The reason you can't do it directly is because Windows has this limited through the GUI. I can find it under Device Manager and Disk Management but that's it.
Now either because of time, corruption or because it may have been formatted for a Mac when I plug it into my PC I cant access it. But unfortunately it bit the dust and I decided to get a PC. In File System you can then select FAT32 from the drop down. I have a Lacie d2 Quadra 1tb External Hard Drive. Right click on the external hard drive and select Format from the. Once this is complete you can then right-click the partition and choose Format. Open Windows explorer and go to External hard drive. But the following way might actually take twice as long or not at all as the above example but you could use it if you are uncomfortable using cmd prompt.įormat the disk as NTFS using first. You don’t need to use cmd prompt at all sometimes. Go to Start -> Execute: cmd -> EnterĮxecute the following: format (Drive letter): /FS:FAT32 Fortunately, its easy to fix so that your. It will take a short while to delete all the files and change the format of the disk.Try doing it via the command prompt. This happens because the drive is formatted with Microsofts NTFS filesystem, which macOS doesnt support by default. In the new window that appears, simply choose.
For Windows 7 or Windows 8, the operations are very similar or just the same. Select the format type you wish to use and give the drive a name. Tip: All of the following contents are based on Windows 10.Select the drive you wish to format from the list.Next, complete the following steps in Disk Utility To find it quickly, do a search for “Disk Utility” in the spotlight (magnify glass) icon on the upper right side of the screen. Windows will choose NTFS for you because thats Microsofts native filing system. To reformat a hard drive or USB stick first open Disk Utility.
Mac OS Extended (Journaled) – Standard MAC only formatįormat Drive Instructions MAC Instructions Initialize a drive Press the Windows key + R, type compmgmt.msc, and click Run to open Computer Management.
ExFAT – Compatible with Windows and Mac Operating Systems.This process only takes a few minutes but will erase all files on the drive so make sure you copy off any files you need before reformatting. To copy files to the drive you must re-format it using a different type of formatting. This is common with new drives which frequently come formatted for Windows computers in the NTFS format, which is not comparable with Mac OS. If you can’t copy a file to your hard drive it likely isn’t formatted for the operating system you are using.