Seagate How to Format Your Drive in macOS 10.11 and Above Operating instructions

Brand: Seagate

Model: How to Format Your Drive in macOS 10.11 and Above

Type: Operating instructions

Seagate How to Format Your Drive in macOS 10.11 and Above provides clear and concise instructions for formatting both internal and external drives in macOS, ensuring they are fully compatible with the operating system. Whether you're setting up a new drive or reformatting an existing one, this guide offers a step-by-step process to help you achieve the desired format and partition scheme.

How to format your drive in macOS 10.11

and above

 ⎙

 ✉



Instructions for how to format your external drive so that it will be fully usable in MacOS. These

steps can be used for both internal and external drives.

Note: Reformatting the drive will erase all data on the drive, so you should copy any data you want off the

drive prior to formatting.

The following is based on the latest version of macOS.

1. Open Disk Utility

Open Finder > Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility

2. Select the Seagate drive on the left.

Note: If you don’t see two entries listed then change the view in disk utility to show the drive and the volume.

The view button is in the upper left-hand side, change to Show All devices. This feature was introduced in

macOS 10.13 and not available in 10.11 or 10.12.

3. Select Erase which opens the following window.

4. Rename the drive

5. Select OS X Extended (Journalled) for Format

6. Select GUID Partition Map for Scheme

Note: If you do not see the scheme option, then you have selected the volume and not the drive. Click on the

view button in the upper left-hand side, change to Show All Devices. Select the non-indented entry for your

Seagate drive.

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.

7. Select Erase again.

8. Disk Utility will start formatting the drive.

9. Once complete, click done.

How to format a drive in Mac OS 10.6 to

10.10

 ⎙

 ✉



Instructions for how to format your external drive so that it will be fully usable in MacOS. These

steps can be used for both internal and external drives.

Reformatting the drive will erase all data on the drive, so you should copy any data you

want off the drive prior to formatting.

The following is based on Mac OS X version 10.10.5. However, the steps are suitable for Mac OS X

10.6.8 to 10.10.5. For instructions on how to format a drive in Mac OS 10.11 (El Capitan) and above

click here.

To reformat the drive in Mac OS X:

1. Open Disk Utility

Applications>Utilities>Disk Utilities

2. Select the Seagate drive on the left that shows the capacity

3. Select the Partition tab on the right hand side of the Disk Utility Window

4. Select Partition Layout and select 1 partition

5. Next to name you will see untitled 1 where you can name the drive. This will be the name

shown when the drive mounts.

6. Change Format to Mac OS Extended (Journalled)

7. Select Options and select GUID Partition Table

8. Select OK

9. Select Apply

You will get the follow window advising you that this is a data destructive process and any data currently on

the drive will be deleted

10. Select Partition to finish the formatting process

How to manually move your data to the drive on a Mac:

There are many ways to move files to the Expansion drive; they range from File Menu/Copy and

Paste, right-click menu/copy and paste, and drag-and-drop, to keyboard commands. Please note

that whatever option used, it is all controlled by Mac OS. Please refer to your Macintosh

computer's documentation for various copy and paste methods or view the instructions below.

Copy and Paste: the facility to duplicate (copy) files/folders in a computer program and add it to

another place (folder, directory, volume, etc.)

Copy and Paste instructions:

1. Open the location where the file/folder is stored and the location where you want the

file/folder to be copied to.

2. Select the item you want to Copy

3. Right click (Control+click) on it or click Edit in the menu bar at the top of the screen

4. Select Copy from the menu

5. Right click (Control+click) inside the location where you want to save the file or click

Edit in the menu bar at the top of the screen

6. Select Paste from the menu

Faster method of Copy and Paste:

1. Select the item you want to Copy

2. Hold down the Command key (⌘) and press ( C )

3. Inside the location where you want to save the file, hold down the Command key (⌘)

and press (V).

Seagate How to Format Your Drive in macOS 10.11 and Above Operating instructions

Seagate How to Format Your Drive in macOS 10.11 and Above Operating instructions

Seagate How to Format Your Drive in macOS 10.11 and Above Operating instructions

Related papers

Other documents