- #Mac and windows hard drive format how to#
- #Mac and windows hard drive format mac os#
- #Mac and windows hard drive format upgrade#
But sometimes Disk Utility throws an error while erasing an external storage drive. To format Mac external storage drive or non-boot volume, you can open Disk Utility directly from Desktop and perform the erase operation. Format a Mac External Hard Drive Using Terminal
#Mac and windows hard drive format how to#
Video can’t be loaded because JavaScript is disabled: macOS Tutorial | How to Format a Mac External Hard Drive on macOS Big Sur () 3. Release the keys once you see the Apple logo or spinning globe. Once you’ve backed up your Macintosh HD by using Time Machine, perform the following steps to format your startup disk and reinstall macOS:ġ- Restart your Mac and immediately press and hold Command + R keys. So, you need to boot your Mac in macOS Recovery mode to access the startup disk and erase it using Disk Utility.
![mac and windows hard drive format mac and windows hard drive format](https://www.diskpart.com/screenshot/en/std/format-partition/choose-exfat.png)
But you can’t format the startup disk while your macOS is running.
#Mac and windows hard drive format upgrade#
If you want to reinstall macOS or upgrade your macOS, you need to format your Macintosh HD startup disk. Format the Startup Disk in macOS Recovery Mode Read More: How to Set Up Time Machine on Mac 2. If you haven’t set up your Time Machine backup drive, you can set up the drive now. And, for Macintosh HD, the startup disk, you can use Time Machine to back up your macOS as well as its stored data. For an external or non-boot volume, copy all your valuable files and folders, and paste them to another external storage device. Back Up Your Mac Hard Drive before Formattingīefore erasing your Mac hard drive be it internal or external, you must back up the drive to ensure zero data loss. The next section discusses the correct way to format your Mac storage drive without data loss. DO NOT click the Initialize button unless it’s a new drive or you have recovered data from it. So, you end up losing your data.Īlso, when you connect a corrupt or unreadable external storage drive to your Mac, macOS will prompt you to initialize the disk. When your Mac storage drive has stored data on it, and you accidentally erase the drive in a new file system format, macOS removes all references to the data.
![mac and windows hard drive format mac and windows hard drive format](https://images.wondershare.com/recoverit/article/2019/10/format-new-hard-drive-windows-6.jpg)
#Mac and windows hard drive format mac os#
![mac and windows hard drive format mac and windows hard drive format](https://www.diskpart.com/articles/images/format-external-hard-drive-for-mac-and-windows-4125/new-simple-volume.jpg)
Recover Data Lost due to Accidental FormattingĪn internal or external Mac storage drive requires compatible files system format to be accessible in macOS. Format a Mac External Hard Drive Using TerminalĤ. Format the Startup Disk in macOS Recovery Modeģ. Back Up Your Mac Hard Drive before FormattingĢ. Download the free-to-try Mac data recovery software to recover your erased hard drive data. The blog post shares a few safe methods to format your Mac hard drive in the desired file system format, without the risk of any data loss.