Apple’s computers come with plenty of hard drive storage, starting at 256 GB and going up to 8 TB for top models. Although that might suffice for most users and editing videos, animation development, virtual machines, and development can be a couple of the things that could make 8 TB feel crowded. In these situations, external hard drives could provide extra space for a fraction of the price of internal storage.
In addition to daily use, external hard drives can be used to store a backup of your computer. While many users rely upon iCloud, Dropbox, or any other online service, local backups could offer a more secure alternative. Utilizing an external hard drive for local backup is also faster since backing up, and restoration isn’t dependent upon how fast your Internet connection is.
Format External Hard Drives
Luckily formatting an external drive macOS is a breeze using the built-in software. Before you begin, ensure that the external hard drive is connected to the computer and turned on.
Hold the Command key and Spacebar, type “Disk Utility” in the search box, then press Enter to launch it.
After Disk Utility is open, select the external drive in the dropdown list on the program’s left pane and then click “Erase” from the toolbar at the top.
In the popup window, choose a name for the drive. This will appear on your desktop after you plug your hard drive into it.
Choose the “Format” popup menu and choose the type of filesystem you’d like to format the drive. If you are only planning to use the industry on your Mac and operating macOS 10.13 and later, the best choice is “APFS,” provided the external drive has an SSD. If it’s mechanical, or you’ll be using the industry using the version of macOS that is older than 10.13, If you’re in doubt, you’re better off going with “Mac OS Extended (Journaled),” according to Apple. In contrast, if you intend to use the hard drive in conjunction with macOS and Windows, it is recommended to select “MS-DOS (FAT).”
Once you’ve picked the filesystem, click “Erase” to confirm your choice.
What is the reason to partition a Hard Drive?
Partitioning an external hard drive lets you to different industries to run Mac PC, Mac, and the other systems of operation. You don’t need to buy hard drives for each PC you run.
A partition will also give you the space you need for you to store your Time Machine backup files or an able-to-boot backup of your OS. It can also help protect your data if your drive becomes infected by malware, as it would be located inside some of these partitions.
What file format should I use?
When considering reformatting an external hard drive, the most crucial decision you’ll need to make is related to the file format. There’s indeed not only one but a variety of formats to select from, providing different levels of compatibility with various operating systems. The design you choose will depend on the tasks you’ll be doing with your external drive and the operating systems you’re regularly using.
NTFS and Windows
macOS can’t natively format a drive in the NTFS format available for Windows. This means that even though macOS can read NTFS drives, it’s not able to write data onto them without the use of third-party software. Consider using ExFat to create generic storage on PCs and Mac storage or FAT for universal compatibility with most electronic devices.
Mac OS Extended
If you’re operating macOS Sierra or an earlier version of macOS/Mac OSX, Mac OS Extended is the default format used by Mac OS. It will work well with your Mac; However, like the previous APFS, Mac OS Extended isn’t compatible with Windows or Linux PCs.
You may also choose Mac OS Extended (Encrypted) to secure the data stored on the drive. This is a fantastic security feature for people working with sensitive data or traveling using external drives.
Formatting your External Hard Drive Isn’t That Hard.
External hard drives give you the extra space required to store digital files when your computer starts to get full. While many cloud-based storage services use cloud storage, keeping your data in this way is more secure and guarantees you’ll have ownership.
A lot of external hard drives were designed specifically for Windows. With”Disk Utility” on your Mac, you can format them to work with Windows. “Disk Utility” feature on your Mac, you can change the format of your drive to work with the latest and older Macs and be compatible with Windows.