- External Hard Drive Best For Macbook Pro
- External Hard Drive Best For Mac Mojave
- Mac Best External Hard Drive For Time Machine
- Discover the world of external hard drives for Mac. Compare portable, USB and external hard drive models for office and home and shop online.
- Overall storage space will typically play the main role in the final price you’ll pay for an external hard drive. In this range, you’ll find quality external drives that hold 500GB to 1TB of storage for Mac computers.
If you need the toughest external hard drive to shield your Mac’s data from the elements, this model is the best option available. Lightning-fast data transfer speeds. Drop, crush, water, and dust-resistant. Includes USB-C to USB cable. Owning an external hard drive for your Mac is a wonderful way to not only have a place for this excess data, but also store it safely in case anything should happen to your computer. We highlighted the top rated external hard drives on the market, and these are popular because they have an ample amount of storage, are affordable,.
Most external hard drives are designed to work for Windows computers. So if you’re trying to connect an external hard drive to a Mac, you might have to format the drive before you can use it. Here’s how to do that:
How to Format a Hard Drive for Mac
Note: If you already used your external hard drive on a PC, be sure to back up any files on it. Formatting your drive will wipe out all the data in it.
- Connect an external hard drive to your Mac. Some external hard drives need to be plugged into an outlet to work.
- Go to Spotlight Search, type in Disk Utility, and click the first option. This will open the Disk Utility app, where you will find all the internal and external drives that are connected to your Mac.
- Then click View in the top-left corner of the window and select Show All Devices.
- Click the external hard drive you want to format. You can find this on the left-hand side of the screen under External Hard Drives. For the best result, select the disk (the highest option in the external tree).
- On the top menu, click Erase. This will open a small pop-up window with a warning that erasing the drive will delete all data stored on it and that it can’t be undone.
- Choose a name, format, and scheme for your drive. You can choose whatever name you want, and you should choose GUID Partition Map for the Scheme in most cases. However, you can choose between the following formats:
- Mac OS Extended (Journaled) is the best option for most Mac users since it is compatible with all Macs.
- APFS (Apple File System) is only for newer Macs running macOS 10.13 or later.
- exFAT is compatible with both PC and Mac.
- MS-DOS (FAT) is also compatible with Mac and PC, but you can only transfer files smaller than 4GB.
- When you’re done with providing the setup details, click Erase. This will immediately wipe the entire drive.
If you get an error message that states, “Erase process has failed. Click done tocontinue,” don’t freak out about it. This is an issue caused by Time Machine running on your externaldrive.
You will need to turn off Time Machine. You can do this by opening System Preferences and unchecking the boxnext to “Back Up Automatically”.Then click Options beside “ShowTime Machine in menu bar.” This will open another window. Click Cancel and it will turn off the Time Machine.
After you turn off the Time Machine, redo steps 4 to 6.
How to Partition anExternal Hard Drive on Mac
If you have formattedyour drive, you can then partition the drive, which will splitthe drive into two formats. This is perfect for anyone who uses Macs and PCsand wants to transfer files between the different operating systems with anexternal drive. Here’s how to do that:
- Open Disk Utility and select the drive that you want to partition. It is best to click View > Show All Devices so you can selectthe disk rather than a container.
- In the top menu, select Partition.
- Then click the plus sign at the bottom of the pie chart. Every time you click this plus sign, a new partition will becreated.
- Choose a name, format and size for each partition. You can also change the size of each of the partitions bydragging the white dots at the edge of the circle.
- Finally click Apply.
Why Partition a Hard Drive?
Partitioning an external hard drive allows youto have separate drives for Mac, PC, and any other operating system. Now youdon’t have to go out and buy hard drives for every computer you use.
A partition also gives you a dedicated space foryour Time Machine back-up files or a bootable backup of your operating system.It also helps protect your data if your drive gets infected with malware, as itwould be contained within one of the partitions.
Now that you know how to format an external drive for Mac, check out our blog on the difference between an HDD and an SDD.
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Oct 13, 2020 • Filed to: Answer Hard Drive Problems • Proven solutions
We all treasure our precious data on our Mac. Therefore, we do not need to wait for a disaster to strike so that we can learn ways to backup files. One way to backup data is by copying them to an external hard drive. External hard drives are significant when your Mac has minimal storage since offers more storage. With this mind, you need to get yourself an external hard drive for Mac. Before purchasing an external drive for your mac, there are things you should consider such as compatibility, speed, storage, transfer speed, portability, and price. In this article, we are going to give you the best 5 external hard drives for mac picked by media websites.
- Top 5 Best External Hard Drives for Mac
- How to Recover Data from External Hard Drive
Part 1: Top 5 Best External Hard Drives for Mac
1.Seagate Backup Plus
Company: Seagate Technology
Seagate backup plus is an ideal mac external hard drive that is highly recommended by most websites. This external hard drive for mac is well known for its slim and sleek design. Its capacities are 500GB, 1TB, 2TB and latest 4TB. Moreover, it offers 200GB cloud storage that is limited for two years. However, this option may not be available in all countries. This external hard drive for Mac can be used interchangeably with Windows OS. Seagate backup plus is designed with three modes of connectivity namely, USB 2.0, USB 3.0, and thunderbolt. Seagate external hard drive for Mac is formatted to HFS+ file making it compatible with your MacBook or MacBook pro without formatting it. This drive has been recommended over 8 times by the chosen media websites.
External Hard Drive Best For Macbook Pro
Review:
Seagate Backup Plus drives make your life simple with its huge capacity storage. These external hard drives for Mac are well integrated with Backup software. It also offers a two-year 200GB cloud storage to Microsoft OneDrive. The only flaw of this software is that it lacks security options to protect data.
Rating: 4/5 stars
Price: $76.99 for 2TB as listed on Amazon
Recommended by: www.cnet.com
2. Western Digital My Passport Ultra external hard drive for mac
Company: Western Digital Corporation
Western Digital My Passport is another best external hard drive for mac. It has been recommended over 8 times on the selected 10 media websites. It offers minimal storage as low as 500GB, 1TB, and as high as 3TB. This external hard for Mac comes with a 3-year warranty. Moreover, it offers two connectivity modes that are USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 that enable data transfer faster. This Western digital external hard drive for Mac is compatible with Windows operating after formatting it to a supported file system such as FAT or NTFS format. The good thing about this external head drive for mac is that it allows you to encrypt and protect its hardware with a password.
Review
WD My Passport Ultra is one of the best external hard drives for Mac that offers a high transfer speed with different size capacities. Its price is slightly higher as compared to other external drives.
Rating: 4/5 stars
Price: $74.99 for 2TB as listed on Amazon
Recommended by: www.pcmag.com
3. Toshiba Canvio Slim II
Company: Toshiba Corporation
Another portable external hard drive for your Mac is Toshiba Canvio Slim II. It is compatible with Mac OS x. It comes with 500 GB and 1TB storage making it vital to use to backup data as well as transfer data. This external hard drive mac offers you a 10GB free cloud storage to backup all your videos, photos, music, documents, and important files. It allows you to backup mobile content. It is USB 3.0 connectivity and USB 2.o which worth mentioning. Toshiba external hard drive is well furnished with aluminum. It has been recommended over 6 times by the selected media websites.
Review
Toshiba Canvio Slim is a useful external hard drive that offers a bigger storage capacity besides its large backup storage. It also has a password feature that ensures that your data is protected around the clock. Its USB2.0 connectivity performance is not up to par.
Rating: 4/5 stars
Price: $79.99 for 2TB as listed on Amazon
Recommended by: www.thewirecutter.com
4. G-Technology G-Drive Slim
Company: G- Technology.
Just as the name suggests, this external hard drive for mac is slimmer than the other mentioned hard dive. It records a high speed and excellent performance. G-Drive slim which people who are looking for external storage to save pictures photos and music with a maximum storage of 500GB. It uses a USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 cable connectivity. Moreover, its transfer goes up to 125mb/s, which seems a high speed when you are transferring files. This Mac external hard drive is formatted with the HFS+ files system making it compatible with MacBook, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air. Furthermore, it comes with a 3-year limited warranty. G-Technology G-Drive Slim has an aluminum casing and a plastic case around the USB port. It is light thus convenient to carry it around. At least 4 media websites from the selected 10 recommended it.
Review
G-Technology G-Drive Slim is a speedy external hard drive for your Mac. It records high transfer and read speed as compared to any USB 3.0mac external hard drive. To add on it is portable and offers enough external storage. One demerit of this external hard drive for mac is that it does not come with any packaged software.
Rating: 4/5
Price: $69.95 for 1TB as listed on Amazon
Recommended by: www.pcmag.com
5. Transcend StoreJet
Company: Transcend Information
If you are looking for a Mac external hard drive, that lets backup files within a click, then look no more. Transcend StoreJet will exactly do that. This software is well designed and integrated with a military shock resistant. You can quickly transfer your data files from Mac to this external hard drive mac either with UB 2.0 or USB 3.0 connectivity. Transcend Jet external hard drives for mac are available in different capacities, which include 500GB, 750GB, 1TB, and 2TB. From the 10 sources, it has been mentioned at least three times.
Review
It is the best mac external hard drive especially for those people who travel more often. It has a silicone shell with an incredible casing that enables it to resist shock. Its performance is also good. However, this external hard drive for mac is slightly heavier as compared to other Mac external hard drives.
Rating: 4/5
Price: $69.95 for 1TB as listed on Amazon
Recommended by: www.techspot.com
Sources:
- http://www.cnet.com/topics/storage/best-hard-drives-and-storage/portable-drives/
- http://www.techradar.com/news/computing-components/storage/external-hard-drive-1292181
- http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2400958,00.asp
- http://machmachines.com/best-external-hard-drive-mac-top-10/
- http://www.reviews.com/best-external-hard-drive/
- http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-portable-hard-drive/
- http://external-hard-drive-review.toptenreviews.com/
- http://www.macworld.com/product/collection/3326/portableharddrives.html
- http://bootableusb.net/top-10-external-hard-drives/
- http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/best-external-hard-drives/
- http://www.t3.com/features/best-external-hard-drives-to-buy
Top 5 Best Free Hard Drive Data Recovery Software in 2020
Part 2: How to Recover Data from External Hard Drive
With an external hard drive for Mac, people are used to storing their business data or personal data on it. However, the wrong protection will cause the data lost from your external hard drive. As accidentally deleted data, lost or formatted data from the external hard drive. Under these circumstances, you will need an external hard drive data recovery tool to help you retrieve your lost data from the external hard drive.
Your Safe & Reliable External Hard Drive Recovery Software
- Recover lost or deleted files, photos, audio, music, emails from any storage device effectively, safely, and completely.
- Supports data recovery from recycle bin, hard drive, memory card, flash drive, digital camera, and camcorders.
- Supports to recover data for sudden deletion, formatting, hard drive corruption, virus attack, system crash under different situations.
Recoverit External Hard Drive Data Recovery capable of restoring deleted/lost files or formatted partition from external hard drive, hard drive (HDD and SSD), USB flash drive, memory card, digital camera, camcorder, iPod, Music Player, and many kinds of mobile devices (Nokia, Blackberry phones and Phones with older Android OS than ICS).
How to recover data from external hard drive on Mac
Download and install Recoverit data recovery on your computer, connect your external hard drive to the computer. Follow the next simple steps to retrieve your data back.
Step 1: Launch Recoverit data recovery, please select a data recovery mode. To recover data from external hard drives, you can select the 'External Devices Recovery' mode to start.
Please make sure your external hard drive has connected to your computer, click the 'Next' button to process.
Step 2: Please select your external hard drive to scan lost data. Click the 'Start' button to finding data.
Step 3: Recoverit data recovery will start a quick scan to search for lost data. You can preview some recoverable files after the scan. If you cannot find your files, you can go to scan again with the 'All-Around Recovery' mode.
Step 4: With the 'All-Around Recovery' mode which can help you deeply search and scan more files from the external hard drive. While it will take more time to complete the scan.
Step 5: After the scan, you can check all the recoverable files. Go to preview some specific recoverable files and click the 'Recover' button to get your data back.
External Hard Drive Best For Mac Mojave
What's Wrong with Drive
Mac Best External Hard Drive For Time Machine
- Recover Your Drive
- Fix Your Drive
- Format/Wipe Drive
- Know Your Drive