- In this guide to the best external hard drives for Macs, we look at the top devices for plugging in and expanding the storage space of your Mac or MacBook. While there's a lot to love about Macs.
- Best USB-C Hard Drives for Mac iMore 2019. The current line of MacBook Pro only has Thunderbolt 3/USB-C ports, but that's OK, because USB-C is fast, future-proof, and will likely replace standard USB, HDMI, DisplayPort, power, and more.
Have you ever wondered how to reformat an external hard drive for MAC, partition it and make it ready to use? How about recovering a drive you've lost? All your work, files and photos gone poof! Well, after some research, it seems that AnyRecover for Mac is your best bet! No need to worry. We've got the steps right here.
How to Reformat an External Hard Drive for MAC?
Steps to Move your Photos Library to an External Drive: Attach your external hard drive to your Mac. If you have not yet done so, format the drive. We suggest using the same filesystem format that you are using on your internal hard drive. Open a Finder window and verify that your new storage device is correctly attached. You should see it. If you're looking for the best external hard drives for Macs and PCs, then you've come to the right place. No matter if you have an Apple device, or run a Windows 10 PC, the external hard drives on this page will let you quickly and easily expand the storage space of your device.
- Bonus: Recovering Data from a Reformatted External Hard Drive
Reformatting an external hard drive for use with MAC OSX is not as difficult as it might seem. In a few simple steps you are ready to go and can save your back-up files to the external drive, keeping your information safe and giving you peace of mind. Keep in mind that a MAC can generally read other file formats, but for the best performance and to create a bootable disk, formatting exclusively for MAC is required.
Reformatting an External Hard Drive for MAC
Follow these steps to ensure you have a proper space to enjoy your files for a long time to come.
![Hard Hard](/uploads/1/3/3/9/133910535/343426037.jpg)
Step 1. Connect the external drive or the USB drive to the MAC.
Step 2. Start the Disk Utility, located under Applications > Utilities.
Step 3. Find the name of the drive in the left side of the Utilities window and select it. And click Erase button.
Step 4. Follow on-screen prompts to choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled) file system and allow the disk to format.
Formatting a drive erases all information and all partitions on the disk, leaving it ready for you to save and store information on.
Creating Partitions on a MAC Drive
Partitioning your disk is a good idea when you have a need to run two operating systems at once on the same MAC. While not common for everyday users, it is more common for business users that have multiple programs across multiple platforms. This makes the switch between each easier.
Libby for mac. Creating partitions on your MAC compatible drive is just as easy. Return to Disk Utility to begin the process: Finder>Applications>Utilities>Disk Utility>Select your Drive on the Left>Partition Tab
- 1. Once at the proper window, select the Partition Tab then click + to adjust the size of the partition.
- 2. Name the partition.
- 3. Click Apply.
Bonus: How to Recover Data from a Reformatted External Hard Drive?
Let's just say you've dotted all your work and been as careful as a church mouse on Sunday, but there was some sort of cosmic problem that created disk failure. Now what? In fact, it's very simple. AnyRecover can get your files back fast. When it comes to deleted files; that's exactly what you want.
Follow these simple steps using AnyRecover to get your files back!
Get Ready!
First, download and install AnyRecover, following on screen prompts to accomplish the task.
Load AnyRecover and choose one of the six available options for data recovery, in this case we are choosing to recover data from an External, formatted and partitioned hard drive (External Device Recovery).
Get Set!
- 1. Plug your external hard drive into your computer directly or via USB.
- 2. Next select the file type which you want to recover. Your choices are: photo, audio, video, document, archive or others. How long is mac and cheese good for sitting out. Select one and continue.
Go!
- 1. AnyRecover takes a moment to scan your disk and search for the specified file type to recover.
- 2. Press the Recover tab to see a list of file name by type of the recoverable files.
- 3. Select the files to recover and press Recover.
![Best external hard drive for mac backup Best external hard drive for mac backup](/uploads/1/3/3/9/133910535/595801074.jpg)
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Don't miss the opportunity to get AnyRecover license at the lowest price on the market. Don't know how to apply it, check the instructions here:
What If?
What if my files were not found? Fear not. We can take this a step further. Instead of External Device Recovery, this time let's go back to Get Ready! And select All Around Recovery. All Around Recovery has a deeper scanning mode than External Recovery. Follow the steps above just as before to locate and recover your files.
It is plain to see that AnyRecover for Mac is a tool worthy of top shelf treatment in your arsenal of items that are used to defend, recover and keep your system up and running. Don't get caught without the file you need for that meeting or stumbling looking for baby photos that were stored on disk and suddenly 'hid' from your view. Allow AnyRecover to find and recover your lost files. AnyRecover is easy to use but provides sophisticated results that mean you know what you're doing!
In this article to the best external hard drives for Macs, we focus on the top devices for plugging in and expanding the storage space of your MacBook or even your Mac. While there is a lot of love about Macs, Macbooks, and iMacs, they can be tricky at times to manually upgrade, which indicates supposing that you run of space, it is not so simple to open them up and pop in a larger hard drive.
When you are in search of the best external hard drive for Mac for your needs, you should focus on the capacity you need. External hard drives come in all sizes and shapes and you do not want to pay too much for space you will never need, but neither do you want to run out of space all too quickly.
Best External Hard Drive For Mac 2020
Western Digital external hard drive
This device comes in capacities from 1TB to 4TB, and also features cloud storage and 256-AES encryption, as well as WD’s own backup software. While the speeds of transfers are not the fastest, it provides a good balance between speed, price, and capacity. Other specifications include;
- 4TB capacity
- USB 3.0
Sold at 94 dollars at Amazon
Best External Hard Drive For Mac Wirecutter
PROS
- Large capacity
- Good data transfer speeds
CONS
- WD backup software is basic
Buffalo MiniStation Thunderbolt external hard drive
Supposing that you want to use Mac’s Thunderbolt port, this is a great choice, as it offers double the speeds of standard USB 3.0 drives. It also makes use of a traditional hard drive, instead of an SSD, and while it indicates speeds are not as fast as possible, it at least keeps the price low, while providing large capacities. Other specifications include;
- 1TB and 2TB capacity
- USB 3.0
Sold at 129.88 dollars
PROS
- Low price compared to other Thunderbolt drives
- Mac-formatted
CONS
- Not SSD
G-Technology G-Drive external hard drive
This is one of the quickest high capacity hard drives you can plug into your Mac, with a large 4TB of storage space that zips along its USB 3.0, FireWire or eSATA connection. The all-aluminum enclosure enables the drive a premium appearance and feel, while also safeguarding your data from drops and knocks. Other specifications include;
- 4TB capacity
- USB 2.0, USB 3.0, FireWire, eSATA
Sold at 129. 95 dollars at Amazon
PROS
- Slim design
- Sturdy
CONS
- Can be noisy
Samsung T3 SSD
Assuming that you really want a super-fast external hard drive for your Mac, then this device is easily one of the best you can choose from. As it makes use of a solid-state drive, the read and writes speeds of this drive are quicker than external hard drives that make use of traditional hard drives. Other specifications include;
- 1TB capacity
- USB 3.1
Sold at 165 dollars at Amazon
PROS
- Very good performance
- Very high capacity
CONS
- Expensive
Buffalo MiniStation Extreme NFC external hard drive
With compatibility for both Windows machines and Mac, this device is very flexible and comes with a rugged case that is dust and water-resistant, along with a built-in USB 3.0 cable. Not only does the device have 256-bit AES security features and Near Field Communication features, but it is your data kept protected from knocks and drops with the rugged shell. Other specifications of this device include;
- 2 TB capacity
- USB 3.0
Sold at 108.99 dollars at Amazon
PROS
- NFC security
- Rugged design
CONS
- Not the fastest drive
Western Digital external hard drive
This model features cloud storage and 256-AES encryption, along with WD’s own software suite. Free game downloads for mac. This model is a good performer when it comes to data transfer speeds and does not come close to the top of the leaderboard. Not surprising at all, it does not get to the top speeds of solid-state external drives but is the drive you should consider today. Other specifications include;
- 4TB capacity
- 0 USB
Sold at 94 dollars at Amazon Roxio easy vhs to dvd for mac.
PROS
- Large capacity
- Type-C connector
- Suite of applications
CONS
- Average performance
LaCie Porsche Design Mobile Drive 4TB
You probably have stumbled upon this device when perusing the Apple website for USB-C accessories. Though it is expensive for an external hard drive, do not get us wrong, particularly assuming that you are in the market for the top-end 4TB option. Other specifications of this device include;
- 4 TB capacity
- USB-C
Sold at 129.95 dollars at Amazon
PROS
- Fast USB-C connection
- Great design
CONS
- Quite expensive
- You need USB-C ports to take advantage of speed
iStorage diskAshur 2TB external hard drive
Assuming that you are concerned about individuals getting access to your data if your external hard drive is taken away by a stealer, then you will like his model we are about to discuss. Assuming that someone is trying to tamper with your device, you can configure it to self-destruct. Though it might be pricier than other drives of its capacity, the extra security it provides will be well worth it for many of us. Other specifications of this device include;
- 2TB capacity
- USB 3.0
Sold at 267.88 dollars
PROS
- Physical security
- Rugged design
Best External Hard Drive For Mac 2019
CONS
- Quite expensive