


In the window that opens, right-click on the external hard drive and select Format. Then, go to Dash, type gparted and click on GParted partition editor. On your desktop, right-click on the disk icon and select Volume Dismount. Next, connect the external hard drive to a USB port on your device.
Format external drive for mac on linu install#
Open the Terminal, and run sudo apt-get install gparted ntfsprogs to install the GParted utility. Enter a name for your unit in the Name field, and click Delete to start formatting. In Disk Utility, select your external hard drive and click the Delete tab.ĭisplay the menu to the right of Format, and choose the file system with which you will format the disk. Next, open the Disk Utility tool, which is located in the Applications > Utilities. Format an External Hard Drive on MacĬonnect the external hard drive to a USB port on your Mac. The time it takes will depend on the size of the disk. Note that NTFS is compatible with Windows only exFAT is compatible with Windows and Mac.Īfter accepting, formatting will begin. In the window that opens, enter a name for your disk and choose the file system with which you will format it. In the disk manager window, right-click on the external hard drive and select Format.

Press the Windows + X keys, and then select Disk Management. Before formatting the hard disk, it is advisable to make a back-up copy of the information contained therein, since the formatting will delete all of the data. You must format the hard drive, and the tool to use will depend your computer's operating system. Although external hard drives are usually formatted by the manufacturer, the installed file system might not be compatible with your device.
