May 07, 2016 hi, you can restore your mac to factory settings by erasing your mac, then reinstalling macos using the builtin recovery disk. Heres how to reformat your drive so it can be read by and mac or a pc. How to reformat mac os x without a recovery disc or drive. Connect your hard drive or external hard drive to your mac. Mount, unmount, verify, format or set any of your microsoft ntfs volumes as a startup drive.
How to format a hard drive on windows or mac avast. Okay, so you may have a lot of files that you want to get rid of. Format a disk for windows computers in disk utility on mac. On the left side of the window are the drives connected to the computer. Instructions for how to format your external drive so that it will be fully usable in macos. Reformatting for mac external drives for mac wd community. Here are the three solutions to format a hard drive under macos 10. How to format or partition an external hard drive for mac. I then tried reformatting it by erasing and setting the format from windows nt file system ntfs to mac os extended journaled for my macos sierra version 10. Apr 30, 2014 start gateway laptop, and when you see gateway logo, keep on pressing f8. Then press the erase button and set a password for the encrypted partition. If the drive is called no name, directly above that, you should see the drive capacity of xxxx. Reinstall office after reformat harddrive microsoft.
How to format usb flash drive on mac stepbystep tutorial. Its the software you use to format your wd elements drive. How can i reformat a gate way laptop without a boot disk. With my previous laptops pcs, ive always stored my data on an external hard drive. How to reformat mac external harddrive for pc march 2014. Select the capacity of the drive respective to the one containing the device you wish to format then click the erase tab. Or you can choose wipe hard drive to completely delete the hard drive. Save any files you need to another volume before formatting. What disk utility looks like in lion through yosemite. How to format a hard drive windows 10, 8, 7, vista, xp. On the do you want to fully clean your drive screen, select just remove my files to do a quick deletion or select fully clean the drive to have all files erased. Macclean360 is an allinone mac cleaner and manager.
Format external hard drive for mac with disk utility. In the sidebar, select the disk you want to format to use with. When prompted to enter the password for the disk your disk, click cancel. Find the name of the drive in the left side of the utilities window and select it. To erase this partition, well have to wipe the entire disk.
Insert the operating system disk into your cddvd drive. Opening disk management can be done a number of ways depending on your version of windows, but the easiest method is to type diskmgmt. Boot into recovery mode to erase your startup disk. If your mac is using apfs, select apfs from the format list. Type in an incorrect password, it will shows reset password.
Cant erase or reformat a drive in macos disk utility. If you have any files you want to save, copy them to another storage device. Select the option for installing a fresh copy of the operating system. A format popup window will give you the opportunity to choose one of the following. Click next and follow the wizard to restore the laptop to default settings. By continuing to use this site you consent to the use of cookies on your device as described in our cookie policy unless you have disabled them. I initially attempted to perform the erase through disk utility, by selecting my passport, however fat32 was not an option, i only had msdos fat, which did not work, and exfat, along with other mac os extended options. How to format external ssd for mac time machine mashtips. Erase and reformat a storage device in disk utility on mac in disk utility on mac, you can erase and reformat storage devices to use with your mac. Also, there are two versions of mac products freeagent go pro for mac has usb and firewire 800, and freeagent go for mac usb usb 2. This process erases everything on the disk, including its files and all its partitions. Read about it and found that id have to reformat it in mac os extended journaled. Today, we will talk about how to format or reformat ssd on mac. Reformatting an external hard drive for mac step 1.
Then proceed to highlight your computers hard drive. How to format a usb external disk for mac osx using disk. Next, open a command prompt window as administrator. With it, its possible to easily format and storage device with just a few clicks.
How can i reformat my external hard drive without losing data. I checked with gateway and they dont have the needed drivers to allow the reinstall. Some mac users may require the ability to erase a disk or erase a hard drive from the command line on mac os, a task which is typically performed through the disk utility application from the gui. If disk utility is not working to reformat the drive, this command will work for you. If youre trying to reformat or erase the startup disk on your mac, you need to boot into recovery mode first. In this video i cover how to format internal and external hard drives, solid state drives, thumb drives, and sd cards with disk utility in mac os x. The hard drive failed wont even spin up so i bought another. Disk drills advanced data recovery algorithms can find lost files even after complete format. If the cd doesnt run by itself, double click on my computer, and then right click on the drive with the os disk.
Step 2 follow the steps above to format the drive, and then you can use it with time machine on your mac system. All is set, then you can go ahead to format the drive on your mac. Bonus tip data recovery from formatted hard drive on mac. How to format a startup drive for a mac if you want to format a drive that will be used as your mac s startup disk, the procedure is a little different from formatting it for use as a secondary. It will be completely empty and display a message saying not initialized. Mac os x can only be installed on a hard drive formatted in mac os extended journaled, filesystem.
Chris besides the formatting difference, there is software on the pc version and no software on the mac version. The command line approach to disk erasure in macos is a bit different and it requires precise syntax to insure that you are erasing the proper disk, making this method of erasing any disk only. Jan 15, 2020 learn how to use macos recovery to reinstall the mac operating system on your builtin drive or an external drive. Force an external mac drive to mount via command line terminal commands in mac os x. This tool can help you easily and quickly format hard drive or external device on mac. If i create a volume, or try to, disk utility will either freeze or successfully create a volume. Great fix for sd cards, flash drives and all other external hard drives that are not working with your mac system. Select the mac os extended encrypted format under the format list. When you want to restore your laptop to factory settings in order to get a fresh and clean start, or get ready to sell it to others, make full use of recovery partition.
This article will help you identify if the hard drive you are using is formatted in guid partition table gpt or master boot record mbr. Connect the external drive or the usb drive to the mac. Seagate stgx5000400 portable 5tb external hard drive hdd. In the disk utility app on your mac, choose view show all devices. Type list disk and press enter to list all the disk drives. You dont need to format the disk again if you want to use the disk for normal backup with windows and mac. Heres how to format a drive if you are planning to use it with a mac. The easiest way to format the drive for mac is by using macoss builtin disk utility for fat32 or exfat. You have in your mac s operating system a piece of software called. Mac os x users have at their disposal a handy tool called disk utility. Erase and reformat a storage device in disk utility on mac. It is the reliable disk formatting tool for windows mac. It normally autoruns and will open to a menu, or options page. Open disk utility and locate your external disk on the left side.
The easiest way is to drag it from one drive to another. If it does create one, when i restart from the os x cd to reinstall, the volume is no longer there. Now click the icon for your external hard drive in the sidebar on the left then click the erase tab along the top of the window. Highlight your drive and click partition in disk utility. Formatting a disk or volume erases all the files on it. In other cases, such as when your disk contains multiple volumes or partitions and you dont want to erase them all, you can erase specific volumes on the disk. Dec 16, 2014 there are a ton of reasons why you may need to reformat your mac its slowing down, too many unneeded files to delete manually, major technical issues or maybe youre just selling it on for an. How to convert a macformatted drive to a windows drive. Unformat mac hard drive recover formatted hard drive on. Hi, so i had to reformat my hard drive and i lost office 20.
The situation with the unallocated space is apparently a feature of mac os xs recovery partition. In the disk utility window, specify the drive that you want to delete and click on the erase option. How do i reformat a mac hd to ntfs for use with windows 8. How to format a windows disk drive for a mac seagate blog.
Gateway5662 answered by a verified tech support specialist we use cookies to give you the best possible experience on our website. How to reformat your mac without a recovery drive or disk. A friend re formatted on his mac book pro, big mistake as i am now missing the ntfs formatting which im guessing i need to work on my pc laptop. It walked me through the steps to format it and within 5 minutes i was ready to.
Oct 15, 2015 i just recently purchased the 1tb passport and i am trying to reformat it for my macbook. Open the disk utility app and highlight your external hard drive. How to reset laptop to factory settings without disc. You can launch it from the app list or use spotlight.
After doing so, i was still unable to utilize the drive unable to create new folders, dragdrop anything. Mar 15, 2018 when you connect a macformatted drive to windows, youll be informed that you need to format the disk in drive x. Select disk utility, and then choose the drive to format. Your macbook can not read or write to a ntfs drive. If you dont require the data on the hard drive, select the disk and click erase. I put the certified in quotes because i cannot imagine how this gateway refurbished exercise in. When the os x utilities window appears on the screen, choose the disk utility option. Disk drill, a premium data recovery solution for mac os x with support for all popular file formats and common storage devices, is here to help you recover deleted files from usb flash drive.
Your first step to using your toshiba external drive on your mac is to plug your toshiba drive in. Once youve double, triple, and quadruplechecked your backups. Open disk management, the hard drive manager included with all versions of windows. How to format a seagate freeagent for a macbook synonym. Rightclick the hard drive and choose wipe hard drive. Get our recommended unformat software and install the program on your pc or mac. To format an external hard drive for mac with time machine, you must follow the steps below.
Factory reset laptop when could access to it successfully. Once the formatting process gets started, your data on the hard drive will be removed. How to format external hard disk on mac devices correctly. You can run easytouse mac disk formatting software to easily format internal ssd or external ssd under mac os. For example, in the screenshot below, the mac formatted drive is disk 2. If you want to create multiple partitions on your external hard drive in fact, you should for better file organization, heres a stepbystep guide. Step 1 open finder, applications, then go to utilities and disk utility. Hard drives in seagates freeagent line except for the go pro for mac and the go for mac ship with ntfs, a file system designed for windows.
Jan 22, 2011 i have a gateway laptop that had a corrupt os vista. If a wireless network is available, you can choose it from the wi. Rightclick in the unallocated space on the initialized disk and select new simple volume. Guide how to format hard drive from usb with bootable.
Double leftclick on the mac hd, the internal mac hard drive visible on. Choose mac os extended journaled or another file system if you. And should you want to reformat the drive again later, you use disk utility. How to use toshiba external hard drive on mac solved. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac. In windows 7 and 8, there is system recovery partition provided. You can also open a finder window, select applications in the sidebar, and head to utilities disk.
Formatting a disk using apples disk utility is the easiest and most straightforward method of the two. I attached a mac formatted lacie 320gb ruggedized drive to the pc and opened computer management to reformat the drive as ntfs. Clean installation of a fusion drive equipped mac wiredbob. These steps can be used for both internal and external drives. Dont click the format disk button or windows will erase the contents of the driveclick cancel. How to format hard drive and fix disk format errors on mac. Disk utility can see the the drive, but it has no volumes on it. Unformat mac hard drive recover formatted hard drive on mac. Type clean to wipe all files and folders on the selected disk. The ssd will work for both windows and mac out of the box. To access these, turn on your mac and hold the command and r keys, simultaneously, immediately after you hear the start. Follow these easy steps to format a hard drive in windows 10, windows 8, windows 7, windows vista, or windows xp.
You can also adjust the partition format if you intend to share the disk with your windowstoting friends, access it as an external disk on a windows computer or use the disk with windows on your mac through boot camp. Click the icon for your external hard drive in the sidebar on the left. First, you need to reboot your gateway laptop to login on screen. And there you have it one read and writable disk ready for osx. Reformatting a hard drive if you forgot the password.
Launching os x utilities depends on what version of os x your mac is running. Open the disk utility app on your mac using one of the following methods, depending on the type of disk or volume you want to erase. How to format an external disk or a flash drive for mac. How can i reformat a gateway laptop without a boot disk. Formatting your hard drive is recommended if youre selling your computer or setting up an external drive. Matter of fact, youll be seeing this tool a lot throughout the article. Here are the following most common reasons why would you like to format an external disk or a flash drive for mac under mac os extended journaled. Jun 07, 2010 how do i reformat my gateway computer model no. While drives are sold as plugandplay, formatting prior to use will give you optimal performance and compatibility with your mac.
Mac os extended journaled uses mac formatting to protect data integrity. How to format external hard drive mac 2 simple methods. Select the mbr or gpt partition table format and click ok to create a partition table for the disk. To format a hard drive on your mac, follow these instructions. Dec 17, 2014 in todays video, we show you how to completely reformat your mac and set it back to factory settings, all without the need for a recovery disk or drive. Selectionnez os x extended journaled dans format 6. How to force a hard drive to unmount for formatting in mac. How to open an external drive thats not showing on mac. Formatting an external hard drive would erase everything on it. Somehow i was lead to believe that a 2009 mini would run high sierra so i formatted the new drive as apfs and installed 10. Its name will likely start with its capacity and include seagate or free agent in the name.
With these solutions, you can easily format a hard drive under macos 10. Start the disk utility, located under applications utilities. In disk utility on mac, you can erase and reformat storage devices to use with your mac. The hidden recovery partition reformat my gateway computer model no. Turn on your macintosh notebook computer or desktop system and login. Enter a name for the disk or volume, such as macintosh hd.
Dec, 2007 i bet you have not actually done what you propose. To format a disk using apples disk utility, simply follow the steps below. You dont need to mount the encrypted volume to erase the disk. How to reinstall macos from macos recovery apple support. How can i reformat a hard drive from apfs apple community.
Type the name of the volume you want to convert, and then press enter. The startup disk is the main hard drive on your computer. I dont have the recovery disks or a copy of vista available to reverse the process. In disk utility on your mac, you can format an external disk for a windows computer. Exfat is an upgraded version for the fat32 file system that limits the maximum file size to 4gb. Disk utility is a useful application inside your mac system. Its not usually possible to erase the startup disk because your mac. Restore gateway laptop to factory default settings without cd. First, note the number of the disk in the disk management window. Stgx5000400 portable 5tb external hard drive hdd usb 3.
There are no settings directly for restore to factory settings, only system backup and restore available. But, the formatted data can be recovered by mac data recovery software. If you see the drive is ntfs then youll either need to reformat the drive or use a ntfs driver. From the sidebar in disk utility, select the disk or volume to erase. The hard drive will be erased, and windows 8 will be reinstalled. Enter a name for the file to be destroyed like macintosh hd or something. Now, i have a new macbook pro and all my data is still on that external hd. Right click on your toshiba external hard drive icon and pick get info from the menu.
Then click reset password, you will see password reset wizard screen like below. How to identify your hard drive format answer netgear support. The erase was not complete because the disk was unable to mount. Still with the external disk selected in disk utility go to the erase tab, select mac os extended journaled from the format dropdown, choose to name the disk and then click erase. My only opinion i thought was to wipe the drive and start over. Connect your external drive hdd, usb, memory card, etc. You can do that by typing disk format or disk management in windows search or going to control panel administrative tools create and format hard disk.
Reformatting a gateway laptop running vista microsoft community. Make sure the device can be recognized by your computer. Click the erase button or tab, then complete these fields. Click on erase from the buttons at the top of the disk utility window. Hence, you must backup your important files before reformatting the drive if you want to save them. Nothing, i tell you, nothing compared to the temper tantrum he would have trying to reformat and reinstall the drivers on a 6 month old certified gateway refurb. Macos external drive not showing not reformatting fix. How to reformat mac os x without a recovery disc or drive step 1 back up your files. Paragon disk wipe allows you to create a bootable usbflash drive or external hard drive that will help you to completely erase a whole hard disk, a separate partition or just clean free space. For most reasons to erase, including when reformatting a disk or selling, giving away, or trading in your mac, you should erase your entire disk erasing a volume on your disk. How to unformat and get back data from a formatted drive. I read that if i use over 4gb on the free agent using a mac that its likly to crash. For most reasons to erase, you should erase the disk, which also erases all volumes on that disk. Insert your windows password reset disk to your gateway laptop, and click next.
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