Most of the time, when you connect an external hard drive to your Mac’s USB port, you soon see it mount on the desktop. Apple likes to ensure these are easy to find, so they also appear in the Finder in the left-hand column under Devices, since Mac’s treat them the same way as another computer.
- How To Format External Hard Drive For Mac And Windows
- How To Format An External Hard Drive
- How To Format External Hard Drive For Mac
Step 2: Open Disk Utility by heading to Finder Applications Utilities and clicking on Disk Utility. You can add the Disk Utility to the Dock for quicker access. Step 3: Select the external hard drive on the left-hand panel you want to format on Mac. You'll see the selected hard drive's info displayed. How to Format a Hard Drive on Mac to Work on Mac and PC. You can format an external hard drive or thumb drive to work seamlessly with both Mac and Windows by using the ExFAT file system. Format External Hard Drive – Mac The default tool for formatting hard drives for a Mac is Disk Utility, which can be opened by typing “Disk Utility” in the Spotlight search bar in the top-right corner of your desktop or by locating it under Applications/Utility. 1 Why to Format External Hard Drive for Mac As it has been discussed there are numerous issues that are associated with the formatting of an external hard drive. This section of the tutorial deals with each and every one of them in great detail. It also allows the users to remain extra cautious so that the issue is never faced in any case. Method 3: Format external hard drive for Mac and PC Step 1.: Install and launch Eassos PartitionGuru from your computer and find. Step 2.: Right-click on the partition to be formatted and select ' Format Current Partition '. Step 3.: Select Filesystem type from the drop-down list and click.
However, sometimes, an external hard drive doesn't show up. It’s annoying, especially when you need to transfer something right then. And besides, there can be a risk that data on the external USB pen, hard, or flash drive is corrupt, which means you can’t transfer what you need between devices at all.
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Corrupt data can be one reason your Mac won't recognize an external drive, but there are other reasons too. Let’s take a look why this is happening and how you can get an external drive to appear on your Mac and get recover data to access to your documents.
How to fix an external disk drive that won't show up on a Mac
Why an external disk drive is not showing up? There could be a few reasons why a USB flash drive isn’t making an appearance.
Start with the basics:
- Check whether the drive is properly plugged in. It sounds obvious, but since this relies on a wire - either a USB cable or HDMI cable - if it’s not connected properly then it won’t appear on your desktop.
- Faulty cable. Assuming it’s plugged in correctly, not wobbly or loose, the cable could be at fault. Try connecting the same device with a different cable.
- Damaged USB or flash drive port. It could be a hardware issue with the Mac. If you’ve got another port, try connecting the device to that one.
- Reboot your Mac. Sometimes, if a USB disk won't boot, the cause is macOS issue. Hopefully, some data damage that can be fixed by restarting. Choose the Apple menu > Restart. Or press and hold the power button and, when a dialog box appears, click the Restart or press R. Restarting your Mac essentially clears your macOS’s memory and starts it up fresh.
- Incorrectly formatted drive. Not every external drive is optimized for Macs. It could be that you are trying to connect something only fit to interact with Windows devices. If you’ve got a PC or laptop, it’s worth connecting and seeing if you can access the files through another device. The best way to look for an incorrectly formatted drive is to go to
Apple (in the top toolbar menu) > About This Mac > Storage.
See if the external drive shows up here. For more information, go to the same menu option, then select System Report. - Mac not formatted to display external drives on the desktop. It could be that your Mac already recognizes the device, but just isn’t showing its icon on the desktop screen. Even if that is the case, the drive will still appear in the left-hand column of the Finder menu under Devices. You should be able to access your drive that way, and, in the Finder menu under Preferences > General, you can check External Drives to ensure that from now on it shows up on your desktop too.
- Reset NVRAM. To do this, shut down or restart your Mac, switch it back on and immediately press these four keys together for at least 20 seconds: Option, Command, P, and R. It should look as though your Mac has started again; if it has, release the keys when you hear the second startup chime. Hopefully, the hard drive has shown up now.
- Check Apple’s Disk Utility to see if an external drive is showing up. Disk Utility is within System Preferences, or you can find it using Spotlight. If it is visible, then click the option to Mount, which should make it visible on the desktop and in the External Drives option in the Finder menu.
Unfortunately, if none of those options has worked and the external drive still isn’t visible, then it could have crashed, or be well and truly broken. But there might still be a way you can recover the data on the external drive.
How to show connected devices in Finder
- Go to the Finder menu and select Preferences (Cmd+comma).
- From General tab tick External disks to ensure that from now on it shows on the desktop.
How To Format External Hard Drive For Mac And Windows
In the Sidebar tab you can choose which folders and devices will be shown in the left-hand column of the Finder window.
How to add cloud storages to Finder
You can also mount cloud storage as local drive on your Mac. By connecting Google Drive, Dropbox, or Amazon to your computer, you get more space for securely accessing and sharing files. For your ease, add cloud drives to Finder with CloudMounter app, so that you keep them close at hand. You can read detailed instructions on managing cloud storage as local drives here.
Repair the failed external drives with First Aid
If your drive is having problems, you can try to fix them yourself with First Aid and therefore get access to your files. First Aid tool will check the disk for errors and then attempt a repair as needed. It helps to verify and repair a range of issues related to startup HD and external drive problems. If you are able to fix the hard drive or SSD in your Mac (or an external drive) using Disk Utility you will hopefully be able to recover your files.
To run Fist Aid on an external hard drive:
- Open Disk Utility. You can searching for it using Spotlight Search or via Finder > Application > Utility
- Check on your external hard drive, click the First Aid tab and select Run to start running diagnostics.
![Using Using](/uploads/1/3/4/3/134333927/864370345.png)
If First Aid successful in fixing errors, the external drive should be available to mount. If the utility unable to repair issues, your drive truly is broken or formatted using a file system that the Mac cannot read - in this way we suggest you follow the next steps to recover data from a damaged disk drive.
How to recover data from a crashed drive
Thankfully, there is an app for that. Disk Drill is the world’s premier data recovery software for Mac OS X. Powerful enough to retrieve long-lost, mistakenly deleted files from Macs, external hard drives and USB drives and camera cards.
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An easy way to recover lost files on an external hard drive
Providing you already have Disk Drill Pro version, which you can get automatically by downloading from Setapp:
- Connect your drive to the Mac.
- Quit all other applications on the Mac, especially those that may be trying to access the external drive (e.g. iPhoto, Words)
- Launch Disk Drill.
- Click on the external drive that you are trying to recover files from. If it has partitions, you will see all of them. If, however, you still don’t see any volume to the external drive then you may need to try some of the steps above again or read the Disk Drill Scanning FAQs.
- To avoid the external drive being accessed during the recovery process, click Extras next to the drive or drive partition or file, then select Remount Volume As Read Only. A padlock will appear, protecting the drive during the process.
- Now click Rebuild (or Recover) next to the file(s) you are trying to recover. Once the scan is finished - it may take some time if the files are large - a list of files will appeal.
- Next, click Mount Found Items as Disk button on the bottom-left below the scan results.
- Disk Drill “strongly suggest saving the files to a different drive than the one you are trying to recover files from. Saving to the same drive substantially lowers your chances of recovery.”
- A drive icon will appear, which once you double click will give you the option to open the files as you would do before they were lost. Drag them to another location, such as your desktop or a folder on your Mac.
- Open the files to ensure they have been recovered properly and safely eject the external drive.
Disk Drill does have other ways to recover lost files but assuming there aren’t complications, this method is the most effective. Tu hai ki nahi song download. Disk Drill Pro recovery app is available from Setapp, along with dozens of Mac apps that will make your life easier. Never have to worry about a crashed or corrupted external drive again.
A few more tips on getting your files back
- Macs and third-party apps that look after Macs, such as Disk Drill and iStat Menus come with a S.M.A.R.T. (also known as Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) status monitor. If a SMART check reports errors, then it could mean the hard drive is at risk of failing completely. Within Disk Utility and Disk Drill, there are several solutions for this: Repair Disk Permissions and Repair Disk. If neither work, it’s recommended that you backup all of the data from the disk, erase, then run a SMART check again. The external hard drive should show up as Verified.
- Partitions can get lost within hard drives, temporarily hiding all of the information contained within. Disk Drill can help to identify and restore this information.
- Within Disk Drill, you can restore data when a hard drive is damaged or add formatting, which is also something Disk Utility can help with.
- CleanMyMac, another useful app available from Setapp, can help you identify external hard drive errors and repair them. It is an essential tool worth trying when you’re having external hard drive difficulties.
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Alternative ways to recover data from an external hard drive
Reset the System Management Controller (SMC) if your Mac shuts down when you plug in an external hard drive. Then use a different port to connect the external hard drive. If you’ve got a battery that you can’t remove:
- Shut down and unplug the power adapter
- Press Shift-Control-Option and the power button at the same time. Do this for 10 seconds
- Release all keys
- Plug the power adapter back in and switch your Mac back on
For Macs with removable batteries, you need to switch them off, remove the battery, then press and hold the power button for 5 seconds. After that, put the battery back in, plug in the power adapter and switch the power on again.
What’s your file format? One reason your Mac isn’t recognizing the hard drive is the file format. Windows uses NTFS file formats, while Macs, up until the introduction of Sierra, have used HFS+. Now, Apple has introduced the Apple File System (APFS) for newer operating systems. It is possible to format a hard drive so it can be read on Mac and Windows computers, providing you format using exFAT. However, if you’re having problems accessing the files and the issue is due to formatting, you will need to connect it to a device it can be read on, and then format the files correctly for the computer you are going to use it on next.
How to make Ext2/Ext3 drives readable on Mac
The common issue is Ext2- and Ext3-formatted drives are not readable on macOS. There are two ways to access such external drives on your Mac – via Linux OS or FUSE system. The easiest would be installing Linux to a secondary drive or virtual machine.
If you go with Linux installation, dual boot your Mac with Linux on another drive and use FAT32 as a transfer intermediary. If you don’t have a drive to install Linux to, use virtual machine as an interface for it. Transferring can be done the same way – with FAT32, or via network.
Another option for reading Ext2/Ext3 disks is mounting disk with Filesystem in Userspace (FUSE). Basically, it works as an extra interface enabling file system access via specially installed modules. Here’s how to mount drives with FUSE:
- Install FUSE for macOS or MacFUSE as well as fuse-ext2 module.
- Use the following Terminal command to enable Disk Utility’s debug menu and see all partitions: defaults write com.apple.DiskUtility DUDebugMenuEnabled 1
- Attach your Ext2/Ext3 drive and locate the device name via Disk Utility.
- In your user account, create a folder to be used as a mount point.
- Use the following Terminal command to mount the drive as read-only: fuse-ext2 /dev/disk2s2 /Volumes/mountpoint
- For write support, use the command: fuse-ext2 -o force /dev/disk2s2 /Volumes/mountpoint
And that’s not the only case where Terminal helps you access external drive.
Employ the handy all-powerful Terminal, which always comes forward with solutions for difficult problems. Especially if System Information does recognize the USB or hard drive, but continues to hide it from you, disconnect the drive and try to find it using the Terminal, which you can find in Applications > Utilities.
- Once in the Terminal, type in the command diskutil list
- A list with information about volumes and drives should appear
- Look for a section labelled /dev/disk_ (external, physical)
- Make a note of the whole line after the word disk
- Now put the following command into the Terminal diskutil info disk followed by the number or digits assigned to that disk
- Now you should see detailed information about the drive, therefore confirming that your Mac can and does recognize it
- Eject using the Terminal by entering the command diskutil eject disk followed by the number or digits assigned to that disk
- Physically remove the disk from you Mac
- Plug it back in and your Mac should recognize it
Console is also reliable when it comes to solving tricky problems, although it isn’t always that easy to use. You can find Console under Applications > Utilities > Console. Console shows if an external drive or any error is detected under the Errors and Faults tab. If no errors show up, then the problem is not caused by the device.
To sum up, there are lots of potential solutions for a Mac not reading an external hard drive. If we were to pick one, Disk Drill seems to be the most well-rounded, offering plenty of customizations and power in an easy-to-use interface. Disk Drill Pro recovery app is available via Setapp, along with 150+ Mac apps that strive to make your life much much easier. At the very least, you’ll never have to worry about a crashed or corrupted external drive ever again.
Aug 31,2019 • Filed to: Solve Mac Problems • Proven solutions
External storage devices make it possible for the users to store large amounts of data. On the other hand there are numerous issues that are associated with the mechanism. Like the internal storage devices the external ones also undergo connectivity and other related problems. On the other hand these issues lead the users formatting the drive.
In this tutorial the causes of formatting the hard drive on Mac and the related programs will be discussed in detail. Once this tutorial has been gone through the user will get a complete idea that how the issues are to be resolved. The software programs that are to be used to get the work done will also be discussed in great detail.
1Why to Format External Hard Drive for Mac
As it has been discussed there are numerous issues that are associated with the formatting of an external hard drive. This section of the tutorial deals with each and every one of them in great detail. It also allows the users to remain extra cautious so that the issue is never faced in any case. The reasons that are mentioned as under are the ones which will also make a user aware of the issues which are of vital importance. It means that these issues are to be dealt with extreme care. On the other hand they can also be regarded as the causes of the hard drive format of any kind and make:
1. Startup issue
It means that the hard drives that are internal are formatted as the system is not starting up. It also means that the formatting will alleviate these issues completely. The repair disk option is the one which is used in this regard. It again means that drive will be formatted once and for all. The data that is available in this regard is lost forever. This thus makes the user believe that the overall issue is curbed that is related to hard drive.
There are other reasons as well that are related to the startup issues leading to hard drive format. It includes the fact that the hard drive has been attacked by such a virus and malware the elimination of which is not at all possible. Formatting a hard drive ensures that the system has been blanked and there is no issue causes any problem.
The change in configuration also forces a user to format the hard drive to get the work done easily. In short it is the only thing that ensures that he start up issue is resolved completely and without any further destruction.
2. Space issue
The second and the most important reason that leads to hard drive is the fact that it has been filled completely. The data in this regard is back up and the hard drive is formatted. In order to ensure that the user gets the work done without any issue and problem a top notch program for formatting should be used. It is being said as the internal sectors of the hard drive might be having the old data.
A complete and in depth scan will allow us to further ensure that the issue is resolved completely. It will also make a user believe that the work is done in line with the demand which is to store more data into the system without any issue and problem. There are certain reasons that are associated to disk formatting due to space issue. Some of them are as follows: Facebook for mac.
- It is the easiest way to ensure that the hard drive is back to 100% with respect to space storage.
- It deletes all those files the existence of which sometimes the user also does not know.
- There are some issues that are related to the temporary files and their removal. It means that the user needs to delete those files one by one. In case the issue is severe then the hard drive is to be formatted so that it becomes usable again.
3. Hard drive error
It means that the user needs to ensure that the hard drive is formatted and the issue is resolved completely. The error can be due to anything that the user needs to get fixed. From virus to malware and from spyware to worm it can be any factor that ensures that the user needs to get the issue fixed completely. https://rblnlz.weebly.com/malware-removal-for-mac.html. The next part of the tutorial deals with the fact that how to format an external hard drive completely.
2 How to Format External Hard Drive on Mac
The process that is to be followed in this regard has been mentioned as under. The steps that are mentioned as below are also accompanied by screenshot. These are therefore easy to implement and get the user straightforward in relation to the process implementation. The process that has been mentioned below is the one that is not only preferred but also lets the user get the work done easily and completely.
1. The hard drive is to be connected to the system using a USB cable:
2. The format of the drive is then to be checked to proceed further in this regard:
3. The NTFS formatting is then to be selected to proceed with the system:
Related: Further read and know more complete details on how to write to NTFS drives on Mac.
4. The disk utility is then to be selected within the apps folder:
5. The selection of the erase option is then to be done moving forward:
6. The preferred format is then to be chosen to proceed with the process:
7. The erase button is then to be pressed to proceed forward in this regard:
8. The user can paste item to write the hard drive once again. It also completes the process in full:
Video Tutorial on How to Format an External Hard Drive
3 The Best Mac Hard Drive Data Recovery Software
There are tens of thousands of products that can be used to get the work done easily when it comes to subjected question. It means that the user needs to ensure that the programs or the software mentioned in this part are the ones which will get the work done for the user easily. https://spirecyber.weebly.com/java-8-for-mac-os-x-yosemite.html. These are the programs which have GUI interface and therefore the usage is too easy to perform.
1. Recoverit for Mac
It is by far the best product among the 5 that will be mentioned in this part of the tutorial. The overall format support as well as the outcome that is generated is awesome. Recoverit Data Recovery for Mac offers you the easiest way to recover formatted files from external hard drive on Mac. You can download a trial version to have a try. This trial version will scan your mac to recover formatted files from external hard drive.
The user reviews are also positive which shows that the work done by this program is superb. The features of the program are therefore regarded a lot. Zonealarm free download. The overall look of the program also aids the process and therefore it is highly recommended. Downloading and installing the program will bring forth tremendous results which cannot be found elsewhere.
2. Fireebok data recovery
Another program that will get the work done for the user with ease and satisfaction. Without the use of any extra effort on user’s behalf this program does it all. The user on the other hand needs to make sure that the guide as well as the official site is only used to download the program. Though the program works fine at times but there are certain issues that user has to face. This program freezes at times and therefore it is not recommended to those users that are looking for fast and most effective method to get the work done. There are however some features that should be considered as well.
- The interface of the program is very supportive. It therefore ensures that the overall usage is in line with the demands of the users.
- The user can also use this program to recover data from devices other than hard drive i.e. memory cards as well as USB devices.
3. UFly Data Recovery
How To Format An External Hard Drive
With the features that are matchless this program is the one that can solve the subjected issue. It is also one that does the work faster as compared to the ones mentioned. The program saves all the recovered dat to the location that is specified. It also supports cloud technology so that there is no scenario of data loss. The user can also access the data from anywhere in the world with ease and satisfaction. It also leads the users to believe that the program has the features that are not found elsewhere.
The issues that occur while the usage of the program are basically related to other apps. It means that the app conflict is the issue that is to be resolved by the developers. This will make the program stronger in terms of overall usage.
4. Cisdem Data Recovery
Dedicated for Mac this program does all the work easily. It also means that once the program has been installed the user needs to look no further. It is also one of the easiest ways to get the work done. The overall look as well as the features that are embedded within the program it has been made awesome. To get the process easier for the user the official site also has guides for the users. It is so that they get to know the tips and tricks that are related to the program. The overall look of the program is also ISO certified which means that it has been rigorously tested. The developers however didn’t looked after the difficulty level of the program which is a bit high for new users. It simple means that the users need to get some tech knowledge before get going with the program with ease.
5. AppleXsoft File Recovery for Mac
With state of the art functions this program gets all the data extracted within no time at all. It is also regarded as one of the best programs by numerous tech websites. Installing and downloading this program means that there is no looking back. The overall processes that are embedded within the program are multithreaded. It means that more than one task can be carried out with this program. It makes it a wonderful choice for all types of the users. The program has some issues however. The first issue is that despite being multithreaded it is too slow. The user needs to wait a while before the data is searched and extracted. The other issue is that is consumes too much system resources and therefore it is not at all recommended. If these issues are addressed then this program will definitely become matchless in all aspects.
Related: Get specific steps on recovering files on Mac.
Note: Recover Lost Mac Data under Mac OS X 10.13 (High Sierra)
Due to macOS High Sierra (macOS 10.13) requirement, Mac users are not allowed an access to the built-in system drive from any apps. Therefore, if you need to restore lost data from the system disk under macOS 10.13, please 'disable System Integrity Protection' first.
How to disable 'System Integrity protection'? Please follow the steps below.
Step 1Reboot the Mac and hold down'Command + R' keys simultaneously after you hear the startup chime, this will boot OS X into Recovery Mode.
Step 2When the 'OS X Utilities' screen appears, pull down the 'Utilities' menu at the top of the screen instead, and choose 'Terminal'. Truecrypt for mac.
How To Format External Hard Drive For Mac
Utorrent for mac os catalina download. Step 3In the 'Terminal' window, type in 'csrutil disable' and press 'Enter' then restart your Mac.
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