Reformatting an external hard drive on a Mac. How to Clean and Format External Drives on Mac

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IN modern world Removable drives are used everywhere to store files. Work with flash drives is carried out on any digital devices, including computers and laptops on operating system MACOS. On a standard windowed OS, formatting is done in a couple of clicks, but how to do it on a MAC?

Formatting in Disk Utility

No installation required to start formatting third party programs to devices. The standard Disk Utility service allows you to perform all the necessary actions.

The operating algorithm is as follows:

Connect the drive to the device;
Launch the utility using the Ctrl+Space key combination and enter the name of the program you are looking for in the search window;
On the left side of the menu, find the USB flash drive connected to the PC;
Click on the “Erase” tab on the right;
Confirm your choice.

The flash drive will be formatted in the original file system, all data will be erased.

FAT32 and ExFAT

Popular file systems. You can format the drive in one of them in the same “Disk Utility”. To do this, you should follow the same algorithm as for simple formatting.

The difference is that before clicking the “Erase” button, on the right side of the menu you need to select one of the proposed formats.

The same system works for formatting in the standard MAC OS file system. All format options are marked in the menu; just click on the one you need.

Formatting to NTFS

Unfortunately, formatting the drive to NTFS system You can't use Disk Utility. The user can find special drivers for the utility in the AppStore that allow it to work with the Windows format. A popular version of such drivers is Paragon NTFS, which can be downloaded from the developer’s website.

After installing the driver, an additional item will appear in the “Windows NT Filesystem” data erase menu in the “Disk Utility” menu. Before formatting the drive, just select this option. The flash drive will change the current one file system on NTFS.

Partitioning a flash drive into sections

Modern flash drives have a considerable amount of memory. Owners of MAC devices can use this fact to their advantage. It is possible to divide the drive's memory into several sections, as well as format them into different file systems.

To do this, you need to launch “Disk Utility” and find the connected flash drive. Before erasing, you need to look at the “Partitions” tab. Here the user is asked to select the number of partitions on the drive, give them a name and set the size.

After this, you can start formatting. The flash drive will accept the parameters, user installed. In the “Erase” tab, you will also be able to set file systems for different partitions of the drive.

Many users have difficulties using USB drives and external drives in an Apple system, especially if these components were previously used for Windows. Let's take a closer look at why this happens and how to configure the equipment for full use with different operating systems.

External drives support different types file systems.

Before you figure out how to format a flash drive on a Mac, it's important to know a thing or two about the types of major file systems:

NTFS. Popular in Windows system. If you connect a disk with NTFS to a Mac device, you can copy and read files from it, but you won’t be able to record anything without third-party programs;
FAT. It is a fairly old system that was used famously on DOS systems. Today it is supported not only by computers, but also by disks, players, and cameras. In Win and Mac you can write and read FAT files. The main disadvantage is the volume source files- 4 gigabytes and no more. This is usually a death sentence for high quality films;
ExFAT. The only difference with FAT is that files can be of any size. Flash drive recorded in this format, will work equally well in different modern operating systems;
HFS+. It is also called Mac OS Extended, as the name suggests, it is designed exclusively for Apple products. You can read information on Windows only using special utilities.

There are several ways to resolve the issue of compatibility of drives on different operating systems. Let's look at them in more detail.

Disk partitioning

The disk can be divided into two separate sections, which will have their own system. The solution is perfect for any hard drives and flash drives; all steps are performed in Disk Utility. All you need is to go to “Disk Partition”, select “2 volumes” in the partition scheme, and then decide what specific volume the parts should occupy. In the same window the format and name are set.

Should the device work on both Windows and Mac? Then you need to choose the right partition scheme. The MBR scheme is considered universal, APM and GUID are not suitable for Windows.

Remember that all information after pressing the “Apply” button will be deleted from the disk. We recommend transferring important files to a flash drive or disk in advance.

This method is considered quite successful for solving compatibility, but until information is transferred from one partition to another: if you select different file systems, you will not be able to change files.

Formatting on Mac OS

To change the file system on a flash drive, you need to perform the following manipulations:

connect to the USB input;
click on “Disk Utility”;
on the left side of the screen, select the section you are interested in, then click on the “Erase” tab;
come up with a name for the flash drive, select the system you are interested in. The best option for a universal drive is ExFAT or FAT.

Driver application

If you need to leave the NTFS format, but in such a way as to fully work with it on any system, we recommend using a special driver. Using the NTFS-3G driver and OSXFuse, you can “make friends” between two seemingly incompatible systems. Many programmers have mastered the method, but they claim that for efficient work all these drivers and utilities must be additionally configured.

Results

There are several types of file systems, some of which are not compatible with Mac OS. exFAT is best suited - it is a “universal soldier”; the system makes it possible to view and overwrite information on different OSes. To format drives, Mac has a special assistant - Disk Utility.

In this article we will tell you how to use Disk Utility to erase partitions and format hard drive on Mac.

Attention! Before performing the actions described below, take care of the safety of important data. Implement backup or use the utility.

What you need to know about Disk Utility?

This free application Apple included with macOS. It is distinguished by its simplicity and functionality sufficient for ordinary users' needs. It works with hard drives, SSD drives and disk images. Disk Utility can erase, format, repair, and partition disks and even provide first aid.

The program works with disks and partitions. A disk is a physical storage device, and a partition is a formatted section of a disk. Any disk contains at least one partition.

It is very important to know and understand the interaction between the disk and the partition(s). You can erase an individual partition without affecting the entire drive, but if you erase the drive, you will also erase all the information on each partition.

Interface Disk Utility consists of three main elements:

toolbar ( upper part programs, header);
left side menu containing disks and partitions;
work area.

How to erase a disk or partition using Disk Utility

Erasing a disk or partition is one of the most simple ways freeing up space. There is no fundamental difference between cleaning a disk or partitions.

1 . In the left side menu, select the disk or partition of interest (the disk icon has priority in the tree. By clicking on the triangle next to the disk, a list of partitions that it contains will open).

2 . On the toolbar, click the " Erase».

3 . Enter a name for the new drive and select a format.

4 . Click the button Erase».

How to safely erase a disk or partition using Disk Utility

You can perform a secure erase if necessary. To do this, repeat steps 1-3 and click the “ Security Settings..." There are three types of secure erase. The higher the security level, the longer the erasing process will take. " Security Settings" include the following options, which will vary depending on the slider position:

1) Securely erase files, without overwriting information with zeros. High probability that the data can be recovered. Erasing provides a low level of security.

2) Erasing files with an acceptable level of security, achieved by writing random data with a single-pass write of zeros over the entire disk.

3) US Department of Energy erasure (writes random data twice and writes zeros over the disk three times).

4) The most serious safety standard. This is how magnetic media is erased at the US Department of Defense. In addition to recording random data, it is rewritten seven times with zeros.

Then click the " OK" And " Erase».

We talked about how to install macOS on a formatted disk.

During the process of formatting the flash drive to Windows computer or Mac there is nothing complicated, and many users have already performed this operation more than once. However, there are a number of nuances that can create certain difficulties, for example, removing write protection, choosing a file system and cluster size, and data recovery.

It should be borne in mind that using formatting you can not only delete all files, but also debug the device if there are problems with its operation.

You can format a flash drive (USB drive) in Windows as follows:

1. Launch the system format tool.

Connect the USB drive, then go to " My computer" Click on the flash drive icon that appears right click mouse and select " Format».

2. Configure the desired settings.

When selecting a file system, the user specifies the type of data organization on the drive.

There are three different options available:

1. FAT32. This type guarantees compatibility with Windows OS, macOS and most USB-compatible devices, such as game consoles, media players, etc. At the same time, the size of the recorded file should not exceed 4 GB. FAT32 is perhaps the best option for collaboration between Windows and macOS.

2.exFAT. When you select this option, the flash drive will be compatible with Windows operating systems starting from version XP SP2, as well as Mac OS X Snow Leopard and later. This type of file system allows you to write files of any size, but the flash drive may not work on some devices.

3.NTFS. By selecting this type, the user will receive a fully Windows compatible USB drive. At the same time, on macOS you will only be able to view files without the ability to overwrite them. NTFS also allows you to upload files of any size.

Having decided on the file system type, you need to specify the cluster size, that is, the distribution units. IN in this case the user needs to select the minimum amount of memory allocated by the device for one file.

If you specify a cluster size of 64 KB, even smaller files will require a minimum of 64 KB of memory. It makes sense to set the cluster size small if it is expected that many small files will be stored on the flash drive, for example, text documents. This way you can save free space, however, the speed of the USB storage device will be reduced. If the user intends to store large files on a flash drive, then the value should be specified larger. In any case, you can always leave the default value.

In the field " Volume Label» You can rename the drive.

Don't forget to check the box " Quick (clear table of contents)" When you select this option, you can save time on cleaning; however, if you uncheck this box, the system will check the drive for errors, which can be useful for debugging, although the process itself will take a little longer.

When finished selecting options, click " Begin" to start the formatting process.

All the procedures described above can be repeated by reformatting the flash drive.

How to format a secure flash drive

The format function may not be available due to write protection being enabled. It can be disabled using the Registry Editor. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Go to the registry editor using the keyboard shortcut Windows+R and paste into the line that appears regedit, then click Enter.

2. Follow the following path in the folder tree: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE → SYSTEM → CurrentControlSet → Control → StorageDevicePolicies(the latest directory may be missing).

3. In a folder StorageDevicePolicies open parameter WriteProtect and change the value from 1 on 0 , then click "Save".

4. Disconnect the flash drive and restart your computer.

Some flash drives have physical write protection in the form of a switch. In this case, you just need to move the switch to a different position.

If there is no catalog StorageDevicePolicies it needs to be created. To do this, right-click on the catalog Control and select " Create» → « Chapter" Please enter as title StorageDevicePolicies.

For the parameter name, enter WriteProtect and make sure its value is equal to 0 .

Then close the Registry Editor, unplug the USB flash drive, and restart your computer.

What to do if you can’t format a flash drive

Sometimes Windows may report that formatting is impossible. The cause of this phenomenon may be a malfunction of both the flash drive itself and the computer.

In such a situation, you can try using a special software for recovery normal operation. This software is often located on the website of the flash drive manufacturer. For example, JetFlash Online Recovery is available for drives manufactured by Transcend, and USB Flash Drive Online Recovery is available for ADATA.

In addition, universal programs are available on the Internet that are suitable for flash drives from any manufacturer, such as USB Disk Storage Format Tool.

If you have tried all the methods described above and you still cannot format the drive, it may be faulty and needs to be replaced or repaired.

How to erase and format a flash drive or external drive on Mac?

If you are using one or more external drives to store data outside of your primary Mac drive you definitely need to know how to handle them in the macOS environment. We will tell you later in this article. how to properly erase and format USB flash drives connected to a computer or external drives using the standard set of macOS tools, as well as third-party utilities.

1 . Open " Disk Utility» in any way convenient for you (via Dock, Launchpad, Finder explorer ( Programs → Utilities), or Spotlight search).

2 . In the left side menu, select the external drive you are interested in connected to your Mac (it will be displayed in the “ External»).

Please note that the left side menu structure displays both disks and partitions. A disk may contain several separate partitions (their names are displayed slightly to the right of the disk name). By erasing a partition, you will only destroy the files that are stored directly on it. When formatting a disk, all partitions and all data located on the disk are erased. this disk. Be careful!

3 . Click the button Erase" Specify a name for the partition or disk and select the format of interest:

Mac OS Extended (Journaled)- standard macOS file system;
Mac OS Extended (Journaled, Encrypted)- file system with password and additional encryption;
Mac OS Extended (case sensitive, journaling)- the file system defines, for example, folders with the names “Yablik” and “Yablik” as two completely different folders;
Mac OS Extended (case sensitive, journaled, encrypted)- a combined file system with all the nuances of the formats described above;
MS-DOS (FAT)- used on PC under Windows control with disks of 32 GB or less;
ExFAT- used on PCs running Windows with disks larger than 32 GB. Apply this method if necessary, format to NTFS format.

Typically Mac users format external drives(internal ones even more so) into Mac OS Extended (journaled) format. Formatting in MS-DOS (FAT) or ExFAT is ideal if you are going to use a flash drive or external drive with both macOS and Windows computers.

ATTENTION! Once you select the encryption option, you will need to create a password and remember it. If you forget the password, you will not be able to decrypt the disk and retrieve the data by any means.

Today, a flash card performs the function of storing information: work documents, playlists and films - each user has their own list. Sometimes you need to clean it up unnecessary files. If Windows has a special command for this, then formatting a flash drive on a Mac occurs differently.

How to format a flash drive to OS X format

Every day Apple products are becoming increasingly popular. This is not only iPad and iPhone, but also computers Apple iMac And MacBook laptops, on which an operating system other than Windows is installed. It's called Mac OS X. Most flash drives sold are formatted for Windows in FAT 32 format. If you plan to use the media only with a MacBook, then you will need to convert it for this computer. You can format a flash drive on a Mac into OS X using the following instructions:

Insert the media into the USB port.
Open the Windows equivalent of File Explorer called Finder.
Select “Applications” or Applications from the menu, then the section with utilities. The path may be like this - “Programs”, and then the utility tab.
When the list of applications opens, find disk utility, or Disk Utility.
On the screen that appears, select your drive, click on the “Erase” tab, first selecting the Extended (journal) format in the section.

Formatting a flash drive from OS X to Windows format

If you used the previous method on how to format a flash drive on a Mac, then connecting it to Windows OS no longer makes sense, because it will not open. For such devices, you will need to switch to one of the formats they support. Among the latter, several main ones stand out:

FAT. This is an old format used in DOS. It cannot record files larger than 4 GB, but it is compatible with almost all operating systems, including Linux. An advantage is the smaller amount of occupied space than NTSF, as well as the ability to reformat on any operating system.
ExFAT. It is a modern version of the previous one and does not have such restrictions on writing files. It is better suited for dividing space into several sections, the size of which can reach 32 GB.
NTFS. This file system is more universal, but OS X cannot work with it, so to clean the drive you will have to download a special driver. The advantages are less need for fragmentation and efficient information compression.

Here's how to format a USB flash drive on a Mac for use on Windows devices:

Connect the portable drive to your device, follow the instructions described above, launch Disk Utility, and then switch to the “Erase” tab.
In the formats section, select one of 2 – MS-DOS (FAT) or ExFAT.
Confirm the operation.

How to format a flash drive to NTSF from OS X

As mentioned above, the MacBook does not have an NTSF format function. To solve this problem you have to download special drivers. If you don’t know how to format a flash drive to NTFS on a Mac, then use these simple instructions:

Download NTFS Paragon or NTFS Seagate drivers for OS X and install them.
Reboot your computer correctly.
Plug the drive into a USB port, then open Disk Utility.
The NT Filesystem item will appear in the list - select it to perform a forced formatting operation and confirm the action.

How to split a flash drive into multiple disks

If your drive has a lot of space, reformat it into multiple partitions. Each of them comes with its own file system, which is convenient for use, because you don’t need to waste time on formatting every time. One partition can be made ExFAT, and the other – Extended. Please note that during this procedure all data from the media will also be completely deleted. The first step in the instructions on how to format a flash drive on a Mac is to connect it to your MacBook. Then you need to open the disk utility again. The next steps are:

In the sidebar, switch to flash card. Here, click not on the “Erase” tab, but on “Disk Partition”.
Use the mouse to adjust the number of sections - just drag the partition between them up or down.
For each part, correctly determine the name and file system. All that remains is to click “Apply” and wait until the media is formatted.