How to format a hard drive for Mac [2025]

This article will guide you on how to format your Mac external hard drive for optimal file storage. Since most hard drives are not macOS compatible out of the box, it is completely reasonable to search for "How to reformat a Mac external hard drive". If you have this situation, or if your external drive is slow or stuffed with old files and needs to start over, read on.

How to choose file format and partition scheme when reformatting hard drives

The file or disk format describes how data is organized on disk and the operational options available. At the same time, the partitioning scheme determines how the operating system maintains the partition and the code used to boot from the hard drive. When formatting your hard drive for your Mac, you can adjust the file format and partition scheme settings.

Before introducing the steps to how to format a hard drive on your Mac, here are a few popular disk formats and their main features to help you choose the format that best suits your needs:

• APFS (Apple File System) . The latest file formats provided by Apple for Mac users running macOS High Sierra or later. This format encrypts files and is generally most efficient for Mac, but cannot be opened on Windows or Linux machines.
• HFS (macOS extension) . As the predecessor of APFS, HFS is the default format for Macs running macOS High Sierra. Similar to APFS, an HFS hard drive can be encrypted, but it is not the best option if you are using a Windows or Linux device as well.
• FAT32 . This file format can be used with macOS, Windows, and Linux, making it the best choice for users who often share files between devices with different operating systems. Some disadvantages of the FAT32 type include the lack of security features and file size limitations.
• ExFAT . While it has the same features as FAT32, the ExFAT format can create and store files larger than 4GB.
• NTFS . This is the native file system of Windows that can be read by macOS devices. However, your Mac will not be able to write to the NTFS file.

How to improve Mac performance with CleanMyMac

Find quick fixes on Setapp to format Macintosh hard drives, quickly back up or restore files, and use over 250 top utilities to increase speed.

Free Trial Security Test How to Format External Hard Drive on Mac

Since most drives are designed to work out of the box only with Windows computers, it's almost inevitable that you have to format HDD for your Mac. So once you take the time to understand all the popular disk formats, you can start the actual formatting process.

Note: Since formatting a hard drive for your Mac erases all data, make sure that you have backed up all necessary files from that drive before performing the following steps.

Here is how to reformat the external hard drive of your Mac using the Disk Utility:

1. Connect an external drive to your Mac.
2. Go to the application and start the disk utility.
3. Select your external disk from the sidebar.
4. Click "Erase" in the toolbar.
5. Select a new name for your external hard drive in the pop-up window.
6. Choose the disk format and partitioning scheme (in most cases, the GUID partition graph is the best choice).
7. Click "Erase" again to complete the process.

How to Partition an External Hard Drive on Mac

While it may sound challenging, partitioning an external drive on a Mac is actually easy! However, there are a few things you need to remember: Partitions can only be created on a completely new formatted drive (no files or folders added), and partitions can only be created when you select Apple Partition Map under Partition Schema settings during the formatting process.

After erasing the external drive and selecting the Apple Partition Diagram scheme in the Disk Utility, keep the external drive connected and then partition the drive on your Mac by following these steps:

1. Go to Partition at the top of the Disk Utilities window.
2. Select the desired partition size and format.
3. Select Partition in the new window that appears.
4. After the operation is successful, click "Finish".

It is important to know that the Macintosh hard drive is in good condition before partitioning or formatting it. To keep your Mac and all its external devices running smoothly, try CleanMyMac.

CleanMyMac helps monitor unnecessary junk files and malware on your Mac while optimizing its speed by running the system to clean up, uninstall and update applications, and erase files of any size. Simply plug the external drive into your Mac and select "Smart Maintenance" for CleanMyMac to check for any failures on both devices.

The Performance feature will help find any corrupt files on the external drive that may cause errors. If CleanMyMac finds any issues, it also provides suggestions on how to fix the drive. Regardless of your situation, CleanMyMac is a top-notch app for cleaning, optimizing and protecting your device for years of use.

Please read also:

• How to Backup Mac without Time Machine
• Erase SD card and format USB drive on Mac
• Back up iPhone photos
• How to Backup Mac

Back up your files before reformatting

Once you format the hard drive for your Mac, all previous files on it will be erased and this action cannot be undone. Because of such consequences, it is important to back up all files before formatting your Mac HD. For your convenience, try Get Backup Pro.

Get Backup Pro gives you full control over backups, and you can determine which files and folders are critical, backup frequency, and output size. Create a quick bootable backup by selecting the incremental and compressed backup options for Get Backup Pro, which will help save space. Just plug in the external drive and have Get Backup Pro make sure you back up the drive to your Mac or other external device.

Since even users who back up data regularly have encountered the loss of important files on their Mac, it is safe to say that everyone needs a good recovery tool like Disk Drill.

Disk Drill can retrieve data that appears to be missing or permanently deleted. Regardless of the reason for the loss, Disk Drill can help recover files in all common formats as well as files on all popular devices. If you reformat your Mac external hard drive to a new file format (e.g. go from APFS to FAT32) and the files are corrupted or lost, Disk Drill will be your best solution!

Now you know how to format your hard drive on your Mac, and have tools like CleanMyMac that not only maintains your drive, but also improves the overall performance of your Mac. Additionally, to avoid any data loss disasters during formatting hard drives for Mac, use Get Backup Pro and Disk Drill to back up or restore your files.

All three apps – CleanMyMac, Get Backup Pro and Disk Drill – are available for free with the seven-day free trial of Setapp, a unique productivity center with over 240 utilities for Mac and iOS. Trial all apps for free without any restrictions and improve performance on you and your device!

FAQs on how to format a portable hard drive on your Mac

This guide covers the most practical ways to format HDDs on your Mac and provides tips for improving overall machine performance, but here are some of the most common questions on this topic, such as "How to reformat the external hard drive for your Mac?"

What is the best format for hard drives on your Mac?

According to the official Apple support website, APFS is the best external storage device format to use on Mac. If your Mac is still running macOS High Sierra or earlier, you can also use the Mac OS Extended (logged) format.

How to set up an external hard drive for my Mac?

As mentioned above, you need to connect these two devices and start the disk utility to erase the disk first. You can then select a new name for it and select the disk format to which you want to reformat the external hard drive of your Mac.

Do I need to format my hard drive for my Mac?

In order for an external hard drive to communicate with your computer, the drive must be formatted using the correct file system. So unless you purchase a Mac-specific HDD, you need to format your hard drive for your Mac before using it.

The above is the detailed content of How to format a hard drive for Mac [2025]. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!