How to format external drive to MAC OS Extended w/ MBR scheme?

Hello all,
I have a Maxtor 1TB drive that I would like to format to MAC OS Extended (Journaled) but also using a Master Boot Record partition map scheme.
Every time I try using the Disk Utility, I get a partition error. It will only let me partition using a GUID scheme, however the XBox360 that I also connect my drive to requires a MBR scheme.
I have another another Maxtor drive formatted in this manor, so I can't quite understand why I keep receiving this error!
Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks
Message was edited by: Gio_vanni

Not doable. AFAIK, your choices are APM, GPT, and MBR. Additionally, HFS+ isn't available for windoze's MBR; only MS-DOS or FAT-32.

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Formatted External drive for Mac OS extended

Hi,
I actually change from windows to Mac (no comparison...!!) but trying to transfer my photos (Pictures in finder) to an external hard disk i can`t drag and drop and i do not know why....i read in one forume that i have to formatted the external drive for Mac OS extended. First question: how could i do that? if my hard disk was originally formatted for windows, do i lose the info when i formatted?
Thanks!!

You will lose the files on the HD when you reformat it. So copy what you want off the drive to a folder on your Mac temporarily.
select the HD on the Desktop and launch Disk Utility.
select the HD in the left hand page of DU.
click on the Partiton button
select 1 Partition
select OS X Extended (journaled) in the drop down Format menu.
click on the Apply button
drag the folder of files onto the EHD to copy back and then delete from your Mac's drive after verifying that they all copied back successfully.
OT

Unable to format external drive as Mac OS Extended

I just bought a WD 3TB My Book Essential external hard drive so I can free-up space on my Mac Mini. When I used Disk Utility to erase the data and reformat the drive as Mac OS Extended, I got the following error:
+Disk Insertion+
+The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer+
There were three options; Initialize, Ignore or Eject. Choosing either Initialize or Ignore resulted in the following error:
+Disk Utility Internal Error+
+Disk Utility has lost its connection with the Disk Management Tool and cannot continue. Please quit and relaunch Disk Utility+
So I Googled it and found the following thread http://discussions.info.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=11461203
This suggested using First Aid; Repair Disk. When I ran this, I got the following error:
+First Aid failed+
+Disk Utility stopped repairing “disk4s1” because the following error was encountered:+
+Filesystem verify or repair failed+
I'm stuck; does anyone have any ideas how to resolve this?!

Not sure what the problem was on the MacMini (10.5.8), but I just managed to format the disk on my MacBook Pro (10.6.4).
Problem solved!

How to format FAT drive as MAC OS EXTENDED?

Hello,
Does anybody can help me to format a FAT drive as MAC OS EXTENDED? It is an external FW drive. I cannot find the way in the laptop.
Thanks!!

I've discovered one subtlety with Disk Utility that wasn't at all apparent until I smashed into it headlong. I have a number of machines that have been running Tiger Server since the day it came out, incrementally updating from 10.4 to 10.4.11 as each release came out- so I have a number of 10.4 install disks to support them. I have also been painstakingly backing them up weekly via SuperDooper to emergency firewire backup drives, so that when disasters would occur I could theoretically simply reboot from the external drive and keep going.
At some point, Apple changed both Disk Utility and the requirements for a bootable external disk, and apparently I didn't get the memo. The old Disk Utility present on the original 10.4 disks lacks the "Options" feature found on the current one under the Partion tab- which allows the user to select the partition table format. There are now three options: Master Boot Record (FAT/DOS), GUID Partition Table (used to support the Intel OS X machines), and Apple Partition Map for the PPC machines.
Regrettably, PowerPC machines running 10.4.11 apparently *will not boot* from disks reformatted from DOS/FAT as Mac OS X Extended with the old disk utility, as I found to my woe when I installed Security Update 2008-008 and all my Server machines stopped working. They appear on the list of bootable drives when booting in select mode, they appear in the list for selecting the boot disk in System Utility, they can be selected- but the machine will simply not boot from them. The old utility apparently used to leave the FAT/DOS Master Boot Record partition table in place when reformatting to Mac OS Extended. I discovered that it was necessary to use the new utility, and specifically go into the options and select "Apple Partition Table", if you intend to be able to boot from an external drive reformatted from FAT/DOS with 10.4.11-era machines. And it should be noted that the new disk utility *does not* do this table selection by default: you have to use the Options button under the Partition tab and set it appropriately yourself.
Consequently, I spent several days reformatting, repartitioning, changing partion table types, and recloning my backup drives so as to render them bootable once again under this apparently new scheme. So, as a word to the wary: if you have been maintaining bootable external drives since the early (perhaps pre-10.4.7) releases of Tiger, it would behoove you to take a few minutes to go make sure that they are actually *still bootable*- and correct this gotcha before you run into it in an hour of need.
The other bad news if that, if you have the original 10.4 Server disks, "Archive and Install" does not appear to be an option, and you only have a disk utility that can't produce a bootable external disk in any case when booting from them. So it can be a painful exposure.

How to format external drive for mac AND pc use

hi
i want to format my external drive so i can use it on my mac and on pc's as well. i've gathered that the MS-DOS format is the way to go. my question is this: would this create any problems for my mac then?
can i partion one part for ms-dos and part for macos extended?
cheers
-j-

There are a couple of disadvantages with formatting a
disk as FAT32. Firstly, there is a limit on the file
size for FAT32. I think it like 2 GB so if you
capturing video the results will probably not fit
into this file limit. Secondly FAT32 will not be
bootable. I alway clone my system to a backup disk as
bootable. That way if anything goes wrong with my
system, I can just boot from my backup disk and fix
it.
The problem with doing this though is that the drive will not be usable with Windows (which was in the original posting) unless you use the third party MacDrive software on the PC.
iFelix

Is it safe to format ANY external drive to Mac OS Extended?

Some Seagate tech told me a while back that Seagate drives should ONLY be formatted with their proprietary formatting and that my data is vulnerable if I use something else. (I may have misunderstood this, but I'm 98% certain that's what he said.) I do remember him saying not to use the Mac's Disk Utility to format the drive.
I want to reformat this drive so that it's 100% compatible with my new Mavericks iMac.
Is there any concern about formatting ANY external drive to Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Or are there some hard drives that should not be formatted to Mac using Disk Utility?
I'm under the impression that all external drives are basically the same and I can format them however I want. No drive is "made" to be formatted with a certain OS or a certain format.
Is that correct?

Formatting a drive simply will remove any data currently stored on it. There is no such thing as "proprietary formatting." Drives come out of the factory with no formatting.
Whatever the person told you it was patently wrong not to mention mis-informed.
To use a hard drive properly with any computer it needs to be formatted with the tool that is required for the operating system with which it will be used. For the Mac you use Disk Utility (the tool) and you format the drive using Mac OS Extended, Journaled (the format.)
Your impression is correct.

Moving iPhoto to external drive; have formatted external disk to Mac OS Extended (Journaled), moved the iPhoto library to external drive; when trying to change the library, the iPhoto file on new external is greyed out can't be selected.What went wrong?

Must have done something wrong..
1. formatted external disk to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) - required a partition, but that went fine. Entire new external disk was included in the partition formatted to Mac OS Extneded (journaled).
2. moved iPhoto library to new external disk
3. Holding Option key down, opened iPhoto
4. Choose library feature appeared, however when new library function option appeared and "choose library" selected, the iPhoto folder appearing in the new external drive was greyed out and not able to be selected. Therefore the default library remains the original iphoto library on the Mac.
I've moved the original iphoto library to the trash and then tried to start iPhoto. A message comes up that the iPhoto is in the trash and needs to be pulled out before iPhoto can start (clearly the new iphoto library on the external drive is not being seen.
Can anyone suggest where I went awry? Thanks!

Try trash the com.apple.iPhoto.plist file from the HD/Users/ Your Name / library / preferences folder.
(On 10.7 or later: Hold the option (or alt) key while clicking on the Go menu in Finder to access the User Library)
(Remember you'll need to reset your User options afterwards. These include minor settings like the window colour and so on. Note: If you've moved your library you'll need to point iPhoto at it again.)
What's the plist file?
For new users: Every application on your Mac has an accompanying plist file. It records certain User choices. For instance, in your favourite Word Processor it remembers your choice of Default Font, on your Web Browser is remembers things like your choice of Home Page. It even recalls what windows you had open last if your app allows you to pick up from where you left off last. The iPhoto plist file remembers things like the location of the Library, your choice of background colour, whether you are running a Referenced or Managed Library, what preferences you have for autosplitting events and so on. Trashing the plist file forces the app to generate a new one on the next launch, and this restores things to the Factory Defaults. Hence, if you've changed any of these things you'll need to reset them. If you haven't, then no bother. Trashing the plist file is Mac troubleshooting 101.
Then try select it again.

I had formatted external HDD as Mac OS Extended(journaled) earlier, but now i want to format the same as ExFAT so that i can copy files between PC and MAC. But it is giving 'Can't unmount' error while i try to run Erase

I had formatted external HDD as Mac OS Extended(journaled) earlier, but now i want to format the same as ExFAT so that i can copy files between PC and MAC. But it is giving 'Can't unmount' error while i try to run Erase

Use the PC to reformat the drive.

Can't format external drive for Mac

I got an external Seagate Freeagent 750GB drive to use with my new Mini. It came formatted as a windows FAT volume. Since I don't have a FW400 to FW 800 cable yet, I have it connected via USB. When I try to reformat as a Mac drive (with any of the 4 case-sensitive / journaled options), I get an error, but I can then reformat as FAT. Does anyone know how I can format this drive as mac and what the problem is?

It may have something to do with the partition scheme. There are at least three different schemes. One is used for windows formats (so you can use FAT32 or NTFS format), one is used for Intel Mac (probably GUID, not sure), and one is used for PowerPC Mac (probably the Apple Partition Map, again not sure). I don't know whether it is smart enough to choose the appropriate scheme for you when you have selected a format for your partition. Try to select the right scheme for Intel Mac first, and then decide on the format on each (if you have more than one partition on that disk) partitions.
I think you have to make sure the format is compatible with the scheme, especially when you have multiple partitions on one disk. You can't format one partition to FAT32 and another to HFS+, although it will try to do something, but it will end up with error.

How to format Windows drive with Mac OS format

Hello
I have a Windows 160gb internal drive that is formated in Fat32. I am unable to format this drive with Mac OS X 10.3.9 in order to install Tiger 10.4. When I attempt to format using the Mac OS extended (journaled), I receive an error (sorry I didn't write it down) partition error. If I use the Mac OS extended option I recieve an error that the drive can not be unmounted.
How can I format this 160gb drive with Mac OS format so that I may install Mac OS X 10.4
Thank you

Do the following:
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.

How to format external drive for use against windows and mac

Hi.
Please bear with me, a possible MAC newbie here
I'm about to buy the 13" Mac Book Pro (after ditching the Lenovo X301 because of a super slow processor, slow FSB, slow intel graphics).
But I have a couple of questions before I buy this Mac Book Pro.
NOTE:
My main OS (stationary pc) is Windows, and will probably be so for a long time.
But I need a lightweight laptop while on the run, and could not actually find any other one than the Mac Book Pro that met my requirements.
I'm using Adobe Lightroom for indexing and managing images on my windows stationary computer and will also use Lightroom on my Mac Book Pro.
I'm to use an external HDD for this purpose and will need to be able to both write and read to/from that HDD from both MAC and Windows.
Export lightroom library to External HDD from Windows (thumbnails + keywords).
Import new images and edit keywords etc from mac book pro in lightroom.
Import changes into my windows library version after been edited from library in mac book pro.
What options do I have when it comes to formatting that HDD?
What will the PROS and CONS be for the different options?
Note (I'm not to switch to Aperture (my main computer is still Windows))
Regards

Hi.. and thanks for that answer... another related here:
I'm to buy this external drive:
http://www.lacie.com/no/products/product.htm?pid=11038
This page:
http://pc.wikia.com/wiki/FAT32
tells me that windows XP will only format FAT32 to max 32GB,
will my upcoming MAC book PRO be able to format that whole disk using FAT32?
Or do I have to use something else to format it with?
Regards

How to format external drive as MS-DOS (FAT)

How do I format the external drive as MS-DOS (FAT)?
I followed the instructions and have Disk Utility open for the external drive. Then > Erase > changed format from Mac OS to ExFAT and did the same with the RAID tab. But this does not change the Format from Mac OS Extended (Journaled).
Thanks in advance for any advice..........It's never easy is it?

biddymon wrote:
Snip snip...........and I appreciate your sense of humor. Unfortunately mine is in the sleep mode at this stage of the game.
(3) Boot Camp 4. downloaded to 16-GB flash drive, which is recognized in Windows but will not install due to following prompt: "The version of this file is not compatible with the version of Windows you're running. Check your computer's system information to see whether you need an x86 (32-bit) or x-64 (64-bit) version of this program, and then contact the software publisher." This flash drive is formatted as MS-DOS (FAT), although ExFAT was an alternative.
OK, that does not suggest a disk format problem, but it does suggest that (as it says) you have the wrong Boot Camp version, or the wrong Windows version. ie, you have a 32bit version of Windows installed and you may have a 64bit version of Boot Camp on your Flashdrive.
I'll be back shortly, I'll get links for the various versions of Boot Camp, if there is no 32bit version for your Mac a reinstall of Windows is indicated, the 64bit version though.
OK
Even better, here is a link to a page with all the versions, if you click the version name a description will be displayed, find the correct one for your Mac and version of Windows.
Finally this page contains a model by model breakdown of which version of Windows will run on which model of Mac.

How to format external drive in MS/DOS

Hello. I have formatted my external drives in the past using MS/DOS. Today, Disk Utility does not have this option! I only have two Mac OS options and the Unix file system option.
What gives?
What is the Unix file system? Do I have to use this one now?

Hello. I have formatted my external drives in the
past using MS/DOS. Today, Disk Utility does not have
this option! I only have two Mac OS options and the
Unix file system option.
What gives?
Is this a new drive?
How big is the external drive?
iFelix

How to format external drive as NTFS?

I have a lot of files on my mac, and my external drive is formatted in FAT32. I can't put files larger the 4 GB on there. How can I format the drive as NTFS? All help appreciated!

Also note that even if you do use a Windows computer to format the drive as NTFS and then put it back in your Mac, you can't write to it without installing third party software. As installed, OS X can only read NTFS.
As Niel noted, Mac OS Extended is the best choice, as long as there's no reason for the drive to be accessible from a Windows computer. If it must be NTFS, then you have these choices for the Mac to enable write access.
A commercial product is Paragon NTFS for Mac.
There are now two versions of the open source NTFS-3G software for OS X. NTFS-3G is the free version, which only works with the 32 bit boot kernel. This version also requires installing MacFUSE. A separate component needed for the free NTFS-3G software.
Tuxera, which provides the funding for the free NTFS-3G has their own paid version. Tuxera NTFS for Mac. This version supports both 32 and 64 bit boot kernels. But NOT the newer 64 bit only kernel of some newer Macs. Tuxera's version eliminates the need for the separate MacFUSE installation, and is faster at accessing NTFS drives.
Edit: Checking Tuxera's site, it looks like they've fixed the issue with the newer Macs which will only boot 64 bit. The note they had on their site at one time about it not working seems to be gone.

Format external drive for Mac and PC?

Can I format an external Drive to have 1 partition for OS X and another for my wife to use with her PC?
thanks!
ray

Yes, just use Disk Utility under OS X to create two volumes on it, one Mac OS Ext, the other FAT. Use a Master Boot Record partition scheme (also known as “fdisk”).

How to format external drive to MAC OS Extended w/ MBR scheme?

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