Home Interests Apple

How to Format a Hard Drive on macOS

howchoo
howchoo   (436)
August 11, 2023
4 minutes

Share

Interests
Posted in these interests:
 
apple • 17 guides
macos • 18 guides

Whether your troubleshooting an old hard drive—or preparing or backing up an SD card for a Raspberry Pi—you’ll probably need to format that. We’ve got you covered! Today we’re looking at the best ways to format a hard drive on macOS.

These processes will work for hard drives, external drives, and flash drives alike. First things first, make sure the drive you want to format is connected to your computer.

If you, instead, need to format a hard drive in Windows, we have a separate guide for that.

1 – Format hard drive with Disk Utility

Navigate to Applications > Utilities and choose Disk Utility.

Select the drive you want to format from the left-hand navigation menu. Click Erase in the bottom right-hand corner.

Select a file system to format the drive with. If you’re not sure, Mac OS Extended (Journaled) is a safe bet. Choose a new name for the formatted drive and click Erase.

2 – Format hard drive through Terminal

File SystemAbbreviation
Mac OS Extended (Journaled)JHFS+
Mac OS ExtendedHFS+
MS-DOS fat32FAT32
ExFATExFAT

Navigate to Applications > Utilities and choose Terminal.

Type diskutil list and press enter. This will provide a list of hard drives attached to the machine. Locate and note the name of the drive you want to format.

You can use the diskutil eraseDisk command to format a hard drive. Run the following command, be sure to make adjustments for your drive. Replace JHFS+ with any file system you need (check the chart above for a list of file systems you can use). Replace CleanDrive with the new name for your formatted drive. Put your disk name in place of /dev/disk1

diskutil eraseDisk JHFS+ CleanDrive /dev/disk1

3 – You’re done!

Congratulations! Your hard drive has been formatted.

NEXT UP

How to Block a Website with Screen Time on Your iPhone

Block inappropriate or spammy websites with screen time!
howchoo   (436)
November 30, 2023

Screen time gives iPhone users the opportunity to track and manage their iPhone usage, making staying productive easier than ever before. Since screen time holds iPhone users accountable for their iPhone use, it’s become increasingly popular among those who want and need to unplug during various time frames. However, that’s not all screen time is capable

Continue Reading

howchoo

 436 guides

Introducing Howchoo, an enigmatic author whose unique pen name reflects their boundless curiosity and limitless creativity. Mysterious and multifaceted, Howchoo has emerged as a captivating storyteller, leaving readers mesmerized by the uncharted realms they craft with their words. With an insatiable appetite for knowledge and a love for exploration, Howchoo's writing transcends conventional genres, blurring the lines between fantasy, science fiction, and the surreal. Their narratives are a kaleidoscope of ideas, weaving together intricate plots, unforgettable characters, and thought-provoking themes that challenge the boundaries of imagination.

Discover interesting things!

Explore Howchoo's most popular interests.

Explore