Let's figure out how to format the following types of volumes: How to format an external hard drive on Mac To fix it, try restarting your Mac, reconnecting the external hard drive, reinstalling/upgrading macOS, or formatting the disk.

But if this is not happening or you receive the message indicating an uninitialized disk, these might be the main causes: Now, macOS usually initializes the external drive automatically, or it might require you to click Initialize button to start the process. What it means is Mac uses its own language to read the disk in order to give access to the user's content. When connecting to your Mac for the first time, you’ll be required to go through the disk initialization process. Let’s say you get a brand-new external hard drive, or you own one already but never had the chance to use it. This article is your easy-to-follow guide on how to format an external hard drive on Mac. And before we dive into more details, first, you need to initialize that disk. But those drives too quickly fill up, so it’s useful to know how to clean up an external hard drive. That, in turn, has meant that many of us now have at least one external hard drive, SSD, or USB stick on which to store files.

The transition from hard drives to solid-state storage on both portable and desktop Macs has meant a significant reduction in storage space for most of us. But to help you do it all by yourself, we’ve gathered our best ideas and solutions below.įeatures described in this article refer to the MacPaw site version of CleanMyMac X. If the Security Options button is unavailable, Disk Utility cannot perform a secure erase on the storage device.So here’s a tip for you: Download CleanMyMac to quickly solve some of the issues mentioned in this article. Secure erase options are available only for some types of storage devices. (Optional) If available, click Security Options, use the slider to choose how many times to write over the erased data, then click OK. If the Scheme pop-up menu isn’t available, make sure you selected the storage device you want to erase - it’s at the top of the hierarchy.Ĭlick the Format pop-up menu, then choose a file system format. Ĭlick the Scheme pop-up menu, then choose GUID Partition Map. In the sidebar, select the storage device you want to erase, then click the Erase button. If you want to erase any other type of storage device: Double-click Disk Utility in the /Applications/Utilities folder. Note: If you want to get your Mac ready to trade in, sell or give away, and your computer is a Mac with Apple silicon or an Intel-based Mac with an Apple T2 Security Chip, use Erase Assistant.

Clear external hard drive mac