Formatting an external USB HD

I have an external USB 20 GBHD that is MAC/PC compatible. Initially I had to connected to my PC. I could read them on the Mac, I just couldn't write to it from the Mac. After some research I found that I have to format the drive to FAT32 instead of NTFS. I moved all the files off the drive and now want ot format it. I know how to format on the PC, but for whatever reason, theres no option ot format to FAT32, only NTFS. How do I format the HD on the Mac?

Hello! You can probably use Apple's disk utility in the utilities folder. Your erase option may only show Mac HFS or HFS+ but go ahead and format it to the Mac format. Once that's done you'll then be able to format it to MS-Dos which is Fat32. Another option is to use the FREE utility SWISSKNIFE which can format ide/usb/firwire drives on PC's to NTFS or the Fat file system. Tom

Similar Messages

  • Is it possible to format an external USB drive with XFS or EXT3 ?

    Greetings all.
    I am running a 2,8Ghz 8x core with 6Gb ram. I have a NAS, (Buffalo Pro Duo Linkstation) which has a built in linux which saves data using XFS (I think). It has a built in backup routine, but the drive it backs up to MUST be in XFS or EXT3 (Fat 32 works but it drops all files over 2GB ;( ... ) So - here's my question:
    How can I format the external USB drive (A seagate freeagent) in XFS or EXT3 so that it can run on my Buffalo? My preference is to use a GUI mac program (does one exist?) or to use a command line UNIX command (FSK? - but then, how????). I could also use (GASP!) a windows utility on parallels, or even install a linux distro via parallels. But it should be easy I hope...
    Looking forward to any ideas/thoughts, tips, etc.
    thanks and best to all from Berlin,
    Jason

    Download a "Live CD" (one you can boot of into running copy of Linux without having to install anything; for example, [OpenSUSE Live CD|http://download.opensuse.org/distribution/11.0/iso/cd/openSUSE-11.0-GNOME-Li veCD-x86_64.iso]).
    Use OS X' Disk Utility to burn it to a CD.
    Insert the CD you just burned (if it ejected afterwards), and then restart your Mac.
    Hold down the 'C' key on the keyboard as the Mac boots, and it should switch to booting off the CD. Once the CD starts loading, you can let go. It will take a couple of minutes, but it will eventually boot into Linux.
    Attach your USB drive.
    Run gparted (you need to search the menus for it, it's under system administration, I think -- or you can open up a terminal window and simply type 'gparted').
    Find your disk (/dev/sdb or /dev/sda) and partition and format it using the filesystem you want.
    When done, restart the computer. You'll boot back into Mac OS X and have an EXT2/EXT3/XFS formatted external drive (that OS X won't recognize, by the way).

  • When I try to format an external usb drive  the progress bar only goes half way then freezes up can anybody help please

    When I try to format an external usb drive  the progress bar gets to half way then freezes , or stops and  what ever time I allow it never gets any futher on , I have to go to the task bar and click quit  to get on  and the usb drive is not formatted  is there a fault with my disk utility program  I have updated the system
    to lion 10.7.2
    Can anybody advise please

    Are these new external drives? How are the currently formatted? Have you tried doing this:
    Drive Preparation
    1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.
    2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
    3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
    4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
    5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Security button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
    6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
    Steps 4-6 are optional but should be used on a drive that has never been formatted before, if the format type is not Mac OS Extended, if the partition scheme has been changed, or if a different operating system (not OS X) has been installed on the drive.

  • What format for external USB HD in Windows XP

    I have installed Win XP Performance on a small partition and boot into it using Boot Camp. It's a great, small install, but my external USB HD isn't recognised by Windows.
    It's formatted as Mac Journaled - would this be ok just to read files on it?

    I use an app called Macdrive7 http://www.mediafour.com/products/macdrive/
    It allows you to read and write to a Mac drive while running Windows. Try the free trial and see if it helps you.

  • How to format an external hard disk Mac Os Extended (Journaled)?

    hello
    I connect an external hard disk (2.5' IDE Western Digital Scorpio Blue, WD2500BEVE) via USB or FireWire to my Mac mini. The Disk Utility tool shows an external disk drive of 128 GB - but the disk has 250 GB. How can I format the external USB/Firewire-harddisk 250 GB "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)"?
    I tried also to format the disk on a Windows PC (Windows XP). But I could not find a software to format "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)".
    Any hints on this? Thanks in advance for any feedback!

    andreasmarx wrote:
    As I use theses hard disks in a external hard disk case, I'm asking me whether my hard disk cases do not support more that 128 GB disk capacity. Is that realistic?
    It is not only realistic but probably the reason your Mac cannot see more than 128 GB of the capacity of the drives mounted in them. It has nothing to do with the interface between the Mac & case (like Firewire) but instead with the controller in the case that connects the raw ATA drive to that interface. Older ATA standards used a 28 bit LBA (logical block address) scheme to access the disk. For 512 bytes per sector this works out to a maximum of 128 GB of addressable disk capacity. The ATA-6 standard, also called Ultra-ATA/100 or just ATA-100, increased the bits in the address space from 28 to 48, with a disk capacity limit of 2 petabytes.
    ATA-6 was introduced in 2001, so any external drive case made before then for ATA drives will be forever limited to 128 G. Even now, some come with a controller that does not support the ATA-6 standard, & essentially none have all the hardware to support its full 48 bits of address capacity. However, since 2 PB (2000 terabyte) drives won't be available anytime soon, all you really need is a case that is ATA-6 or better compliant & supports enough address bits for the largest drive you intend ever to put in it.
    Case makers don't usually make this information easily available but many now include a "bullet" spec about the maximum capacity their case supports, typically rounded off to simple numbers like 320 GB, 500 GB, or whatever. If you can't find this info, you can assume that the newer the case the more likely it is to support larger capacity drives, or just buy one with a good return policy & test it yourself with the largest raw drive you own.

  • External USB Drive 2.0 vs 1.1

    I recently received some helpful advice on this forum concerning formatting an external USB 2.0 hard drive for the Mac. I have a couple related questions concerning USB 2.0 vs 1.1.
    I'm using an iBook G3/900MHz/640 MB, originally purchased in 2003, with OS 9.2.2 & 10.2.4 in a dual boot configuration. I pretty much boot exclusively to OS 9. The iBook's 2 USB ports, I think, must be 1.1, and the Firewire port 400. (The Apple System Profiler, under Devices and Volumes, shows the number 1.5.9 for the USB ports, and 2.8.7 for the Firewire port. Is this an indication of the speed?)
    There's no problems copying files to the external drive, but occasionally, when I've tried to open and/or edit those files, it's caused the iBook to freeze. Do you think this could be due to the drive being 2.0 and my iBook's USB ports being 1.1?
    Something else I noticed, was that the Apple System Profiler occasionally indicated that one of the USB ports was connected to the Apple internal modem, as well as the external drive. I have no idea why, and it didn't appear all the time. I disabled two modem extensions (Internal USB Modem & Internal V.90 Modem), and it got rid of that situation, but the occasional crashes are still happening.
    So do you think the USB speed mismatch could be responsible for the crashes when accessing files on the external hard drive?

    Hi, motc -
    ...that a typical external hard drive can transfer data at a variety of different speeds...
    Only if it is designed to do so. For example, a Firewire 400 drive can not transfer data at FW800 speeds; and a USB 1.1 drive can not transfer data at USB 2.0 speeds.
    Some external drives have multiple interfaces - USB and Firewire, and perhaps more than one for each.
    ...and it's the enclosure's interface (USB, Firewire, etc.) that determines what that speed will be?
    Not exactly. The capability of the Mac and the OS running the Mac also determine the data throughput speed.
    For example, the built-in USB on your iBook G3 900MHz model is USB 1.1. Attaching a USB 2.0 drive will not change that - the best such a drive can do is USB 1.1 speeds, limited by the Mac itself. Fortunately most USB 2.0 devices are backward compatible with USB 1.1 - they will operate on a USB 1.1 connection, but only at USB 1.1 speeds.
    Similarly your iBook's built-in firewire is FW400 - it can not operate that bus at FW800 speed.
    For those models capable of using PCI cards (an iBook is not), a faster bus (USB, Firewire, or both) can be added that way - but whether such a drive will then be bootable depends on the Mac and the card.
    There are also other limiters - the OS. For example, even if a USB 2.0 bus is added to a G4 using a PCI card, when the machine is booted to OS 9 it can not use USB 2.0 speeds, only USB 1.1 speeds - OS 9 does not have the necessary software components to drive USB 2.0.

  • External USB Drive hangs Disk Utility when trying to Format

    Hello Everyone,
    I have a Maxtor DiamondMax 10 300gig hard drive in an enclosure connected to my iMAC via USB. The drive was previously used on an Win XP pc and worked fine. I want to format it and use it as a backup for my MAC. When I plug in the drive, OS X says that it can't read the drive and asks if I want to initalize it. I go ahead and select 1 partition Extended Journaled and hit go. The Maxtor spins up for a few mins and then the colour wheel shows up and the Disk Utility shows not responding and the light on the Maxtor goes off. I have to force quit to get the Disk Utility to shutdown. I can format and parition the drive no problem on the XP pc. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
    Rem

    I also had a problem initializing and partitioning a new Seagate Barracuda 400GB drive with the NexStar GX (NST-370GX) external USB enclosure as described above. Neither my G4 MacBook Pro or my Mac Mini Dual core could initialize or partition the enclosure/drive. I could however hook the enclosure up to my XP machine, format it using NTFS, and access (read) the drive on my Mac Mini just fine. I didn't check it on the laptop though after formatting it using XP. This still was unacceptable.
    After doing some searching online, I discovered this post on 123macmini.com:
    http://www.123macmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2629
    where the post points out that the NexStar GX enclosure is a rebranded Macpower M9-LX. Then I discovered on the Macpower site:
    http://www.macpower.com.tw/products/hdd3/m9/m9lx
    that the enclosure is not compatible with any Seagate Barracuda drive greater than 160GB. Doh!
    After swapping out the Barracuda drive for a 300GB Western Digital drive I could then initialize, partition, and use the enclosure on my Mac Mini without any problem.
    I was using OSX 10.4.7
    I hope this helps others out there with the same configuration.
    Ctut

  • Disk Utility Not Formatting External USB Drive

    Hello,
    I recently upgraded to Leopard.  Around this same time, my company purchased two, 1 Terabyte USB External drives for my coworker and I in the graphics/web development department.  They arrived this morning and we were very excited.
    My problem is that I cannot get Disk Utility to erase/format the new, external USB TB drive for use with my MBP.  Disk Utility fails almost immediately with the following message:
    "*Disk Erase Failed*
    Disk Erase failed with the error:
    File system formatter failed."
    The options I'm choosing for the Erase are:
    Volume Format: MAC OS EXTENDED  (i've even tried the 'journaled' version too)
    Name: TB
    As soon as I hit 'Erase' I get the error message I listed above.  The volume never mounts on my desktop and does not exist.  I can see the drive itself in the System Profiler, so my Mac sees it, it just can't format it!  I've also made sure all my permissions were repaired, so I'm just a little confused as to why this simple task keeps failing?
    Is there some additional, esoteric step that I'm missing?
    My coworker was able to get his disk to work because he did NOT have Time Machine turned on yet.  When he connected his new TB drive, Time Machine asked him to format/initialize the disk and he of course said "ok."  I had Time Machine set to use my OLD external USB drive and it's been working great. As of this writing, my coworker is a happy camper. I, however, am not.  I'm not blaming Time Machine, just noting the differences between my coworker's experience and my own. Since the volume is not currently mounted on my machine, I can't format my disk the same way as my coworker has done using Time Machine, since Time Machine doesn't see the volume.
    My fear is that the manufacturer (whom I've also contacted and am awaiting their response) will throw this back to a software problem....and the folks on the forum here will point their fingers and say 'hardware problem.'  Ah, the eternal struggle.....who to blame?
    Any help or additional troubleshooting tips are greatly appreciated.

    This is the best, and only, way to format an external hard drive, which is courtesy of Kappy.
    Extended Hard Drive Preparation
    1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder. If you need to reformat your startup volume, then you must boot from your OS X Installer Disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger or Leopard.)
    2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
    3. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID (only required for Intel Macs) then click on the OK button. Set the number of partitions from the dropdown menu (use 1 partition unless you wish to make more.) Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the volume(s) mount on the Desktop.
    4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
    5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
    6. Click on the Erase button. The format process will take 30 minutes to an hour or more depending upon the drive size.
    Steps 4-6 are optional but should be used on a drive that has never been formatted before, if the format type is not Mac OS Extended, if the partition scheme has been changed, or if a different operating system (not OS X) has been installed on the drive.

  • Can't format external USB hard drive

    Hi Guys
    I recently bought a Mac Pro, having decided to make the switch from PC, but am having trouble formatting an external 0.5 TB USB hard drive I used with the PC for use with the Mac. The drive was supplied formatted to Windows NTFS and when I first connected it to the Mac the blue LED indicator blinked off - presumably beacause OSX couldn't read the drive? Now, whenever I try to format the drive using disk utility I am presented with a message stating, "The underlying task reported failure on exit". If I try to partition the drive, I get a message stating, "Resource busy".
    I am new to Macs and OSX, so imagine a lot of this problem is down to inexperience. I really need the external drive as I'm a musician, and store all my samples and projects on the drive.
    Cheers, Dan

    AFAIK, NTFS isn't a supported format for an ICBM (Intel-chip-based Mac). You need to remove any data files and reformat it MS-DOS or some such thing. Check Disk Utility's help files and http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303220
    Since you're a newcomer to the Mac, you should peruse these before you do anything:
    Switching from Windows to Mac OS X,
    Basic Tutorials on using a Mac, and
    MacTips Learning Centre.
    Additionally, *Texas Mac Man* recommends:
    Quick Assist.
    Welcome to the Switch To A Mac Guides, and
    A guide for switching to a Mac.

  • Problems saving files Using a FAT formated external usb disk

    Can not save my files 360gb on a external usb disk. Message appear" can not save file, the file already exist". If i format he disk as macos there is no problem.
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    Try installing "MacFUSE", which may provide better support for FAT and NTFS-formatted drives than the built-in filesystem support. Unlike the default support, MacFUSE will enable writing to NTFS drives, which may be a more compatible solution for your Windows PCs.

  • External USB Storage - Formatting

    I recently purchased a SimpleDrive 320 GB external HD by SimpleTech. I want to use it with my Dell PC and my Macbook. The instructions say if I want to use it for both I need to format it as a FAT32 volume and to look at my Mac documentation to see how to do that.
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    Thanks Neil
    I assume the entire drive becomes a FAT 32 then and I do not have to partition it?
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  • File copy inconsistency to FAT32 formatted external USB

    Since most recent update rollout I have problems copying files and folders to my external USB drives.
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    Yours Sincerely

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  • External USB Maxtor One-Touch 3  suddenly fails to mount on MacBook Pro:

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  • Brand new iMacs & an external USB drive disappeared on one of them - help?

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    Message was edited by: Gino La Pointe

  • My external USB drive is not recognized by Win XP

    Hi!
    I have an external USB drive that is HTF+ formatted. It is not recognized by Windows XP. If I start the windows disk manager it gives me the option to initialize the drive. Do I dare to do this? Will it not erase the information on the drive?
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    / Anders

    Hi Anders and welcome to Discussions,
    I have an external USB drive that is HTF+ formatted. It is not recognized by Windows XP. If I start the windows disk manager it gives me the option to initialize the drive. Do I dare to do this? Will it not erase the information on the drive?
    Yes it will !!
    Although with the BootCamp 3.0 Drivers (from the OSX Snow Leopard DVD) and the 3.1 Driver update (downloadable) Apple has introduced read-access to HFS+ partitions from Windows this feature seems to have some serious problems for some people.
    Personally I see this feature as "experimental" at the moment.
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    / Anders
    Hope it helps
    Stefan

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