How do I full format an external hard drive?

Right-click on the space representing your external hard drive, then select “Format.” Choose either “NTFS” or “exFAT” for your file system, and choose “Quick Format” if that is what you have decided to use. Leave the option blank to do a full format. Enter a name for your drive and click “OK.”

How do I format external drive for Mac?

How to format an external drive in OS X

  1. Connect the drive to the Mac.
  2. Open Disk Utility.
  3. Select the drive you want to format.
  4. Click Erase.
  5. Give the drive a descriptive name and leave the default settings: OS X Extended format and GUID partition map.
  6. Click Erase and OS X will format the drive.

How do I convert my Mac hard drive to exFAT?

How to format a thumb drive for both Mac and Windows

  1. Attach the drive to your Mac.
  2. Launch Disk Utility (from Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility).
  3. Select the drive in the left-hand sidebar.
  4. Click Erase.
  5. From the Format menu, select ExFAT.
  6. From the Scheme menu, select Master Boot Record.

How do you wipe a Mac hard drive?

For Mac users, the following steps show you how to wipe your hard drive clean.

  1. Restart your Mac.
  2. Hold down the Command + R keys while your Mac is restarting.
  3. Click Disc Utility.
  4. Click View > Show All Devices.
  5. Select your Mac’s drive and then click Erase.
  6. Click Erase and fill in the name, format, and Scheme.

How do I erase an external hard drive on a Mac?

Backup files before erasing

  1. Connect the hard drive to your computer, power it on and launch Finder.
  2. Click the Go menu and select Utilities.
  3. Select the external hard drive (left; sorted Internal, External, and Disk Images) and click the Erase button.
  4. Enter a Name, select the Format and Scheme, and click Erase.

How do you format a hard drive on a Mac?

Format Hard Drive (Mac) 1. Connect the external hard drive to the computer. 3. Open Disk Utility. 4. Select the external hard drive on the left-hand side. 1. Right-Click on the Windows icon in the lower left-hand corner. 3. Right-Click on the external hard drive in the Volume tab. 4. Click Format.

Which Mac file system is best for an external drive?

HFS+ (Mac OS Extended Journaled) is the best format for an external hard drive you’re only using on a Mac. Or sharing with a Mac. APFS is a format option for external drives on Macs running Mac OS 10.13 or later. But it’s made for Solid State Drives and does not support Time Machine backups.

What is the best portable hard drive for Mac?

If you really want a super-fast external hard drive for your Mac, then the Samsung T3 SSD is easily one of the best. As it uses a solid state drive, the read and write speeds of this drive are much faster than external hard drives that use traditional hard drives.

How do you format a portable hard drive?

To format the portable hard drive do the following: Open Disk Management. Right-click your portable hard drive and choose Format from the menu. Enter the label for your hard drive, choose File system type. Press OK and wait until your portable hard drive is formatted.