The best external hard drives are fast, dependable and easy to use. For example, in the screenshot below, the mac formatted drive is disk 2. Transferring data from a mac to pc via an external hard drive. This applications readonly nature isnt necessarily a bad thing. The best external hard drives will come in handy for plenty of people working in the creative industries, who often have to store lots of large files, and will soon fill up the hard drive. Hello everyone, saving the drama of switching from mac to windows sigh, ive decided on purchasing the surface pro 4. To put in simple words, if you want to share the external hard drive between macintosh and windows pc, you need to format an external hard drive for the respective system. Now the disk management dialog box will appear, there you will see your external drive storage, simply rightclick on it and select shrink option. To find your best external hard drive for mac, youll want to decide how quickly you want to save and retrieve data. The incompatibility of the file system is the main cause of the errorexternal hard drive read only on mac. First of all, in your windows 10 os, you need to click on windows button and then just type diskmgmt. Mac os x and windows can both read and write to disks in the fat or exfat format. Unfortunately, it doesnt work as well with any other operating systems. Ntfs is a file system that is optimal for windowsbased computer.
Mar 31, 2020 if you buy a new external hard drive, you may notice that working between mac and pc is an often difficult but it doesnt need to be. How to install and run mac os x from an external hard drive. It comes in 3, 4, 6, 8, or 10tb varieties and offers western digitals own backup solution for windows users. By default, your mac starts up from its builtin hard disk, but a startup disk can be any storage device that contains an operating system compatible with your mac. You can expect speeds of up to 540mb520mbs readwrite. Most external hard drives connect to a mac either through the usb port, or through the mac s thunderbolt port, and thus will likely come with the appropriate cable. How to use mac formatted external hard drive on windows. Compare the different options for formatting an external hard drive to work with windows and mac. Best external hard drives for macs in 2020 techradar. The right connections buying an external hard drive for your mac is not all that different from buying one for your windows pc, except for one very important complication. First, note the number of the disk in the disk management window. Next, open a command prompt window as administrator. For example, in the screenshot below, the macformatted drive is disk 2.
Apr 07, 2020 the best external hard drives for 2020. Sep 17, 2019 right click on your toshiba external hard drive icon and pick get info from the menu. Your first step to using your toshiba external drive on your mac is to plug your toshiba drive in. External hard drives seagate stgx2000400 portable 2tb external hard drive portable hdd usb 3. If you need to use a single external hard drive to format for mac and pc. To start, your first step will be to find disk utility. Macs can read ntfsformatted hard drives, but cant write to them. When considering external storage for mac, factor in cloud capacities. Why need to format external hard drive for mac and pc. Step 1 open finder, applications, then go to utilities and disk utility. The easiest way to do that is hit cmd and the spacebar at the same time and type in disk utility to find the program.
Have not tried it yet, but description says it can read only the files in you mac formatted external hard drive. Step 2 follow the steps above to format the drive, and then you can use it with time machine on your mac system. When you need lots of onthego space for an evergrowing collection of files, you can trust our highperformance portable hard drives to get the job done. Mar 15, 2018 but you can open hfsexplorer, read a macformatted drive, and copy the files to your windows pc without paying a dime. How to convert a macformatted drive to a windows drive. I have recently bought an external hard disk, which i plan to have one 80gb partition onto which i can do regular backups of my mac hard disk onto, and then the other 220 or so just for data storage. Currently, if you still want to make noteburner m4v converter plus work on mac before the last settlement out, you could try to install and run os x 10. Bonus tip data recovery from formatted hard drive on mac. The 8 best external hard drives and ssds for mac and pc. You can get an apple external hard drive in any size. Even though mac computers are capable of reading hard drives that are formatted for windows, if you intend on using your external hdd as a bootable disk or want to use it to backup files with your mac s time machine, you must format it to be entirely mac compatible.
Simplify file storage and access with this 2tb buffalo linkstation nas server. Types of disks you can use with time machine on mac. Ntfs is the most common format for new external hard drives and can be used with windows computers. Consider how youll be saving and transferring files, such as photos, videos. Best external hard drive deals in may 2020 toms guide. Seagate portable 1tb external hard drive hdd usb 3. How to format a hard drive to work on mac and pc youtube. Your old external windows pc drive will work great on the mac.
Even though mac computers are capable of reading hard drives that are formatted for windows, if you intend on using your external hdd as a bootable disk or want to use it to backup files with. How to partition an external hard disk in windows 10. The my book desktop external hard drive from western digital, while large, fits the bill for business owners in need of serious space. May 14, 2015 macs can easily read pcformatted hard disk drives. How to format external hard drive mac 2 simple methods. The 8 best external hard drives and ssds for mac and pc users in. The 8 best external hard drives and ssds for mac and pc users. With disk utility open, locate the hard drive you want to partition and select partition.
Well show you everything you need to know about the. External hard drives use either spinning disks or solid memory to save your files. If you see the drive is ntfs then youll either need to reformat the drive or use a ntfs. Step 1 open finder, applications, then go to utilities and disk utility step 2. Types of disks you can use with time machine on mac apple. Windows cant normally read macformatted drives, and will offer to erase them instead. Because mac os x mountain lion does not natively support writing to an external ntfs drive, you must erase your hard disk and format it using a compatible file system. The incompatibility of the file system is the main cause of the errorexternal hard drive. I had information from a broken mac backed up at best buy, but because my mac broke, now i only have a windows. Youll find desktop and portable external hard drives. Most external hard drives connect to a mac either through the usb port, or through the macs thunderbolt port, and thus will likely come with the appropriate cable.
The instructions below are for windows 10, but other versions of windows from windows 7 and up can also format an external drive as exfat for use with mac as well. Traditional hard disks are the most common options of external drives for mac, but you can also use them as laptop internal hard drives. If you want to make use of your mac s thunderbolt port, then this is the best external hard drive for macs. If you buy a new external hard drive, you may notice that working between mac and pc is an often difficult but it doesnt need to be. How to use toshiba external hard drive on mac solved. Make sure to select customize settings before installation when creating a new. How to share an external hard drive between macintosh and.
The best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac cnet. Anyway, for anyone who is having the same issue, i was searching for this same issue reading files in a mac formatted drive from windows 10 and found hfsexplorer. Buying an external hard drive for your mac is not all that different from buying one for your windows pc, except for one very important complication. Before a hard drive can read or write data, it must first be formatted, or erased and reconfigured.
Mar 09, 2018 if you want to install windows on a your mac or macbook but have limited storage, this is a tutorial on how to install windows on an external storage or simply a usb flash drive with the. Next, under the partition layout column, specify the number of partitions you want. Even though mac computers are capable of reading hard drives that are formatted for windows, if you intend on using your external hdd as a bootable disk or want to use it to backup files with your macs time machine, you must format it to be entirely mac compatible. Desktopbound and portable platterbased storage has never been cheaper. A portable drive draws power from your computer, so you wont need a power outlet, plus these drives easily fit in laptop backpacks. On mac computers, use the finder app to browse and manage files on your computer and external hard drives. Feb 21, 2020 rightclick your hard disk and select get info. To put in simple words, if you want to share the external hard drive between macintosh and windows pc, you need to format an.
Make external hard drive bootable in windows 10 easeus. If you find your external hard drive is ntfs format, thats what the cause is. Apr 06, 2020 by default, your mac starts up from its builtin hard disk, but a startup disk can be any storage device that contains an operating system compatible with your mac. On mac computers, use the finder app to browse and manage files on your. The best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. Dec 29, 2015 the instructions below are for windows 10, but other versions of windows from windows 7 and up can also format an external drive as exfat for use with mac as well. Product title external backup hard drive case 2tb usb 3. It comes in 3, 4, 6, 8, or 10tb varieties and offers. Apr 30, 2020 to format an external hard drive for mac with time machine, you must follow the steps below. How to connect external physical disks to a virtual machine. Browse the topranked list of windows 10 external hard drive below. If you see the drive is ntfs then youll either need to reformat the drive or use a ntfs driver. The overall best external hard drive for mac or pc. Quickly format an external hard drive for mac and windows pc.
You can then follow the steps in this article to start up. How to format a hard drive for both windows and mac laptop mag. I have 2 external hard drives supplied by the same vendor. Using them with the mac is problematic when they have the same name. Wd 1tb elements portable external hard drive usb 3. The best external hard drives for mac in 2020 pcmag. Buy products such as wd 1tb my passport portable external hard drive, black wdbyft0010bbkwesn at walmart and save. Easeus todo backup can help you create a bootable external hard drive with the minimum. Read mac hard drive on windows pc free downloads and.
Shop for external hard drives in computer accessories. Wd 5tb elements portable external hard drive, usb 3. In this video tutorial, i show you how to easily format an external hard drive to work on both a mac and a pc. Apr 30, 2020 so whether youre looking for a cheap external drive for your mac, windows or chromebook laptop or one the best external hard drives for ps4 or xbox one, fear not. To format an external hard drive for mac with time machine, you must follow the steps below. Best external drives for mac and pc interchangeable 2020. How to format external hard drives on a mac sweetwater. If a disk has partitions, you can use one of the partitions for your backup disk. How to share an external hard drive between mac and windows. An external hard drive is typically formatted for use by a single operating system type. Apple has built os x yosemite and some previous os x releases with the ability to read from those disks just fine. Actually, most external hard disks could be compatible with mac and pc as long as you format them correctly. Right click on your toshiba external hard drive icon and pick get info from the menu. But thirdparty tools fill the gap and provide access to drives formatted with apples.
In the virtual machine configuration window, select hardware, select the add button and then select hard disk. To put it simply, if you want to share external hard drive between mac and pc, you need to format an external hard drive for mac and pc. Tutorials install windows on mac external drives youtube. External hard disks windows and mac compa apple community. For example, if you install macos on an internal or external drive, your mac can recognize that drive as a startup disk. You can get an apple external hard drive in any size ranging from about 60gb to 20tb, depending on your needs. Mar 21, 2020 the best external hard drives will come in handy for plenty of people working in the creative industries, who often have to store lots of large files, and will soon fill up the hard drive that comes with their mac or pc.
So whether youre looking for a cheap external drive for your mac, windows or chromebook laptop or one the best external hard drives for ps4 or xbox one, fear not. How to select a different startup disk apple support. How to format external hard drive mac 2 simple methods revealed. Mar 22, 2012 the best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. Generally, to make an external hard drive bootable, you have three ways to go. For a lot of people, the goto is cloud storage services. Wd 4tb my passport ultra silver portable external hard drive, usbc wdbftm0040bslwesn. Make sure to select customize settings before installation when creating a new virtual machine. The disk can be directly connected to your mac or be on a network. I have recently bought an external hard disk, which i plan to have one 80gb partition onto which i can do. Reading mac files on external hard drive via windows 10.