The question most Mac Users always have on their mind is "How can I format my External Hard Drive for Windows?". There could be any number of reasons for wanting to format an external Hard drive -
- Too much junk
- Need space
- Not working
- Not compatible with both windows and mac
Or perhaps simply because you're reorganizing the file system on your Mac. In any case, there's a correct method to do it such that it gives you the best amount of space possible and is compatible with windows as well as mac.
If you have important data on your hard drive make sure you back it up before formatting your hard drive.
So to start, open up Disk Utility which is located in Applications --> Utilities. Or Launchpad --> Utilities
Now, that you have Disk Utility opened up, from the left hand side column select your external hard drive. It will be orange colored. Make sure you select the main Hard drive and not a partition. For example, in the screenshot below, you would select "500.08GB WD My Passport" and not "SHIV WD" Now, click on the partition tab ( as shown selected below )
MAKE SURE YOU DO NOT SELECT YOUR COMPUTER'S HARD DRIVE. ( IN GREY )
Change the partition layout to as many partitions you want in your formatted Hard drive. If you're not sure, select 1 partition.
Change the Name as per your liking.
Change format to Mac OS Extended ( Journaled ).
Leave the size as it is.
And finally, click apply. Your Hard drive should now be formatted for both Windows and Mac.
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