How to Make an External Hard Drive Work With Mac OS – Guide
External hard drives that work with both Windows and Mac operating systems can be a great asset for users who use both. However, NTFS, the format optimized for Windows, is not compatible with Mac OS, and APFS, the format made for Mac OS, cannot handle Windows. This article provides instructions on how to create an external hard drive that works with both operating systems.
No extra software needed: here’s how to make an external hard drive work with a Mac.
Why you need to reformat the external hard drive
I encountered an issue when I first tried to copy files to my external hard drive: Disk Utility showed it was formatted for MS-DOS (FAT), but I suspected it should be NTFS. To resolve this, I had to reformat the drive in either of these two formats. This is common with many Windows-compatible external hard drives, such as the WD My Passport Ultra.
If you’re using a Mac exclusively or want to use it for Time Machine backups, format the external hard drive in Mac OS Extended (Journaled). For those who need to use the hard drive with both Windows and Macs, MS-DOS (FAT) is the way to go. However, this format won’t support Time Machine and can’t handle partitions larger than 2 TB or files bigger than 4 GB.
How to Reformat the external hard drive
Connect an external hard drive and launch Disk Utility by using the Cmd + Space keyboard shortcut or finding it in the Utilities folder under Applications.
Select your hard drive, then click the Erase tab in the left column to begin erasing it.
Delete the file by selecting Mac OS Extended (Journaled) from the Format menu, and give it a name if desired.
If you don’t click ‘Delete’, you’ll be warned.
A hard drive prepped for OS X is now just seconds away.
How to Create Partitions
I plan to use my hard drive for both Time Machine backups and transporting media files. To ensure compatibility with Windows computers, I will format one partition as MS-DOS (FAT). The other partition will be formatted as Mac OS Extended (Journaled) for Time Machine backups.
Users can create a partition on their hard drive by selecting it in the left column and then clicking the Partition tab.
Choose the number of partitions you need from the drop-down menu, but don’t go overboard.
You can easily resize and format partitions on your computer using the breakpoint feature. Simply click on a partition, name it and move it up or down to adjust its size.
Click the Apply button and select Partition from the popup to finalize your decision.
Final note
This guide provides step-by-step instructions on how to use an external hard drive with Mac OS. If you have any questions, please reach out for help. Share the love and spread the word!
