a large volume, like mine – a 2TB Seagate Expansion. 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 High Sierra issues 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. 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 Wikipedia. The problem is that on macOS, you can’t work with files saved on an NTFS drive unless you use a paid app Paragon NTFS for Mac.
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”.
Make sure your drive is connected. It should show up on the left panel under “External”. Select that disk and click the “Erase” button, the one highlighted in red in the screenshot below.
Step 3: Select “Mac OS Extended (Journaled)” in Format.
A new window will pop up asking which file system you’d like to format the external drive to. By default, it’s the Windows NT File System (NTFS). Select the one shown below.
Pro tip: If you want to use the external drive for both Mac and PC, you can also select “ExFAT”. Learn more about the differences between these file systems from this thread.
By the way, you can also rename your external drive.
Step 4: Wait until the erasing process is complete.
For me, it took less than a minute to format my 2TB Seagate Expansion.
You can also check to see if the format was successful. Right-click on the icon for your external drive on Mac desktop, then select “Get Info”. Under “Format”, you should see text like this:
Congratulations! Now your external drive has been formatted to be fully compatible with Apple MacOS, and you can edit, read, and write files to it as you want.
How to Partition an External Hard Drive on Mac
If you want to create multiple partitions on your external hard drive (in fact, you should for better file organization), here’s a step-by-step guide:
Step 1: Highlight your drive and click “Partition” in Disk Utility.
Free keylogger for mac. Open the Disk Utility app and highlight your external hard drive. Make sure you select the disk icon right under “External”. If you select the one below it, the Partition option will be greyed out and become unclickable.
Step 2: Add partitions and allocate volume for each one. Free computer games for mac.
After clicking “Partition”, you’ll see this window. Located on the left is a big blue circle with the name of your external drive together with its volume size. What you need to do next is click the add “+” button to increase the number of partitions on your external disk. Then allocate the desired volume to each partition. You can do that by clicking the small white circle and dragging it around.
After that, you can rename each partition and define a file system for it.
Step 3: Confirm your operation.
Once you hit “Apply”, a new window pops up asking for your confirmation. Take a few seconds to read the text description to make sure it reflects what you intend to do, then click the “Partition” button to continue. Free dvd burners for mac.
Step 4: Wait until it says “Operation successful.”
To check whether the operation is really successful, go to your Mac desktop. You should see multiple disk icons show up. I chose to create two partitions on my Seagate Expansion — one for backup, the other for personal use. You can find more info in this post: How to Backup Mac to an External Hard Drive.
That wraps up this tutorial article. I hope you find it helpful. As always, let me know if you have any issues during the formatting or partitioning process.
Swapping out your old hard drive for a modern SSD is surprisingly affordable and results in 5X better performance: a reputable 500GB MacBook SSD can be had for around $150, while 1TB options are available for around $300 — both considerably cheaper than a new MacBook. It’s also surprisingly easy, even if you don’t know your way around the insides of a Mac.
Do I really need to upgrade my Mac hard drive?
Fitting a solid state drive in your MacBook Pro is a quick and simple way to boost performance but an upgrade might not always be needed.
If you only really use your Mac to browse the web and do some word processing, your current hard drive is probably fine. If your system feels a bit sluggish, try running CleanMyMac X first to clean away any resource-hogging junk. That might be the only fix you need (this way junk that is clogging up your system, such as old files, images, apps, duplicates and iPhone backups will be cleared away).
![For For](https://cdn.igeeksblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Best-Internal-SSD-for-MacBook.jpg)
If, however, you’re noticing any of the following issues, an SSD upgrade will most certainly help:
- Slow startup
- Sluggish performance in resource-intensive apps such as Adobe Photoshop
- System crashes
- Permission denied errors to files that were previously fine
What to consider when choosing a MacBook Pro SSD
To reap the benefits of an SSD, you need a drive that’s up to the task. Here’s what to consider:
- Read/write speed — SSDs are rated on their reading and writing speed. The higher the speed, the better the performance. Something in the range of 500MB/s and above is good, although actual speed will be about a third less than what’s advertised.
- Memory — MLC (multi-level cell) and SLC (single-level cell) are the two options available. The former is cheaper and capable of holding more information but the latter is more reliable.
- Capacity — Get as much space as you can afford. The greater the capacity of an SSD, the more it will benefit Mac performance.
- Reliability — Read the reviews. See what the experts and other users say about SSD performance and reliability. You’ll typically find that brand name SSDs rank the highest. Samsung, SanDisk, Crucial, KingSpec, and Transcend are standout brands.
How to fit a new MacBook Pro SSD
Okay, let’s get down to business. SSD aside, here’s what you’ll need to fit your new hard drive:
- SATA-to-USB cable
- Small Phillips screwdriver
- Torx T6 screwdriver
Step 1: Format the SSD
To perform a MacBook Pro SSD upgrade you’re first going to need to clone your existing hard drive so that the new one runs like clockwork when it’s installed.
Before you do this, you should use CleanMyMac X to perform a Smart Cleanup. This will clear your system of any junk files so that they’re not transferred over unnecessarily. You can download CleanMyMac X for free, here.
Cloning the hard drive can be done with a tool such as SuperDuper! or Carbon Copy Cleaner, or with Apple’s own Disk Utility program. Here’s how to do it with the latter:
- Connect the SSD to your Mac using the SATA-to-USB cable.
- Go to Applications > Utilities and open the Disk Utility.
- Click on the SSD icon, followed by the Partition tab and select 'Partition 1' from the Partition Layout.
- Click on Options and select GUID Partition Table in the next window.
- Click on the First Aid tab, followed by Verify Disk Permissions.
- Click Verify Disk, followed by Repair Disk.
- Shutdown your MacBook and restart it, holding the Option key as you do. Choose the option to boot to Recovery Disk.
- Click on Reinstall Mac OS X and choose the SSD as the destination.
- Copy your files over from the installed hard drive to the SSD. When asked to restore files from another disk, choose the currently installed hard drive.
Step 2: Remove the hard drive
Now it’s time to get hands-on.
- Make sure your MacBook is shut down.
- Locate and remove the 10 screws using the Phillips screwdriver. Put the screws in a small bowl so that you don’t lose any.
- Remove the cover and touch a metal part to release the static electricity.
- Locate the hard drive and remove the plastic bracket securing it. This is held in place with two screws.
- Gently remove the hard drive and disconnect the SATA ribbon. Do this by wiggling the connector. Don’t yank on the ribbon.
- Remove the four Torx screws attached to the hard drive and screw the posts into the SSD.
How To Format External Ssd For Mac Apfs
Step 3: Fit the SSD
- Carefully attach the SATA ribbon to the SSD and lower it in place.
- Fix the holding bracket back in place.
- Replace the MacBook cover and screw in the ten tiny screws.
- Switch on your MacBook Pro, go to System Preferences > Startup Disk and make sure the SSD is selected.
- Restart your computer.
How To Format Ssd Drive
See, we told you it was easy!
Format New Ssd Windows 10
Enjoy a faster, smoother MacBook Pro
A new SSD drive for your Mac will make an instant impact. Apps will launch faster, files will save quicker, and multitasking will be a much smoother experience. Use CleanMyMac X to regularly remove junk files from your system and you’ll enjoy slick performance for many a year to come.
How To Format Ssd For Mac Using Windows
CleanMyMac X finds and removes junk files from your MacBook Pro to free up space and keep your system running to its full potential. Make it the first app you install on your new SSD!