After years of use, thousands of files and GBs of file fragments have been stored on your Mac hard drive. You may want to get rid of all this junk data and reuse your hard drive. Formatting is the easy solution to help you remove all data/traces on your Mac hard drive. Normally, once your hard drive is formatted, you will get a brand new hard disk drive. But, how to format a local/external hard drive under Mac OS? How to format a hard drive on Mac and permanently erase the data information on the hard drive? Don't worry. Here are two hard drive format software tools for Mac to help you securely format, reformat and erase hard drive, external hard drive, USB flash drive, and memory card under Mac OS.
Two Reliable Disk Formatting Software for Mac
Mar 15, 2018 To use HFSExplorer, connect your Mac-formatted drive to your Windows PC and launch HFSExplorer. Click the “File” menu and select “Load File System From Device.”. It will automatically locate the connected drive, and you can load it. You’ll see the contents of. The good news is that formatting USB on Mac is also as easy as on Windows 10. Step 1: Insert the target USB drive into Mac and you should see the drive name on Finder sidebar. Step 2: Find and open Disk Utility from Launchpad. Step 3: Click on the USB drive name in Disk Utility app and click 'Restore' button displayed on the top menu.
Macformat
Unlike Windows OS, Mac OS doesn't provide quick format tool. Fortunately, there are some Mac hard drive format software or smart disk formatting applications can help you securely and easily format, reformat, or erase hard drive under Mac OS. Here are two outstanding Mac hard drive format software tools you can rely on.
NO.1 Mac Hard Drive Format Tool – AweEraser for Mac
As a comprehensive data erasure tool, AweEraser for Mac can help you securely and permanently format a hard drive or device under Mac OS. It is pretty simple to use. So, it can help you quickly format, reformat and erase hard drive under Mac. First of all, free download AweEraser for Mac and install it on your Mac.
Outstanding Mac disk formatting features:
How to use AweEraser for Mac to format a hard drive or device on Mac? Actually, it is very simple. Just run AweEraser for Mac on your Mac. Select the mode 'Erase hard drive'. AweEraser for Mac will show all the hard drives and external devices on your Mac. Just select the targeted hard drive or device, then click on 'Erase' button. AweEraser for Mac will help you format the selected hard drive/device and erase all data, data traces, and fragments on the selected hard drive/device.
Best mac maintenance software 2015. Mac hard drive formatting steps: Run AweEraser for Mac > Choose 'Erase Hard Drive' > Select hard drive > Click on 'Erase' button > Format the selected hard drive.
Please note that once the hard drive is formatted by AweEraser for Mac, all the data on the hard drive will be permanently erased, can't be recovered by data recovery software or manual data recovery service. So, please back up your important data to another hard drive before you use AweEraser for Mac to format your Mac hard drive. https://dotsite.weebly.com/cyber-monday-2018-mac-app.html.
The formatting process will not cause any damage to your hard drive or device. AweEraser for Mac will not shorten the service life of your hard drive/device. It just securely formats your Mac hard drive/device and permanently erases all the data. Then your hard drive/Mac computer/device is able to reuse, resold, recycled or can be safely donated or lent to other people.
NO.2 Mac Hard Drive Format Tool – Disk Utility
Disk Utility is a smart hard drive format tool built in Mac system. Just run it on your Mac, it will show all the hard drives and external devices on your Mac. Select the hard drive and click 'Erase', then Disk Utility will help you format and erase the hard drive or device. But, the formatted data by Disk Utility can be recovered by data recovery software.
The two hard drive formatting software for Mac can help you securely format hard drive or device under Mac OS. But both of them can't format the hard drive which the Mac OS is installed on because the Mac system doesn't allow other software to destroy the system. However, AweEraser for Mac can help you erase unused disk space of the system hard drive to help you permanently erase all already deleted data and history traces.
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Why would anyone need to know how to format a hard drive? If you’re selling your computer, you’ll want to make sure you remove all personal information. Or, maybe you’re experiencing problems with your device and want to clean your machine thoroughly. No matter the reason, we’ll get you comfortable formatting a hard drive in no time.
Before you begin…
Before jumping in, there’s a bit of terminology you should know. First, hard disk and hard drive have the same meaning. But people often use other terms like delete and format interchangeably, while they’re actually quite different.
Now that we’ve got that down, there are a few more things you should know about the formatting process, for both Windows and Mac computers.
» Identify which type of hard drive you have
There are different types of hard drives you may be looking to format.
Your primary hard drive is the internal hard disk where the operating system (OS) resides. You may also have additional internal drives to store more files on your computer. This happens when your disk is partitioned (separated) between the primary drive and additional internal drives. An external hard drive is located outside of your computer, and it can take the form of a flash drive (also called thumb drive or USB) or a larger enclosure that can contain either a solid-state drive (SSD) or hard disk drive (HDD).
» Choose the right file system
Now that you’re clear on the differences between erasing and wiping, and between internal and external drives, it’s time to select a file system. File systems are rules that govern how an OS stores and reads files. When you format a hard drive, you’ll be asked to choose your desired file system.
If you’re using Windows, you can choose between NTFS, FAT32, and exFAT:
Both NTFS and FAT32 will eventually become fragmented, meaning you’ll need to occasionally defragment them.
If you’re using a Mac, you’ll generally use the APFS (Apple File System).
If you want to move files between Windows and Mac, go for exFAT.
Now that you’ve selected the appropriate file system, let’s get formatting! (Skip ahead for Mac instructions).
How to format a hard drive on Windows
Formatting a hard drive on Windows is largely the same whether you’re using Windows 10, 8, or 7. But it’s a little different if you’re formatting the primary drive vs. a secondary internal drive or an external drive.
» How to format a primary drive on Windows
Recall that the primary drive, or C drive, contains the operating system. That means you can’t format the primary drive while it’s running, for the same reason that you can’t repair a motorcycle’s engine while you’re riding it. So how can we get around this? We’ll run Windows from an installation DVD or a USB drive. That means your primary drive won’t be in use, so we’re able to work on it.
Note that this process will delete the OS and all files, but it won’t permanently erase them.
Got your Windows 10 or Windows 7 startup DVD on hand? Great, you can skip the next paragraph.
If not, you’ll need to create a bootable Windows USB drive. Make sure you have an external USB (also called a thumb drive or flash drive) ready. Then, download the software you need:
For either Windows 10 or 7, follow the instructions to create the bootable USB drive.
Now that you have either the startup DVD or the USB, we’re ready to proceed.
» How to format an internal or external drive on Windows
Your Windows hard drive may be partitioned into several different drives. Aside from your primary C drive, you may have smaller internal drives with names like D, E, F, etc. External drives are, again, hardware like USB drives or other external storage devices. Luckily, it’s much easier to format all of those drives, because they don’t contain the OS.
Here’s how to format either an internal or external hard drive:
If you need to format a drive simply for the purpose of using a different file system, you can quickly do that from the Windows Explorer screen. Just right-click on the drive and select Format. From there, you’ll be able to select NTFS, FAT32, or exFAT.
While formatting your disk will wipe it clean, it also deletes your files. If you’d prefer to keep your disk clean without taking the nuclear option, you can perform some disk maintenance instead. Why is this necessary? During the normal computing process, Windows accumulates a ton of junk that bogs it down: residual files, leftover installers, temporary files, cached data, and more. If you don’t clear it out regularly, your machine will start to slow down, freeze, and serve up error messages. Need some help with that? AVG TuneUp fixes and maintains your PC automatically so your drive stays nice and clean.
How to format a hard drive on Mac
Formatting a hard drive for Mac isn’t rocket science, but I wouldn’t let your neighbor’s first-grader do it for you, either.
Here’s how to format a hard drive on Mac: https://dotsite.weebly.com/change-default-app-for-specific-file-extensions-mac.html.
What about formatting external hard drives or flash drives?
The steps to format external drives and flash drives (also called thumb drives and USB drives) are basically the same as formatting internal drives. Luckily, that means learning how to format an external hard drive is fairly straightforward. See above for our step-by-step instructions on Windows or Mac. And remember that if you want your external drive to be both Mac and Windows compatible, your best bet is to use the exFAT file system.
What does formatting a hard drive do?
Why format a hard drive? As mentioned above, formatting a hard drive can do a number of things:
Do new hard drives need formatting?
Nope! New hard drives are formatted automatically, either by default or when you first plug them in. So there’s no secret sauce to formatting new hard drives — just plug them in and you’re good to go.
How long does it take to format a hard drive?
That depends on which type of formatting you want to do, and on which drive. Recall that a quick format will merely delete files, which doesn’t truly remove them. To completely erase files or wipe an entire drive, you’ll need to do a normal format. It’s a more thorough process that can take several hours, depending on the size of the drive and how much data it contains.
Keep your hard drive performing at its bestApp To Format To Mac Format On Windows 8
Over time, your hard drive becomes cluttered with temporary files, cached data, duplicate files, apps you never use, and other junk. All that clutter will slow down your computer and could cause issues such as crashes and freezes. You can remove everything by completely wiping your drive as we’ve described above — but that’s not a long-term solution. The same junk data will quickly build up again with regular computer use.
Format Mac Partition In Windows
A better option is a dedicated cleaning tool such as AVG TuneUp, available for PC and Mac. Our Disk Cleaner and Browser Cleaner features will regularly scrub your machine clean of leftover junk data for a faster, better computing experience. Download our free trial and give it a spin to see what’s bogging down your computer, then get rid of all that clutter to bring your machine back up to speed.
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