Most users use disk utility to erase a disk or hard drive. Here ill show you how you can erase and format a disk using the command line. How to erase a disk for mac use disk utility to erase format a hard disk, ssd, flash drive, or other storage device. We also have a command line disk utility interface in mac. Apple really, really wants you to download apps from the app store so theyve. Macclean360 is one of the best disk cleaning and management software for mac os. You can format an external drive in os x using disk utility and terminal. Once you open the disk utility app, you can see all the drives on your mac are listed on the lefthand sidebar. How to format an external drive in os x make tech easier. You can specify the filesystem to format the partition in by using any.
To open it, either open your applications folder, then open utilities and doubleclick on terminal, or press command spacebar to launch spotlight and type terminal, then doubleclick the search result. Hard drive format software for mac mac disk format software. The command line approach to disk erasure in macos is a bit different and it requires precise syntax to insure that you are erasing the proper disk, making this method of erasing any disk only. Just select the one you want to format and click on the erase tab. Now you will need to select the disk you wish to format. Once a partition has been formatted, this combination of partition and. Use disk utility to erase format a hard disk, ssd, flash drive, or other storage device. And we can use it to format the usb on mac as well. While the program loads, it will scan the disks attached to the system and present a list. Disk utility can erase disks, add volumes, check disks for errors, and more. Using it, you can erase a hard drive, create new partitions, and even repair your disk as well.
The terminal app is in the utilities folder in applications. Just like windows, macos also gives us a seamless option to format hard drive for mac and pc. If you are having trouble with the disk utility app for erasing or formatting a drive, you can try using the command line in terminal to erase or format a drive. Here are two outstanding mac hard drive format software tools you can rely on. Disk utility can be used to format external drives as well. If you are using a mac, you can run the builtin disk utility to quickly format a hard drive or external hard. This guide covers how to format a hard drive using macos.
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. If you dont want to lose data from your hard drive, export the data or back it up before continuing. Both windows and mac os offer builtin disk formatting tool. This hard disk formatting software can help you formatwipe your entire hard drive in a single step. For apple mac users, there are two ways to format usb flash drive to fat32, including disk utility and terminal command line. How to install macos or os x on a new hard drive for your mac. If you are having trouble with the disk utility app for erasing or formatting a drive, you can try using the command line in terminal to erase or.
For windows, it offers quick format feature when you rightclick the hard drive on the computer. Now in this interface, you will see a format option. Before continuing, make sure that you have a backup of any files that you want to keep. Some mac users may require the ability to erase a disk or erase a hard drive from the command line on mac os, a task which is typically performed through the disk utility application from the gui. Erasing a disk or volume permanently deletes all of its files. How to format usb flash drive to fat32 on mac os xmacos. How to erase or format a mac hard drive via command line. How to erase a disk from command line in mac os x osxdaily. To do that, the only thing you need is a bit of precise syntax to make sure that you are erasing the proper disk. It is the fastest way to format an external hard drivedevice under mac os. Mac os x mountain lion gives users several ways to access the terminal and three common options for formatting a hard drive. Disk management from the commandline, part 1 the instructional. How to format hdd sdd on mac os x via terminal youtube.
You can run it on your mac, and use it to format external hard drive or device on your mac. This tool can help in formatting hard drive, usb flash drive, memory card and other storage media under windows or mac os. If your mac doesnt work, you can do this using a second mac and an external hard drive caddy. The operating system has an inbuilt tool, which is known as disk utility. Use disk utility to erase format a hard disk, flash drive, or other storage device for mac.
Heres how to format a drive using a mac including how to format a drive for windows and mac so the contents can be read on both platforms, and what format to use for time machine. Then in the next method, we will format usb drive from mac terminal. Download paragon partition manager free if you have not already, then install the software. Disk utility within mac os x provides a range of disk management tools. Its easy to reformat your hard drive using disk utility in macos or os x. But some mac users might need to erase them from the command line on mac os. How to format an os x terminal hard disk small business.
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