How To Format an External Hard Drive for Mac - Everything You Need To Know

[@JavierMercedes]

If this was helpful leave a comment! To Summarize how to format your external hard drives on Mac. Use Disk Utility. Use the Mac OS Extended Journaled format if you work on Mac computers only (choose APFS instead if you work with newer Macs and have a SSD or flash drive.) If you want the external drive to work on both Windows and Mac then choose ExFAT. Timecodes: 0:00 - Intro 0:26 - Eject all other drives connected to your mac 0:38 - What to expect when connecting a windows NTFS formatted drive or usb drive to a mac 1:21 - Using Disk Utility to format an external drive or usb thumb drive on a mac 1:57 - What to do if you don't see APFS and other options in format menu in Disk Utility 3:05 - Explaining AFPS (Apple File System) and when to use it for formatting a drive 3:57 - Running test to see if AFPS, Mac OS extended, or ExFAT is faster transfer speeds 4:37 - Why you shouldn't format an external drive to AFPS 5:16 - Explaining Mac OS Extended Journaled Format 5:52 - Explaining MS DOS (FAT) Format 6:14 - ExFAT format is compatible with both Mac and Windows 6:40 - Explaining Case Sensitive and Encryption formats on mac 7:22 - Finishing my example of formatting an external drive to Mac OS Extended Journaled

[@KevinSavino]

MS DOS limits my file transfer to only 4 GB, is there any format that is compatible for both windows and mac with no file transfer limit?

[@emmanuelhernandez4534]

i like this very good and easy but my mac is not letting me format it it keep saying error

[@emmanuelhernandez4534]

can u help me

[@shaniyabisburg1844]

I have a dumb question. Why can't I just Drag and drop files into the drive when it pops up on my desktop?....

[@gretchenjankowski5926]

This was so helpful! Thank you for being so articulate, and explaining things so clearly!

[@silviaorta1881]

Clear and straightforward explanation. I am 80 old and was able to follow the instruction and erase my files. Excellent communicator.

[@benposs1040]

After poking around the internet for an hour, this is by far the most thorough and easy-to-understand video covering this topic...thanks Javier.

[@sarahmacdonald697]

totally agree!

[@fonsecamikester]

This was the best explanation I've seen about formatting external hard drives. Good job Javier, keep em coming 😊

[@JavierMercedes]

Glad it was helpful for you Michael!

[@Billytut]

I totally agree. So frustrating

[@Phyx1us]

I couldn't agree more. The best by far.

[@suparnamalhotra]

I agree!

[@AbdulAziz4CaNaDa]

I agree 100%

[@frederickespanol7007]

Im a little confused from other KZbin videos about this topic, but you explain it very well and you nailed. thumbs UP😃

[@amborg2]

Thank you for such a clear, straight forward explanation. My husband used to do these things for me but due to health problems he can't. I'm learning thanks to wonderful people like you. Thank you.

[@margjames8380]

Great video. What I liked most was that you didn't talk about irrelevant things and you didn't talk slowly. I get frustrated when it takes forever to get the information you need. Loved it.

[@chrisstein6234]

Much more complicated than I expected. Guess that’s why it’s called a hard drive

[@JavierMercedes]

Soft drive just doesn’t roll off the tongue as well ha! Thanks for watching Chris!

[@LandscapeJoe]

Don’t even get started on floppy disks...

[@picsbypixrephotography4696]

lol

[@Swissco9665]

​@@picsbypixrephotography4696 😂

[@lostlasota461]

lmao you legend

[@TwoSpaghettiMeals]

This video was really helpful. I have a stack of hard drives that I haven't been able to use because they were formatted to Windows, but now that I've switched over to Mac they've just been sitting in a cupboard. I've asked people about what I should do, and they just say "oh, just reformat it". Zero further explanation of how to do that... and because I'm an idiot when it comes to technology, I haven't been able to figure it out until coming across your video. So thank you. Super helpful, really detailed information, clear instructions. Loved it. Thanks again. :)

[@marklouiston2442]

Thank you Javier for jumping right into the topic, speaking fast and concisely, and conveying excellent relevant info in the least amount of time.

[@kellieparker2606]

This video was THE best instructional video I've ever had. I cannot tell you how many different youtube videos don't even mention that if you have a Mac - you are probably going to have to reformat your external hard drive that you just bought. I don't think I've ever commented on a video EVER and today is a new day. You helped us so much! Thank you!

[@paulndot]

YES!! Saved me from buying a new drive. Your tip on NOT using the included software is spot-on! I tried to erase/format my WD easy store a few different times - nothing. Your step by step video was exactly what I needed. THANKS SO MUCH for sharing your knowledge with us!

[@JavierMercedes]

Glad I could help Paul!

[@louisajaneacting351]

This was the easiest to follow video about tech I've ever seen...I didn't skip a single thing AND I feel like I learnt something! Thanks

[@12ax7off]

Best, most concise explanation of the various format types that I've heard.

[@violetlittlebird359]

4 years ago, but as useful as back then. The most straightforward, uncomplicated explanation. Thank You .

[@8illy]

you're awesome, informative, and straight to the point

[@thatssoakase1244]

BILLY !!!

[@abelmaharjan4181]

BILLYYYYY

[@rabayyinah6457]

This is the most easy to understand explanation of how to format the external hard drive. I watch other videos and none of them is as good and clear than this.

[@nicknichols4249]

Thank You!! I searched all over the web and you're the only one whose instructions and explanation got my Seagate external hard drive to work for my iMac.

[@edwinburrell7704]

I'm was a confused beginner, now that I have encountered your class! WoW, you take no prisoners. Your delivery is not for the faint of Heart, but if you really want to learn & not continue to be LAZY, the WORK done for you. This is for the Faint of Heart. YES, Javier, Bring it. This is the delivery of info without pity as a Military Instructor. Get it or Recycle in life. But, you do have passion for us to timely absorb the wealth of info !!?? Only for some of us you are fast!.But, no excuses we can view your video again, again, again & again until we get it. No tears participants of seeking Knowledge. Hang in there. I'm just 72 y/o who started using Pc's 5-8 yrs ago. ... I may be a couple of yrs behind , But You Younger one's are not to leave me behind! Hang in there! YaHoooooooooo ecddd

[@muachelli]

No even water can be more clear than this video, thanks a lot!!

[@kernjames]

Wow, I am a 72 year old guy and you made everything totally understandable for me. You have a gift for teaching!

[@christiancambre2118]

Never found a video so perfectly explain EXACTLY what I needed

[@RalphJErvin]

A simple, easy to understand explanation, with no $100 words or tech-babble, in under 10 minutes.🤯 God is still in the miracle business. New Sub.

[@charlesmcgehee3227]

Very well done. Best lesson on the subject I have ever seen or heard. You jammed a lot of good info into this and did not waste any time. Very much appreciated lesson in storage device formatting. Thanks much!

[@teeyelceetlc5605]

Exactly the video I was looking for! I was about to PAY for software to do this, then I decided to search KZbin and came across your video. I am a new Mac user I had No Idea how to format my WD Passport HD or which format to use. Your explanation of each was very detailed and helpful for me as a new Mac user. EXCELLENT VIDEO! THANK YOU!

[@gussmalley]

I am so F*&%#$ing appreciative that you took the time to annotate and index your meeting minutes for us. It's the perfect antidote for typical windbaggery.

[@JavierMercedes]

Glad it helped Gus!

[@alexandresofman3600]

I was just going to say that it’s the easiest and the most comprehensive explanation, without any BS information I don’t need, but someone beat me to it. Dude! I finally just started backing up my photos from the phone. It was so freaking painful to shoot a video only if you have anything to erase to free up some space. Thank you so much!

[@monifabasdeo1890]

You’re a life saver and thanks for taking the time to explain the different formats

[@Applefan101]

I also wanted to mention that you were the just the only one who mentioned how to search "Disk Utility". For a layman like me it means the world. Thanks bro.

[@YakMotley]

Great video! Going daily on the videos and running out of space lol!

[@IgnacioVal]

You are a genius!! I was almost an hour stuck not being able to format my new hard drive... checked you video and boom! Done! Thanks man!

[@meganperkins1616]

You did a really good job. Thank you for making it simple, quick and professional.

[@ParthaAquatics]

This is a must watch video for many of the people still out there, searching on how to setup the extranal drives to their mac! It worked immediately for me without any issues, and you have explanined things in such way. Many thanks dude! Cheers 😎👍

[@iAdvancedU]

Thank you my brother, simple explanation. 🙏

[@LanceCoffman-xs5zm]

This was super helpful! I found this two years later and it is still relevant for the SSD I purchased and my new Mac. Kudos! Cheers.

[@pizza4694]

this was literally the most informative and cleanest and easiest to understand instruction

[@mr.poopybutthole3434]

This was very helpful! I spent hrs trying to figure it out myself. Then I came across this video and did it in less then 5 min! Thank you so much! :)

[@mckennamurdock741]

This video saved my life!!! I've had a seagate hard drive sitting aorund doing nothing for a year because I couldn't figure out how to get it to work on my mac laptop! I finally decided to tackle the issue again and was searching around and finally came across your video. THANK YOU!!!

[@fengaleng9031]

Hey Javier, thanks for the informative video. What if I already have a lot of important files on my external drive? Is there a fast way to backup my files before reformatting?

[@angelbriosso7719]

I was about to have a meltdownt thinking that the hard drive I bought didn’t work since it didn’t let me tranfer any files, but this was a lifesaver. Thank you so much!

[@AlainaGeorge-y7f]

Thank you so much, Javier! Your explanation was simple enough for someone like me, who did not even know the disk utility app existed before your video! We bought the hard drive to back up our wedding photos! Now we have them! Thank you! I also feel like I can apply what I learned to something else in the future. You are awesome!

[@brionkimmel3596]

Your explanation was clear and thorough. You saved me from having to return and repurchase my hard drive. Thank you.

[@bakaretaiwo4655]

Best explanation I’ve seen online on how to fix a flash drive to work on Mac and it was extremely helpful .

[@gavinmesserly]

Yours was the 3rd tutorial I watched on this. Neither of the others told me about changing the "view" so I could re-format the "parent drive". I was getting an error message when just trying to re-format the "child". THANK YOU!

[@marcuslynn]

This came in clutch. I've been having issues with my FCP projects for two full days. Even bought a new computer! Come to realize after chatting with Apple support this is what I needed to know and you even clarified the options more than they did, so thank you so much for this!

[@SuperHeedictator]

Gosh! I just can hug you tightly trough the screen! I bought the disk online and almost had a panic attack when it came and I couldn't sent any files on it! Then your video helped so so much! Now it's working perfectly~ Thank you for the video. Straight to the point with some additional interesting info!

[@coachminawatkins]

Thank you for all your explanations on the different formats so that I can choose the right one for me! Your instructions were so clear and easy to follow. I needed to format my old external hard drive that was not working anymore. Although, my drive was not formatting at first using the 'Erase' option. I kept getting error messages (again, because my drive was not working even though it was previously formatted for my mac). FYI, if anyone else is having the same problem, select the option 'First Aid' to fix any errors, then do the 'Erase'. That worked like a charm! Now I have my drive working again.

[@Swissfairy]

thanks a lot, very useful.

[@hdryden7652]

This was very helpful. I had no idea why I couldn't see the other formats until watching your video. Thanks!

[@spiritmoonwalker]

i had a hard drive that i first used on Windows before i bought my Macbook. So i couldn't back up my music on my Macbook and then your video helped me. I did format it , everything went great and i have already backed up everything. So thank you for your help. You were very explanatory and you ve saved me from buying another hard drive :)

[@philselby1822]

Wow Brilliant. As a 74 yr old. It was clear and i followed sate by stage. The information re the various options super. Thanks a million.

[@frankied6440]

Very well done. You are clearly an expert but you are also a good teacher because you explained it well for people who don’t have your knowledge.

[@ianbarbarafry575]

Brilliant, Javier. Finally this whole business is beginning to make sense - I cannot thanks you enough.

[@KeithSellon-Wright]

As a many-year PC guy with my first Mac (Mini - Ventura) this was AWESOME! Had a NTFS drive I needed to repurpose for both Mac & PC and told me all I needed to know. THANK YOU!

[@dduchovny2270]

This is the best video on formatting external spinning hard drive for mac so far!!!

[@swayne5735]

Okay, maybe I've only viewed 100 or so tutorials, but this one by Javier was THE BEST TUTORIAL I'VE SEEN! It could be a prime teaching tool on how to make an efficient, functional tutorial. Javier checked all the boxes & then some. Thank you Javier, I look forward to your future instructions!

[@Katiethou]

Thank you! I was just about to loose my mind, when I found your video. And thank god, it worked. Mac asked me if I wanted to use my new extern harddisk as a time machine backup - and I choose to do that. Except it failed, but it deleted the harddisk and left it passive. Google didn't help, but you did! Thankfully! THANK YOU! :D

[@hh-rd5uo]

Awesome explanation. I’m new to Mac and I’ve tried to download pictures to external hard drive….. And then I found your video and you picked it up and solved the problem for me. Thank you very much.

[@nathanmao3421]

This is the most helpful and straight-to-the-point video and I needed it so much because I was this close to tossing my hard drive out the window not knowing how to format it. thank you

[@ollilavie]

My friend, your tip to Show All Devices just gave me a new External HD! I couldn't format it in any way and that's because I was only seeing the partition, not the whole device! Thanks man!

[@groovyfpv7849]

My favorite short simple explanation video. Been watching this for 3 years now 😂 thank you 🙏🏽.

[@D__Lee]

THANKS! I just purchased a SEAGATE external HD for a Time Machine. I thought AFPS was the preferred format for Macs so I was perplexed that it didn't appear on the SEAGATE. Your explanation on when to use AFPS was very helpful and reassuring that I didn't buy an obsolete HD.

[@michaelknibbs]

Thank you. The tip to select view was terrific. I could not figure where my TimeMachine segment was hiding! Great communications - no jargon and good examples.

[@merlenh8405]

Thank you, Javier! I had run out of disk space on my MacBook Pro, so I had to buy an external hard drive. It failed to work using the manufacturers instructions (the option I needed in Disk Utility was grayed-out)... I was only able to "read" but not write to the hard drive. Thanks to your video, not only was I able to get it to format from the NTFS to the MacOsExtended Journaled format, but to better understand what the various formats were good for. Thank you so much, again. Very useful and easy to follow.

[@aedreezy]

I was just given a Macbook Pro and have never daily drove MacOS (windows all my life). This was SUPER helpful and I love how straightforward and to the point it was, no fluff. Thank you sir!

[@JavierMercedes]

Thank you Andrea!

[@DJSantero]

Brilliant video, clearly explains everything, and had the EXACT info I needed at the right moment to stop me doing the wrong format for a Time Machine SSD. Wish more videos were this good and clear!

[@nuwanabeykoon3823]

Your way of presentation is excellent. You mention all necessary facts in a well organized way in a short period of time. Thank you.

[@JavierMercedes]

Thank You Nuwan!

[@antsy_does]

I think I got it!! Do I still need to format an external hard drive if I just want to drag and drop photos and videos from my Macbook Pro's desktop into it?

[@kirkbarber2801]

Awesome job of explaining this to someone who had zero knowledge. Thank you!

[@Mathias-so8rw]

Glad to see Dak Prescott branching out and doing tech work on KZbin. Amazing video! Helped me out! Wish I found this video hours ago

[@amazinggrace23]

Now this is how you create a great informative video for someone that has little knowledge about computers. Informative but to the point, not overly technical. Thank you very much!!!!

[@stephensaxon9121]

All good solid context, no waffle,filler or hard selling. Some other videos confused rather than clarified.

[@chrisbaldwin6234]

This was extremely helpful. IK thought I made a bad call when I bought a WD Elements 4TB External Hard Drive to back up raw video data when done with a project. So happy you made this video.. It was a very simple fix! Keep on, keeping on friend!

[@Jorrell81]

this was very helpful and straight to the point, thank you. Other videos out there are way too long just to explain a "how to format external drive"

[@PEoriginal]

I so like your style of moving through information QUICKLY!! Very good JM.

[@breehulan]

the most straightforward and helpful video!!! thank you for getting straight to it and explaining everything for a beginner

[@antie47]

Thank you so much! Tutorial was super easy and good to understand :)

[@IsraelIsrael475]

I literally had this drive for months now and never formatted the drive. This vide help me not feel so intimidated. Thanks! Everyone isn't techy and I didn't know what the hell I was doing at 1st lol. Awesome vid! Thank you!

[@xoschnoodle]

Thank you so much for this video, Javier! Definitely panicked when I realized I'd forgotten to buy a Mac specific hard drive, but there was no need to worry!

[@faithlyl]

thank you so much! I was having a headache trying to get my hard drive to work and this video just solved my problem in a few seconds. THANK YOU!!

[@REPay1000]

Excellent, so helpful...thank you! Someone moving from Windows to Mac appreciated this!

[@MamaPcreative]

Simple but thorough explanation - THANK YOU!

[@boutsee]

great insights and added options needed to know - my OLD Ext HD - Finally sorted - saved me money and got me 1TB back!!

[@caprimariebeauty7712]

This was by far the best video I’ve watched regarding external HD’s! My Mac wasn’t reading mine until I saw this video! Thanks so much!

[@angelathrasher6342]

Simple. Clear. Step-by-step. Exactly what I was looking for. Thanks Javier.

[@raywhitesr1125]

You are as clear as day ! You make what seems daunting, a walk in the park . I'm the caveman in cyberspace, so i know what i'm talking about. Thank you

[@ssz9453]

Thanks a lot for your detailed and straight cut explanation, was having problems when taking my hard disk from windows to mac with problems like moving and deleting files, this helped me a lot. THANKS!

[@wenjiun88]

I just bought two new Toshiba X300 Hard Drives, and I glad I found your video before i format to NTFS format on my Mac because i bought the apps to read and write NTFS Hard Drives.

[@kearimmeng7995]

Thank you so much for making this video! You’re so intelligent and helpful! I was able to format western digital easystore hard drive on my Mac-book and store my files in here. I am so glad you’ve shared your computer and tech knowledge. I got a lot of value from you and this video.

[@MiaDiRienzo]

Thank you so much! I was reading about how to do this online and it sounded so complicated-it only took me 1 minute following this tutorial! Thank you! :)

[@machman261063]

Great little video. Just bought a Seagate One Touch External HDD which came in EXFAT format. Encryption important to me so I chose MAC OS Extended (Journaled, Encrypted). Thanks for the post.

[@FlyEnri]

Always the best, simple tough detailed enough tutorials! Just got my first macboookkkk ahhhhh I'm feeling such a newbieee

[@matisselepre228]

This video was a blessing to me! I am new to Mac and the photography world and this video was very very helpful. Short, sweet, and to the point. Thank you so much!!

[@annly666]

You made things so much easier to understand. I'm an absolute noob at tech and u were so helpful while explaining things, thanks so much.

[@TheJulieNclaire]

Time and time again I come back to this video to make sure I’m doing it correctly. Clearly shown and well explained. Thank you

[@n.a.792]

You're a legend. 20+ videos and the tip with Hide View in the 3rd part fixed it. Thank you!!!!

[@YAYGOME]

thank you!! Super helpful, so much better than the other guides because you actually explain all the options instead of just saying "use EX FAT"! Take care ☺️

[@AbdulAziz4CaNaDa]

Never seen such details about hard drives & formats like this ever before. Wow im surprised and subscribe for sure. Thanks bro

[@skykink]

Super video - people who do technical videos should watch this and learn something!

[@rickztah]

Thank you for this vid. I had formatted to the MS-DOS and my 4T went down to 2T. In ExFat I kept the full 4T capacity. Thank you once again

[@davidstevensasidewayslook8831]

the best mac formatting info video on youtube, got me out of a hole. (Couldn't understand why my new external hardrive would not work with Time Machine, now I know why!!)