Click the View menu at the top of the screen and select “Show All Devices” or look in the screenshot below for this icon and click it, then select the same option. Once you’ve found it you can press the return key on your keyboard or double click on Disk Utility from the list of results.

Search your computer for Disk Utility - the easiest way is to click the magnifying glass (Spotlight) icon in the upper right of your computer and type Disk Utility.

Once you have connected the new drive to your computer, follow these steps below. Optionally for a traditional portable hard drive you can also select the format Mac OS Extended (Journaled). If you already know how to use Disk Utility, the format information to choose is APFS or APFS (encrypted) and the scheme should be set to GUID Partition Map. Follow these directions to get your drive formatted for the Mac. WARNING:Formatting the drive will erase all data on the drive, so you should copy any data you want off the drive prior to formatting.Occasionally you may purchase a drive that comes pre-formatted for use on Windows and will need to erase it to use properly on the Mac. Set Format to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) Check step 2 to confirm Disk Utility is Showing All Devices. NOTE: If you don’t see Scheme, then make sure that all devices are showing and the non-indented entry is selected.

Select the non-indented entry, you will see Media in the nameĬlick the button labelled Erase in the menu which will bring up this window.

Click View in the upper left and select Show All Devices.

To open Disk Utility - Open Finder > Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility Note: If you would prefer a video tutorial of these steps instead, please click the thumbnail below. IMPORTANT: Reformatting the drive will erase all data on the drive, so you should copy any data you want off the drive prior to formatting.

If you need to go between macOS and Windows then format your drive ExFAT on macOS

Mac OS Extended (Journaled) does not work natively with Windows.

Starting with Big Sur, Mac OS Extended (Journaled) is no longer the default when using Time Machine.

It is important to keep the following in mind when formatting Mac OS Extended (Journaled): Not sure what version you are using? Click here to determine your version of macOS

IMPORTANT: This article applies to the following macOS versions:

How to format a disk for mac on windows