Format External Mac Hard Drive For Windows

#Format External Hard Drive For Windows Windows 10 Or Partition

Change the Partition Layout from Current to 1 Partition. Select the external hard drive on the left-hand side. Click Go on the top tool bar, and select Utilities. Connect the external hard drive to the computer. Format Hard Drive (Mac) 1.

Format External Hard Drive For Windows Windows 10 Or Partition

This option provides cross-compatibility between both Mac and Windows systems. How to Format a Hard Drive for Windows 10Select the Format drop-down menu and choose the ExFAT option. HereвЂ™s how to format an external hard drive for Windows 10 or partition it. You might want a drive that works with Macs and PCs, or maybe you want to partition it, which will split it up into two different formats.

So if your external hard drive already has important files on it, make sure to back them up before proceeding.Using this hard drive is very simple on Windows operating systems You merely plug in the power cord and USB 3.0 lead and off you go, this is thanks to the fact that the hard drive comes pre-setup to use for Windows users.Format external hard drive with Windows built-in tool. The format prompt opens.Note: Formatting your drive will erase all the existing files on it. Right-click the Partition box, and select Format. Note: If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation. In the run box type diskmgmt.msc then click OK. To open the Disk Management press and hold the Windows key + R.

If your external hard drive is working, your computer will automatically detect it, and the drive will appear under Devices and Drives next to your internal drives in the This PC window. Connect your external hard drive to a Windows computer. In Disk Management, youвЂ™ll see your external hard drive as partition or unallocated space. Open the Disk Management tool by right-clicking This PC -> Manage -> Disk Management.

By default, Windows computers will choose NTFS (New Technology File System) for you because thatвЂ™s the native Microsoft filing system. Choose a format under File System. Right-click on the external hard drive and click Format. Formatting your drive will wipe out all the data in it. Flash drives you purchase will often come formatted.Note: If you already used your external hard drive on a PC, be sure to back up any files on it.

This means youвЂ™re splitting the drive into two formats, one for Mac and one for PC. Click OK when the Format Complete pop-up screen appears.Now you have a hard drive formatted for Windows, but what if you wanted to use it with Mac computers also? One easy way to have a hard drive that works with Mac and Windows is by partitioning it. Depending on the size of the drive, and if there are files to be deleted in it, this can take a few to several minutes to finish. Check the Quick Format box, and click Start.

If this option is not available to you, reformat the drive to NTFS and try again. Right-click on your external hard drive and select Shrink Volume. The Windows Search Box is the magnifying button icon in the bottom-left corner of your screen. Open the Windows search box, type вЂњdiskmgmt.msc,вЂќ and hit enter.

Then indicate how big you want the partition to be. Right-click the unallocated space on your drive and select New Simple Volume. This will split the hard drive, with one part becoming unallocated space. The remaining space will be displayed in megabytes.

Go to File System and choose a format. Just choose among the drive letters still available. Letters that have already been assigned to other drives will not be on this list, so donвЂ™t worry if there are missing letters. Next, choose what drive letter you want to use.

Format External Mac Hard Drive For Windows