How to Format a New External Hard Drive on Mac (Disk Utility Explained)

Video Description

Did you just buy a new external hard drive for your Mac? Before you use it, you should format it first. Most external drives come formatted for Windows, which can lead to performance issues, compatibility problems, or limited features on macOS. In this video, I walk through Apple Disk Utility and explain how to properly format an external hard drive for your Mac — based on how you plan to use it. You’ll learn the differences between APFS, Mac OS Extended (Journaled), MS-DOS (FAT), and ExFAT, when to use each format, how partition schemes work, and why formatting matters before you store important data. For reference: • macOS version used: macOS (Disk Utility modern layout) • This applies to Intel and Apple silicon Macs 00:00 | Welcome Back 01:43 | Finding Your External Hard Drive 02:23 | What Is Disk Utility? 03:49 | Why Formatting Matters 04:04 | Understanding File Formats 05:51 | Apple’s File System Explanations 07:20 | Formatting with Encryption 07:33 | My Recommended Format for Mac 09:13 | Understanding Partition Schemes 12:13 | Partitions vs Volumes Explained 17:31 | Disk Utility Help Menu 18:41 | First Aid & Repairing Disks 19:15 | SSD vs Traditional Hard Drives 19:54 | Fun Tip: Customize Drive Icons File system formats available in Disk Utility on Mac https://support.apple.com/guide/disk-utility/file-system-formats-available-in-disk-utility-dsku19ed921c/20.0/mac/11.0 Partition schemes available in Disk Utility on Mac https://support.apple.com/guide/disk-utility/partition-schemes-disk-utility-mac-dsku1c614201/20.0/mac/11.0 #joelfeld #learnwithjoel #externalharddrive #diskformatting If you have a video suggestion, let's chat! https://www.youtube.com/c/Learnwithjoel/community –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– CHECK OUT MY FAVORITE TECH GIZMOS AND GADGETS: https://www.amazon.com/shop/joelfeld We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. As an Amazon Influencer I earn from qualifying purchases from some of the links above. WEBSITE: https://joelfeld.com