While formatting a hard drive is not difficult, the process varies depending on whether you are formatting the boot drive or an external drive. The Seagate 2TB USB 3.0 Backup Plus Slim Portable Hard Drive is also a great backup option. Learning how to format a hard drive can be a useful tool for freeing up space, reinstalling your operating system (OS), preparing for a new OS or even as a troubleshooting measure, albeit an extreme one. If you are looking for the best external hard drives, this will be helpful.

How to Format A Hard Drive Mac (External Drive or Partition).How to Format A Hard Drive Mac (Boot Drive).

How to Format a Hard Drive Windows(External Drive or Partition).How to Format a Hard Drive Windows (Boot Drive).Not every question will be answered, we don’t reply to email, and we cannot provide direct troubleshooting advice. If not, we’re always looking for new problems to solve! Email yours to including screen captures as appropriate and whether you want your full name used. We’ve compiled a list of the questions we get asked most frequently, along with answers and links to columns: read our super FAQ to see if your question is covered. Now both your system and Data volumes are deleted, providing a fresh start for a new owner or new macOS installation. (This option doesn’t appear if you have selected the container or drive on which the volume group appears.) Note that while the main volume is filled in and its name can be changed, and there’s a prominent Cancel/Erase set of buttons, look to the lower-left corner for the Erase Volume Group button.Select either of the two volumes in the container for the system (see figure).Click Disk Utility at the bottom of macOS Recovery’s screen.Navigate to macOS Recovery, which may involve selecting a user account and entering its password to unlock the startup volume.

On an Intel Mac, restart or start up while holding Command-R with an M1, shut down the Mac, then hold down the power button until “Loading startup options” appears.

How to erase a mac hard drive