Can you use external hard drive with iMac?

Can you use external hard drive with iMac?

With Thunderbolt, USB or FireWire, you can install an external hard drive without opening your iMac’s case. Connect the FireWire, Thunderbolt, or USB cable betwixt the drive and your computer. Plug the external drive into a convenient surge protector or UPS (uninterruptible power supply).

How do I get my WD Passport to work on my Mac?

Tips on using WD my Passport for Mac

1. Plug the wall/power bar and let power enter it.
2. Plug one end of the USB cable into the drive and the other end in your system.
3. If you’re using Windows, the drive will now be turned on, showing up in “My Computer”.
4. If you’re on a Mac, navigate to “My Machine” to see the new hard disk.

How do I transfer files from Mac to WD external hard drive?

Browse to the folder on your external drive where you want to store the files or folders and then drag and drop folders and files from your Mac’s Finder window into the external hard drive’s window. A status bar appears on your screen indicating progress. Wait until the full transfer completes.

Why won’t my Mac let me transfer files to my external hard drive?

If you can’t move or copy a file or folder, you might need to change its permissions settings. You might also need to change permissions settings for the disk, server, or folder where you want to move the item. On your Mac, select the item, then choose File > Get Info, or press Command-I.

Why can’t I copy from Mac to external hard drive?

Mac OS X do not support writing files into NTFS filesystems by default and you cannot copy files to external hard drive from mac. But Mac do support reading the NTFS drives and copying files from NTFS HDDs. Most of the Mac users don’t know this and will buy portable external hard disks to expand the storage space.

How do I make my external hard drive compatible with Mac and PC?

How to Format an External Drive in OS X

1. Connect the drive to the Mac.
2. Open Disk Utility.
3. Select the drive you want to format.
4. Click Erase.
5. Give the drive a descriptive name and leave the default settings: OS X Extended format and GUID partition map.
6. Click Erase and OS X will format the drive.

How do you transfer photos from a Mac to an external hard drive?

Move your Photos library to an external storage device

1. Quit Photos.
2. In the Finder, go to the external drive where you want to store your library.
3. In another Finder window, find your Photos Library.
4. Drag Photos Library to its new location on the external drive.

How do I backup my photo library to an external hard drive?

Copy the Photos Library from your Pictures Folder to an external disk. Hold down the option (or alt) key and launch Photos. From the resulting menu select “Other Library” and navigate to the new location. You’ll get a message that says: “This library contains items that need to download from iCloud Photo Library.”

How do I copy files from Mac to external hard drive without formatting?

1. Open Disk Utility and click on View at the upper left corner.
2. Click on Show All Devices.
3. Select the external hard drive to convert to APFS and click Partition button.
4. Double check if the scheme is set to GUID Partition Mac.
5. Set the format to Mac OS Extended Journaled.
6. Then click on Apply > Partition.

How do I transfer large files from my Mac to my external hard drive?

Open the external hard drive in the Finder window, and then press “Command-C” to move the files and folders from the system drive to the external drive. After you reformat the external hard drive using the Mac OS Extended (Journaled) file format, you will no longer see errors when copying files larger than 4GB.

How do I transfer files from Mac to external hard drive NTFS?

Open Finder, then click Go’> Go to Folder, then type ‘/Volumes/NAME’ where ‘NAME’ is the name of your NTFS drive. Click ‘Go’ to access your Windows disk. You should now be able to edit existing files and copy new ones here.

Can Mac read NTFS external hard drive?

Apple’s macOS can read from Windows-formatted NTFS drives, but can’t write to them out of the box. This could be useful if you want to write to a Boot Camp partition on your Mac, as Windows system partitions must use the NTFS file system. However, for external drives, you should probably use exFAT instead.

How do I convert my hard drive to NTFS on Mac?

How to Format an External Drive for Mac (from NTFS to Mac OS Extended)

1. Step 1: Open Disk Utility.
2. Step 2: Highlight your external drive and click “Erase”.
3. Step 3: Select “Mac OS Extended (Journaled)” in Format.
4. Step 4: Wait until the erasing process is complete.

Can a Mac read a Windows USB drive?

Macs can easily read PC-formatted hard disk drives. Your old external Windows PC drive will work great on the Mac. Apple has built OS X Yosemite and some previous OS X releases with the ability to read from those disks just fine.

Can Mac read exFAT external hard drive?

macOS and Windows can each read and write to exFAT volumes, making it ideal for flash storage and external drives. exFAT is certainly more stable than third-party NTFS or HFS+ drivers, and many other consumer devices like TVs and media playback devices natively support exFAT.

What is the best format for external hard drive Mac?

exFAT

How do I reformat an external hard drive for Mac?

Click the Go menu and select Utilities. In the window that appears, double-click the Disk Utility app. Select the external hard drive (left; sorted Internal, External, and Disk Images) and click the Erase button. (optional) Select a single volume to keep the drive format and only erase that volume’s data.

Do I need to format a new external hard drive?

Most external hard drives come formatted with the FAT file system, which makes the drive compatible with multiple operating systems. As such, the drive is immediately usable out of the box. However, if you do not intend to change the file system, a format is not necessary.