A threeyear warranty is the best you can expect from a consumergrade external drive from a. Feb 08, 2020 how to partition an external hard drive on mac. Copying data on mac to external hard drive with this format will make copying much longer. But if i attempt to copy a file to the drive on my mac, i get an icon telling me that i. If all settings look useful to you, the removable hard disk not showing up problem might result from the incompatibility between the file system and the macbook, or the corrupted file system of the external hard drive. The tricks here are similar to how youd access an optical drive on a windows ultrabook or similar pc that doesnt include an optical drive of its own. How to set up time machine on an external hard drive for macbook, imac.
With simplicity, this external drive has stateoftheart technology. If youve recently upgraded to a new imac or macbook pro, youre probably going to need an optical drive if you want to continue importing your movies and music to itunes, or just access the content on your discs. If it is visible, then click the option to mount, which should make it visible on the desktop and in the external drives option in the finder menu. How to set up time machine on an external hard drive for macbook. Open the disk utility app and highlight your external hard drive. Click on your desktop or the finder icon in your dock to bring the finder to the front of your screen. How to use cds, dvds, and blurays on a mac without an. I am able to open the drive and can even copy files from the drive. Drive speed is measured in revolutions per minute rpm, based on how fast the drive can spin. But its less handy when users need to play a disc on the road. Apr 12, 2017 the remote disc feature of your mac lets you use files stored on a cd or dvd hosted from another computer. Macbook, macbook air, and macbook pro models with usbc ports require a usbc to usb adapter sold separately to use apple usb superdrive.
Bonus tip data recovery from formatted hard drive on mac. External usb hard drives are lightweight, portable and inexpensive. I suspect that macbook air just does not supply enough power for drive. I have a usb drive that i purchased and use with various pcs at work and school. Nov 14, 2019 check apples disk utility to see if an external drive is showing up.
If you think youll need an external drive mostly for bluray discs, most of them will also play dvds and cds but are not readablewritable. You can connect this superdrive with your macbook pro with retina display, macbook air, imac, or mac mini with a single usb type a cable, which is built into this superdrive. Good product and recommendi have a mac book pro without dvd, this dvd drive with usb c connection give me a easy connect dvd drive without any tr. If you have a disk already mounted and your system goes to sleep, it also powers down ports, including usb ports. Step 1 open finder, applications, then go to utilities and disk utility step 2 follow the steps above to format the drive, and then you can use it with time machine on your mac system part 3. If your external hard drive icon is not appearing on your desktop you can easily retrieve via the finder preferences. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size. Use the cd or dvd drive from another computer with your mac. Best external hard drives for macs in 2020 techradar. Compare portable, usb and external hard drive models for office and home and shop online. Step 1 open finder, applications, then go to utilities and disk utility step 2 follow the steps above to format the drive, and then you can use it with time machine on your mac system. To find your best external hard drive for mac, youll want to decide how quickly you want to save and retrieve data. Well show you everything you need to know about the. Highlight the physical drive you wish to reformat and on the menu at the top to the right select erase.
Disk utility is within system preferences, or you can find it using spotlight. If you buy a new external hard drive, you may notice that working between mac and pc is an often difficult but it doesnt need to be. Most people who upgrade their macbooks existing hard drive do so because they need extra space. How to boot a mac from an external drive or alternate startup. Unlike an internal drive which resides hidden inside your macbooks case an external drive is a lean, mean. Usb c typec ultra slim external dvd drive burneroptical drive cd rw dvd rw superdrive disc duplicator compatible with mac macbook pro air imac and laptop 3. Its also highly compatible and supports macbook, macbook air, imac, mac mini, and others. You can also share discs from the optical drive of another mac, or from a windows computer. Dec 15, 2014 apples macbook air, along with many other macs, no longer includes an optical drive. Consider how youll be saving and transferring files, such as photos, videos, files from tablets, files from pc laptops, or photos from toprated cell phones. This reduced power draw helps preserve the battery life of the mac you plug the drive into.
In the lefthand side inside of disk utility you will see a list of all the connected hard drives. Usb c typec ultra slim external dvd driveburneroptical drive cd rw dvd rw superdrive disc duplicator compatible with mac macbook pro air imac and laptop 3. Make sure that the aluminum enclosure of the superdrive is facing up. Apples branded playableburnable cd dvd drive is the perfect complement to your imac or macbook. The best external hard drives for mac in 2020 pcmag. On your macbook air, within the remote disc window, doubleclick on the name of the mac that has the media drive. How to share an external hard drive between mac and windows. Check apples disk utility to see if an external drive is showing up. How to connect the apple usb superdrive apple support. There are several reasons why your mac wont recognize a drive. Commonly when you want to connect an external hard drive to laptop or computer all you need to do is just plug and play thats it. This mac external cd drive is designed for the owners of macbook pro with retina display, macbook air, imac starting from 2012, mac mini starting from 2009, mac pro starting from 20. The best affordable usbc ssds for macbook air youtube.
Discover the world of external hard drives for mac. Each physical drive is shown with the partitions of that drive nested below. Tips to fix mac doesnt recognize external hard drive on. If two air dont power the same drive and youve tried several cables, you might need to talk to the drive manufacturer.
Jan 17, 2018 mac or macbook cant detect my external drive. However when you find that your mac doesnt recognize external hard drive then different thoughts come in mind like the drive is corrupted or crashed. If your mac doesnt have a builtin optical drive and you need to use a cd or dvd, you can connect an external drive like the apple usb superdrive. The best external dvd and cd drives are compact and lightweight. Having this external drive you will be able to play and burn cds as well as dvds, create backup discs and install program software. The apple usb superdrive is compatible with mac models from 2008 and later that dont have a builtin optical drive. Buying an external hard drive for your mac is not all that different from buying one for your windows pc, except for one very important complication. Sometimes drive not appear on the desktop, then you should check for a disk in the left frame of finder windows and under the devices heading. How to format external hard drive mac 2 simple methods revealed.
I dont hear any sound from hdd itself, volumes does not appear in disk utility. When you wake your mac up, for whatever reason, your external drive does not wake up. But you can still use cds, dvds, blurays, and other optical discs on your mac. Macbook air retina, inch, 2020 macbook air retina, inch, 2018 2019 macbook air inch, early 2015 2017. If you want to create multiple partitions on your external hard drive in fact, you should for better file organization, heres a stepbystep guide. Use the cd or dvd drive from another computer with your. Note that the drive bears the firewire symbol as an icon, marking it as an external drive. To format an external hard drive for mac with time machine, you must follow the steps below. May 09, 2019 buying an external hard drive for your mac is not all that different from buying one for your windows pc, except for one very important complication. A brilliant external hard drive for extra security.
How to connect external hard drive to macbook pro wikihow. How to open an external drive thats not showing on mac. This option on boot trick works for quite literally any boot volume, whether its an external usb drive of any sort, a thunderbolt hard drive, boot dvd, cd, the recovery partition, even in dualboot environments with other versions of os x, or a linux or a windows partition with boot camp, if its bootable and connected to the mac it will be visible at this boot manager. Desktop external hard drives usually run at 7200 rpm to offer all the speed they can. Most modern mac laptops except for the macbook air have a dvdr drive, which makes it easy to send up to 8. Highlight your drive and click partition in disk utility. Problem solved macbookmac is not recognizing external hard. To use your superdrive, connect it to a usba port on your mac, then insert a disc. External disc drive for mac is convenient as it provides direct access to discs. An easier way to play dvd discs on macbook proair without optical drive. You can reformat a hard drive on mac os x by using disk utility. Copy your favorite movies and music to disc with this lg ap70ns50 doublelayer dvdrwcdrw drive, which features an overall maximum dvd write speed of 8x for speedy burning.
If you want to play dvd movies on a macbook pro, you will need an external dvdcd drive for mac, an usb cable, and the disc. How to format or partition an external hard drive for mac. In this article, we are here with the detailed step by step guide. The remote disc feature of your mac lets you use files stored on a cd or dvd hosted from another computer. Apr 30, 2020 to format an external hard drive for mac with time machine, you must follow the steps below. Apple claims that its usb superdrive has everything you need in an optical drive.
Its also highly compatible and supports macbook, macbook air, imac. Solving read only external drive problems on your mac. All these are executed perfectly when you use an external boot volume to boot up your mac. Why cant i see my external hard drive icon on my desktop. The tricks here are similar to how youd access an optical drive on a windows ultrabook or. They are great for backing up data, creating extra storage space on your computer and transferring large amounts of data between two or more computers. Its portable design is great for mobile workstation. Problem solved macbookmac is not recognizing external. It is definitely not an issue with the drive as i am able to write to the drive on windows and linux systems following these guidelines. Maybe you want to troubleshoot some problems, repair the disk, do partitions, format the entire disk, update, and install os x etc.
If you think youll need an external drive mostly for bluray discs, most of them will also. Unlike an internal drive which resides hidden inside your macbooks case. Amazons choice for macbook air external hard drive seagate stgx2000400 portable 2tb external hard drive portable hdd usb 3. An easier way to play dvd discs on macbook pro air without optical drive. Nov, 2018 to use your superdrive, connect it to a usba port on your mac, then insert a disc. To connect your superdrive to a thunderbolt 3 usbc or usbc port on your mac, you can use one of these adapters. Lacie 2tb mobile drive external hard drive usbc usb 3. How to backup mac to an external hard drive 5 steps. But, if you are using macbook air then hard drive must be formatted with a file system your mac can support. Jun 22, 20 this option on boot trick works for quite literally any boot volume, whether its an external usb drive of any sort, a thunderbolt hard drive, boot dvd, cd, the recovery partition, even in dualboot environments with other versions of os x, or a linux or a windows partition with boot camp, if its bootable and connected to the mac it will be visible at this boot manager. I absolutely adore this usb external dvd and cd drive. Steps 46 are optional but should be used on a drive that has never been formatted before, if the format type is not mac os extended, if the partition scheme has been changed, or if a different operating system not os x has been installed on the drive. Booting with an external disk has a lot of significance.
How to reformat my hard drive using my macbook air quora. Lg 8x external usb doublelayer dvdrwcdrw drive black. How to format external disk for macbook a apple community. Then the macbook is set up to show up the external hard drive on the desktop and in the finder. I have eeb40su3 with 500gb seagate momentus inside and 2012 macbook air. How to format external hard drive mac 2 simple methods.
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