This drive was extremely simple to plug in and use to backup my mac mini. Depending on how the drive is currently formatted, and whether or not you want to reformat it, you have a few possible options. On its website, apple does sell and recommend the gtechnology made by western digital and lacie external hard drives. Basic suggestions on external hard drive not mounting problem. The 8 best external hard drives and ssds for mac and pc. Replug your external hard drive to another port or try another usb cable.
If you want to make use of your mac s thunderbolt port, then this is the best external hard drive for macs. Normally when you plug in an external hard drive to your mac s usb port you will see it appear on the desktop aka mount on the desktop. But it is hard to pick the suitable format as it depends on your usage. Once the disk icon shows up on your desktop if it doesnt, open finder preferences general, and here make sure youve checked external. This tool allows you to manage the partitions on drives connected to your computer internal ones or external ones connected via usb. So check your cable, your dongle if used, any additional adapters, and the ports on both computers and drive to ensure that they are clear, clean, snug and fit tightly to.
Feb 21, 2020 rightclick your hard disk and select get info. The best external hard drives for mac in 2019 forbes. It has 1tb of storage and features a quick drive speed of 7200rpm, with transfer rates of up to 6mbs, thanks to usb 3. Mar 10, 2019 connect an external drive to your mac via usb, usb c, or thunderbolt.
If you find your external hard drive is ntfs format, thats what the cause is. Connect the external hard drive to a different usb port or a different mac. Definitely heats up as time passes on which is typical for a mechanical drive. How to view hidden files on a usb or external hard drive in mac. Seagate expansion 8tb desktop external hard drive usb 3. I cant edit external hard drives on macs your business. Sep 17, 2019 usb is backwards compatible and your usb 3. The 8 best external hard drives and ssds for mac and pc users in. Drive speed is measured in revolutions per minute rpm, based on how fast the drive can spin. How to share an external hard drive between mac and windows. If you buy a new external hard drive, you may notice that working between mac and pc is an often difficult but it doesnt need to be. Lacie mobile drive 5tb external hard drive portable hdd moon silver usb c usb 3. Cannot mount external hard drive on mac, how to fix.
Just install it, and mac drives will show up like any other drive. When you need lots of onthego space for an evergrowing collection of files, you can trust our highperformance portable hard drives to get the job done. Though some offerings are a bit costly, there are quite a few highly affordable options. Apr 14, 2020 click on the erase button, or rightclick the external hard drive and choose erase from the options. Common problems and fixes when boot mac from external drive.
The mobile drive has a single usb c port on the back, but lacie includes cables for both usb c and the older usb 3. Nov 14, 2019 get a free addition to setapp the ultimate mac user book. External hard drive 1 tb to 2 tb storage mac accessories. Get a free addition to setapp the ultimate mac user book. If you are not sure if there is a problem with the usb porthub, you can plug a working external drive in to a porton a hub, unmount and eject it.
After the external hard drive is completely formatted, you need to safely eject it and replug it back to the computer. The best external hard drives will also be quick either because they use ssd solid state drive technology, or because they use the latest connectivity technology, such as usb c. Another reason for your mac not recognizing external drives is a dirty or loose connection between your cable, usb c multiadapter, thunderbolt 3, or other connecting ports. Western digital my passport 4tb external hard drive.
This small compact ssd drive from samsung comes with both a usb c to usb c cable and a usb c to usb a, meaning its perfect to use with your macbook or mac. Here then are the best external hard drives for mac of 2020 in order of ranking. How to backup mac to an external hard drive 5 steps. How to make a bootable external mac hard drive youtube. Shop for external hard drives in computer accessories.
Seagate stgx5000400 portable 5tb external hard drive hdd. How to use toshiba external hard drive on mac solved. Highlight your drive and click partition in disk utility. A terminal is the native commandline tool that comes with all mac computers. Apple likes to ensure these are easy to find, so they also appear in the finder in the lefthand column under devices, since mac. It enables you to change the permissions on files and folders.
Wd 2tb my passport for mac portable external hard drive blue, usbcusba wdba2d0020bblwesn. The seagate portable drives receive their power from your mac by the usb. Mar 21, 2020 the best external hard drives will come in handy for plenty of people working in the creative industries, who often have to store lots of large files, and will soon fill up the hard drive that comes with their mac or pc. The incompatibility of the file system is the main cause of the error external hard drive read only on mac. How to convert a macformatted drive to a windows drive. If you are not sure if there is a problem with the usb porthub, you can plug a working external drive.
Most of the time, when you connect an external hard drive to your mac s usb port, you soon see it mount on the desktop. Well show you everything you need to know about the. Product title toshiba canvio advance 2tb portable external hard drive usb 3. Find the best usbc external hard drives for macs based on what customers said. Portable hard drive usb c to usb microb cable usb a to usb microb cable wd discovery software quick install guide. Seagate stel0400 backup plus hub 10tb external hard drive desktop hdd usb 3. You can also see it in the finder in the left column. Thunderbolt 3 and usb typec are the latest innovations in the external storage market, but before we get to them, we need to address a basic building block of hard drives. How to write to an external hard drive on mac os x. How to open an external drive thats not showing on mac.
How to use photos for mac with an external hard drive imore. The best external hard drives are fast, dependable and easy to use. Smaller external hard drives, ssds, and usb flash keys format quickly, while a larger hard drive may take a while longer. This is a common connection type for many external hard drives. How to format or partition an external hard drive for mac. If you want to create multiple partitions on your external hard drive in fact, you should for better file organization, heres a stepbystep guide.
By default, your mac starts up from its builtin hard disk, but a startup disk can be any storage device that contains an operating system compatible with your mac. This article is going to demonstrate how to use and connect external storage drives to iphone or ipad, including external hard disks, usb flash drives, sd cards, and other. For example, if you install macos on an internal or external drive, your mac can recognize that drive. First, use the usb cable or usb c cable if youre on the newest mac model with thunderbolt 3 ports that comes with your external drive to connect that drive to your mac. Be sure youve identified the mac drive if you accidentally delete partitions from another drive. Usb is very compatible with mac machines, especially those with older versions. Most of the time, when you connect an external hard drive to your macs usb port, you soon see it mount on the desktop. Open the disk utility app and highlight your external hard drive. Feb 08, 2020 how to partition an external hard drive on mac.
How to format usb drive or external hard drive on mac. Lacie mobile drive 2tb external hard drive hdd moon silver usb c usb 3. Your seagate external hard drive connects to your mac by its usb cable. Buy products such as wd 1tb my passport portable external hard drive, black wdbyft0010bbkwesn at walmart and save. Samsungs portable ssd t5 drive has a speedy usbc interface, plenty of reliable storage, and it takes up about as much room in your pocket as a short stack. Find low everyday prices and buy online for delivery or instore pickup. The best format choice of external drive on mac using the external drive on mac is a good idea as it provides additional storage.
Apple likes to ensure these are easy to find, so they also appear in the finder in the lefthand column under devices, since macs treat them the same way as. Discover the world of external hard drives for mac. How to connect external hard drive to macbook pro wikihow. Actually, it is possible to boot mac from external drive or a hard drive, but there are a few specific requirements needed for your mac to become eligible for that process. The best external hard drives will come in handy for plenty of people working in the creative industries, who often have to store lots of large files, and will soon fill up the hard drive that comes with their mac or pc. Jan 18, 2017 mac secret trick how to clone mac hard drive with disk utility hdd sdd macbook pro imac 20102019 duration. Raid enabled external hard drives for pc provide these functions while introducing redundancy so the drive can be rebuilt and data recovered, even in the event of a disk failure.
Lacie 2tb mobile drive external hard drive usb c usb 3. It comes with usb b and usb c cables so most anyone should be able to use it. In case you miss anything necessary, you can also have some basic checks as following when you are unable to mount an external hard drive on your mac computer. You may face several issues during macbook pro boot from usb or any external drive. How to fix external hard drive not mounting on mac computer. In mac os, you have to take advantage of the terminal application to reveal or view the hidden files or folders in the device. Ensure compatibility when you buy a portable hard drive for mac and pc by choosing one with a compatible interface. Lacie mobile drive 5tb external hard drive portable hdd moon silver usbc usb 3. Wd my passport for mac best overall the western digital 2tb my passport for mac is the perfect 2tb portable external hard drive for mac users. Seagate stgx5000400 portable 5tb external hard drive hdd usb 3. You can start dragging and dropping files into the drive, or copy files to your mac s internal hard drive.
Mac pro late 20 mac mini 2018 and later mac mini late 2014. But, if you just need to get some files off a mac formatted drive. How to use seagate external hard drive on mac, 16 ways. The incompatibility of the file system is the main cause of the errorexternal hard drive read only on mac.
Jan 11, 2020 the g drive by gtechnology is a great usb c hard drive for most people. If you have multiple usb drives connected, then the startup manager shall list the drives with the bootable os. Compare portable, usb and external hard drive models for office and home and shop online. An external hard drive hooks up to your mac via a cable or builtin connector that connects from storage medium to computer.
How to use your seagate external hard drive on macbook pro, air or imac. First, lets see how to format an external hard drive or usb drive in macos which works with both mac and pc platforms, first plugin your drive. Reconnect your external hard drive to your mac and ensure that it fits the usb port snugly. The 8 best external hard drives and ssds for mac and pc users. So, it is better that you know your options and understand which format is right for you. The mobile drive has a single usbc port on the back, but lacie includes cables for both usbc and the older usb 3. Apr 15, 2020 if you want to make use of your mac s thunderbolt port, then this is the best external hard drive for macs. Most external hard drives connect to a mac either through the usb port, or through the mac s thunderbolt port, and thus will likely come with the appropriate cable. Click the go menu and navigate to your home folder. How to format external hard drive to use on mac and pc. Ntfs is a file system that is optimal for windowsbased computer. How to fix a corrupted external hard drive on macmacbook.
May 09, 2019 aimed at multimedia professionals, the caldigit av pro 2 is a welldesigned, mac formatted external drive that comes in ssd and spinning disk versions, and includes both a usb hub and thunderbolt. Hence, you can get 1tb10tb of storage without breaking the bank. Apr 07, 2020 the only case with hard drives where the usb standard matters much is if you connect a drive to an oldstyle, lowbandwidth usb 2. Drive cases may offer one or more of a range of ports, including usb, firewire or thunderbolt. How to view hidden files in a usbexternal hard drive in. Mac pro 2019 mac pro late 20 mac mini 2018 and later. Samsungs t5 ssd is a solidstate drive that provides way. The videos below demonstrate the complete process of formatting an external hard drive for full mac. The best external hard drives for mac in 2020 pcmag. Doubleclick the drive on your desktop or select it from the left frame of a finder window to view the contents of the drive.
This reduced power draw helps preserve the battery life of the mac you plug the drive into. Writing to an external hard drive using max os x can sometimes be more complicated than one would assume. How to select a different startup disk apple support. Scroll through the list and locate the external drive. Best external hard drives for macs in 2020 techradar. A good many wellknown players are offering the external hard drives that work seamlessly with mac. Seagate backup plus portable 4tb external hard drive hdd black usb 3.
474 968 724 573 525 1444 600 1473 1326 371 1378 965 993 4 1345 1125 1052 1556 1342 272 1458 289 483 898 1223 1242 25 1436 1532 1272 831 1605 1492 514 407 1036 939 1273 585 1183 248 245 1096 1163 709 1398