Hard Disk Formatted For Mac

Select Disk Utility; Click on the drive with the WD label in the left pane of the Disk Utility. Click on Erase in the Disk Utility file menu. The Erase dialogue window appears. Select the Volume Format drop-down list; Choose MS-DOS (FAT)or ex-FAT File System. Click on the Erase button then wait a few minutes and let the macOS erase data on the. Conversely, you can format the HD to HFS+ and use HFSExplorer for Windows to read and write to the Mac-formatted hard drive. To get started, you'll first have to format the hard drive from NTFS to.

Most external hard drives are designed to work for Windows computers. So if you’re trying to connect an external hard drive to a Mac, you might have to format the drive before you can use it. Here’s how to do that:

How to Format a Hard Drive for Mac

Note: If you already used your external hard drive on a PC, be sure to back up any files on it. Formatting your drive will wipe out all the data in it.

Connect an external hard drive to your Mac. Some external hard drives need to be plugged into an outlet to work.
Go to Spotlight Search, type in Disk Utility, and click the first option. This will open the Disk Utility app, where you will find all the internal and external drives that are connected to your Mac.
Then click View in the top-left corner of the window and select Show All Devices.
Click the external hard drive you want to format. You can find this on the left-hand side of the screen under External Hard Drives. For the best result, select the disk (the highest option in the external tree).
On the top menu, click Erase. This will open a small pop-up window with a warning that erasing the drive will delete all data stored on it and that it can’t be undone.
Choose a name, format, and scheme for your drive. You can choose whatever name you want, and you should choose GUID Partition Map for the Scheme in most cases. However, you can choose between the following formats:
- Mac OS Extended (Journaled) is the best option for most Mac users since it is compatible with all Macs.
- APFS (Apple File System) is only for newer Macs running macOS 10.13 or later.
- exFAT is compatible with both PC and Mac.
- MS-DOS (FAT) is also compatible with Mac and PC, but you can only transfer files smaller than 4GB.
When you’re done with providing the setup details, click Erase. This will immediately wipe the entire drive.

If you get an error message that states, “Erase process has failed. Click done tocontinue,” don’t freak out about it. This is an issue caused by Time Machine running on your externaldrive.

You will need to turn off Time Machine. You can do this by opening System Preferences and unchecking the boxnext to “Back Up Automatically”.Then click Options beside “ShowTime Machine in menu bar.” This will open another window. Click Cancel and it will turn off the Time Machine.

After you turn off the Time Machine, redo steps 4 to 6.

How to Partition anExternal Hard Drive on Mac

If you have formattedyour drive, you can then partition the drive, which will splitthe drive into two formats. This is perfect for anyone who uses Macs and PCsand wants to transfer files between the different operating systems with anexternal drive. Here’s how to do that:

Open Disk Utility and select the drive that you want to partition. It is best to click View > Show All Devices so you can selectthe disk rather than a container.
In the top menu, select Partition.
Then click the plus sign at the bottom of the pie chart. Every time you click this plus sign, a new partition will becreated.
Choose a name, format and size for each partition. You can also change the size of each of the partitions bydragging the white dots at the edge of the circle.
Finally click Apply.

Why Partition a Hard Drive?

Partitioning an external hard drive allows youto have separate drives for Mac, PC, and any other operating system. Now youdon’t have to go out and buy hard drives for every computer you use.

A partition also gives you a dedicated space foryour Time Machine back-up files or a bootable backup of your operating system.It also helps protect your data if your drive gets infected with malware, as itwould be contained within one of the partitions.

Now that you know how to format an external drive for Mac, check out our blog on the difference between an HDD and an SDD.

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Oct 13, 2020 • Filed to: Answer Hard Drive Problems • Proven solutions

'How to Recover Data from Formatted Hard Disk for Free? I formatted my hard drive recently and forgot to create a back up of all the important files stored in it. Can I recover them back in one piece?'

We format our hard drives for variable purposes that includes booting the drive to install Windows, make additional space for new data, and to disinfect the disk after it has been infected by a virus. We also format the drive after it performs sluggishly after a period of usage.

In this process of formatting the hard drive, we often forget to form a back up of all the files stored inside, and they get deleted for good after the formatting has been done. However, if we act immediately and do not add any new data to the hard disk, then we can recover the files with the due diligence of the Recoverit Data Recovery Tool. Furthermore, we will also discuss the method to restore formatted items with Command Prompt(The built-in utility of Windows).

Part 1: Is It Possible to Recover Data after Format?

Even though the act of recovering a file from a formatted hard disk or any storage drive, for that matter, is tough and there are high chances of losing the data for good if you do not follow a strict protocol, you can safely restore all the file with the assistance of a data recovery application.

This action is possible because once you format the hard drive, the data inside will only get erased for good if you replace its memory location with new files. Otherwise, you can recover the files back through various means, and we will discuss some of them in the later section of the article.

Part 2: Recover Data from Formatted Drive for Free:

In this part of the guide, we will show you the two convenient methods to recover data for free after you have lost them during the disk formatting process. The two approaches are as follows:

Recover data with the assistance of Recoverit;
Recover files with Windows Command Prompt utility;

Solution 1. Recover Data for Free from a Formatted Hard Drive with Recoverit

If you are looking for the easiest and securest way to restore each of the formatted items to your computer for free, then using Recoverit Data Recovery is the best bet. Not only can it recover data with full efficiency from your formatted hard disk, but it also allows you to store the file to any location you want. The free version of Recoverit offers to regain formatted data up to the storage space of 100MB without any charge. You can always purchase the license key of Recoverit to avail the ability to recover unlimited amounts of files. Here are a few of Recoverit's key attributes:

Recoverit Data Recovery - The Best File Recovery Software

It recovers data from each kind of formatted storage devices, including the PC's internal hard drive, the external hard disk, an SD card, and a USB flash drive;
Recoverit reads 1000+ file formats and stores all of them back.
Doesn't matter if your computer is crashed or not working up to the mark, Recoverit offers to recover files from any situation imaginable;

Here are the steps to perform the recovery operation after you download the file for free:

Mac Hard Disk Recovery

Step 1. Select a location:

Launch the application on the computer and select the disk that you have formatted previously. After doing so, just press the 'Start' tab to start the recovery scan.

Step 2. Scan the location:

It all depends on the size of the files that you have lost after formatting the hard drive, but it usually takes a few minutes for the interface to finish the scan. It will notify after completing the full scan. You have the ultimate power to stop or pause the recovery scan if you feel that the files you were looking for have already been recovered.

Step 3. Preview and recover files:

The recovered items usually are placed under two categories the 'File Type' & the 'File Path.' With the free version, you will get the chance to recover 100MB of formatted files back to a location of your choice, once you hit the 'Recover' tab.

Solution 2. Restore Formatted Hard Drive Files with CMD

The Command Prompt is one of the best utility that Windows has to offer to its users. With many commands, you can do anything from encrypting your files to recovering them after formatting the hard drive. Here are the steps to restore formatted hard drive files with CMD:

Type 'CMD' from the Windows search bar and run the utility as an administrator.

Enter the command: chkdsk F: /f on Command Prompt's interface(You can replace the letter F with the original letter of your hard disk volume).

Enter F:
Now Enter the command: F:>attrib -h -r -s /s /d *.* and Command Prompt will recover all the formatted files back to a newly created folder on the formatted hard disk.

Bonus Tip: How to Format Drive without Data Loss.

The act of formatting a hard drive implies that you will lose your data after operating. But if you have created a back up of all the files stored inside the hard drive that you intend to format, then all is good as you can access the data whenever you like. The best way to avoid data loss is to store all the valuable items to cloud storage facilities like Google Drive, Dropbox, or iCloud.

However, if you haven't formed any backup and performed the format either way, then you can recover the formatted data back with Recoverit Data Recovery Tool.

Free Recover Data