Likewise, print to pdf is a way to create a standard format file that you can send to people on any os. The file will automatically be decompressed by archive utility into the same folder the compressed file is in. On the left side of the window are the drives connected to. Create a disk image, a single file you can use to move files. How to use disk utility to format drives on your mac. To erase this partition, well have to wipe the entire disk. Even so, its still easy to create a usb installation disk for os x lion if you want to install lion on a freshly formatted hard drive, if youre in an emergency booting situation, or if you need to repair your mac s hard drive. How to back up files on disk utility apple community. A hard disk analysis tool like disk inventory x will scan your mac s hard disk and display which folders and files are using up the most space. Open the disk utility app on your mac using one of the following methods, depending on the type of disk or volume you want to erase. Before you go messing around in the disk utility application, make sure you know what the drive is going to be used for. Heres how to format a drive if you are planning to use it with a mac.
Doubleclick on macintosh hd or in the finder menu click file new finder window 2. But it can also be used to create a disk image that contains a folders worth of encrypted files. Select mac os extended journaled, or your preferred format type. You can use disk utility on your mac to manage internal disks and external storage devices. The most important of these is the transition to a new start disk format called apfs short for apple file system and the ui conventions related to that format.
Each properly formatted partition appears as a volume in the finder. Set the format to mac os extended journaled and the scheme to guid partition map. This applications readonly nature isnt necessarily a bad thing. With the drive selected in disk utility, click partition. How to repair a mac disk with disk utility apple support.
This will start the verification and repair process. It is represented in the list of drives on the left side of the window, usually by a silver or yellow hard drive icon. Check your disk to see what is taking up space and find large files. Enter the amount of space you want to set aside for time machine. Format that new partition with that fat file system and youll be able to read and write to it from both windows and mac os x without any. Click on the security button, check the button for zero data and click on ok to return to the erase window. If your my passport drive shows up in the list go ahead and. However, a direct download or a download inside a macos vm can circumvent this requirement. Disk utility on mac supports several file system formats. Fortunately, there is a builtin utility on your mac called first aid is able to check and repair such minor file system errors.
This could be a external hard drive if its your own mac hard drive you. How to share files between mac os x and windows with boot. Format a disk for windows computers in disk utility on mac. When it is done, close the application by clicking disk utility and then quit disk utility. How to format a startup drive for a mac if you want to format a drive that will be used as your mac s startup disk, the procedure is a little different from formatting it for use as a secondary. Click on the name of your usb drive in the left window pane in disk utility. To partition and format the drive with disk utility, follow these steps.
As it happens, it also lets you create a passwordprotected folder in your mac. Repair a storage device in disk utility on mac apple support. How to access an external drive thats not recognized on a mac. Within disk utility, the hard drive or ssd is referred to as a disk. It is represented in the list of drives on the left side of the window, usually by a silver or yellow drive icon. Erase and reformat a storage device in disk utility on mac. This site contains user submitted content, comments and opinions and is for informational purposes only. The best ways to format an external drive for windows and mac. How do i clean up my imac so that it runs apple community. Plug your hd into the mac and open disk utility, which can be accessed by searching for it in spotlight. Go to disk utility and expand the external hard drive list there step 4 above. Macos has a builtin recovery disk utility to help you erase and reinstall the operating system, which you can redownload from inside the boot display on your mac. Iso images, just like dmg images, can be mounted as a drive as well under macos x no special software needed, just double click the iso file. After the verification and agreeing the terms, it doesnt show my harddrive.
Disk utility cant detect or repair all problems that a disk may have. How to repair external hard drive greyed out in disk utility. The approach covered here obviously pertains to files and data, but you can also use the builtin burning functionality to burn disc images directly from the mac finder, disk utility, or even from the command line physical media discs like cds and dvds are becoming less common as online data transfer takes over as a dominant form of data transmission and file sharing, but nonetheless discs. If the my passport hard drive icon doesnt appear on the desktop when you plug in. If you are able to fix the hard drive or ssd in your mac or an external drive using disk utility you will hopefully be able to recover your files. Click the erase button click the scheme popup menu, then choose master boot record. But you can open hfsexplorer, read a mac formatted drive, and copy the files to your windows pc without paying a dime.
The boot disk is a usb flash disk solution that allows the computer to restart in dos mode, and includes the files related to samsung ssd firmware update utility. How to share files between mac os x and windows with boot camp. Choosing the right format for your external hard drive b. Unzipping a file on a mac computer is userfriendly and intuitive.
Hfsexplorer allows you to browse your mac volumes with a graphical file system browser, extract files copy to hard disk, view detailed information about the volume and create disk images from. To download this via the mac app store you will need access to a supported machine. By default, a mac runs a different file system, so it may bring issues while partitioning your disk on disk utility. You can use lacie setup assistant to format your lacie hard drive when it is first connected to a computer windows or mac. Alternatively, you can search in spotlight for disk utility and click on it. Aborted lacie setup assistant while it was formatting. Double leftclick on the mac hd, the internal mac hard drive visible on the topright corner of the desktop screen.
Click the applications folder if using a finder window applications will be in the left side menu. Disk utility s view option shows devices, not just volumes now click the erase tab. When choose hard drive, you should look for the disk name, but not the volume name. Lacie setup assistant helps you to quickly format the storage device according to your needs. The startup disk may need repairing using disk utility to verify or repair disks. How do i safely clean up my imac so that it runs faster. Apple may provide or recommend responses as a possible solution based on the.
How to use apples builtin features to encrypt files and. Disk utility can fix certain disk problems for example, multiple apps quit unexpectedly, a file is corrupted, an external device doesnt work properly, or your computer wont start up. Hard drive partitioning is a common issue discussed in many tech forums. Disk utility can find and repair errors related to the formatting and directory structure of a mac disk. Click the erase button on top ribbon of disk utility to start erasing your hard drive for factory reset macbook pro. Step one if your hard drive is an external drive, connect it to the computer. After your mac restarts some mac computers play a startup sound, press and hold the command and r keys until the apple logo appears, then release the keys. Errors can lead to unexpected behavior when using your mac, and significant errors might even prevent your mac from starting up completely. Click on the erase tab displayed at the top of the disk utility window. How to factory reset a macbook pro stepbystep guide.
Create a large file from the command line or disk utility. In the disk utility user guide window, click the share button, then choose print. But in the mean time to format my passport for mac try these suggestions. To free up disk space, its helpful to know exactly what is using disk space on your mac. In the disk utility app on your mac, choose view show all devices in the sidebar, select the disk you want to format to use with windows computers. If you have any files you want to save, copy them to another storage device.
Dmg files are native to mac os x and are structured according to universal disk image format udif and the new disk image format ndif. Mac formatting guide legacy covers disk utility for. Why partition option grayed out in mac and how to resolve it. To unzip files on a mac, simply follow the steps below. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size. How to convert a macformatted drive to a windows drive. This process erases everything on the disk, including its files and all its partitions. For example, in the screenshot below, the macformatted drive is disk 2. This video will show you how to format a usb on a mac. File system formats available in disk utility on mac. These are instructions on how to format a hard drive using mac os x disk utility. Create a large file from the command line or disk utility for testing purposes may 31, 20 2 comments large empty files are often used for testing purposes during disk access tests, development, qa, zeroing out data, and scripting.
Disk utility is an inbuilt macos app for managing disks, drives and partitions. If youre accustomed to using the disk utility in earlier versions of os x, it will be worth reading through this document to get familiar with the changes to the user interface and formatting process. This formatting guide focuses on the disk utility application for versions 10. First, note the number of the disk in the disk management window.
They can be accessed through the mac os finder application by either launching the dmg file or mounting it as a drive. In disk utility on mac, you can erase and reformat storage devices to use with your mac. This could be a external hard drive if its your own mac hard drive you will need to jump to the next section. Format a hard drive using mac os x disk utility iclarified. Dmg is also referred to as the apple s equivalent to msi files in windows pc. You could use the disk utility to shrink one of your current partitions and create a new partition. Click the icon for your external hard drive in the sidebar on the left. Next, open a command prompt window as administrator. A factory resets also a necessary process if youre looking to sell your macbook air, in order to remove any and all user data left on the computer.
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