Seagate Backup Plus comes preformatted with the exFAT file system so that you can use it on your Mac and Windows computers without any further formatting. But, exFAT doesn't work with Time Machine (Mac). Therefore, to use Time Machine for your backup, you need to format your Seagate Backup Plus with the HFS+ file system.
This guide gives you a detailed insight into the file system formats and how to format Seagate Backup Plus for Mac computer.
KNOW ABOUT FILE SYSTEM FORMATS COMPATIBLE WITH MAC
HFS+: If you are going to use your hard drive exclusively on Mac computers, you can format it with the HFS+ file system. And, it is the best format if you intend to use your hard drive with Time Machine.
exFAT: This format is compatible with Mac and Windows computers. But, it is not compatible with Time Machine.
FAT32: It is compatible with Mac and Windows Operating Systems. But, it is not ideal for modern hard drives and Operating Systems.
Let us see how to format your Seagate Backup Plus hard drive for Mac.
HOW TO FORMAT SEAGATE BACKUP PLUS
When you format your storage device, your data will be completely deleted. So, it is always advisable to back up your data before performing the following steps.
- Connect your Seagate Backup Plus hard drive to your Mac computer using a USB cable.
- Open Finder and go to Applications.
- Click Utilities followed by Disk Utility.
- In the Disk Utility window, click the Erase button.
- Now, enter a name for your hard drive and select the Format as per your requirements.
- For Scheme, select the GUID Partition Map and click the Erase button.
- Once Disk Utility formats your hard drive, click Done.
- If you haven't set up your Seagate Backup Plus yet, you can use Seagate Toolkit to format it with just a few clicks. Proceed with the following section to know how to format Seagate backup plus for Mac completely.
FORMAT YOUR HARD DRIVE USING TOOLKIT OPTIMIZATION
- This formatting option is available only when you initialize your hard drive.
- Visit Seagate's official page and download Toolkit on your computer.
- Run the setup file and go ahead with the instructions.
- When prompted, select the format you prefer and click OK.
- Go ahead with the instructions and complete the setup.
- Now you have seen how to format Seagate Backup Plus for Mac using Seagate Toolkit.
For further questions and clarifications, you can reach our technical experts for assistance.
CATEGORIES
RELATED LINKS