When you purchase a new external hard drive, it may be formatted for a Mac/Apple, for a PC, or both. If you are an Apple user, you need to have an external hard drive that will work on your Apple computer and the Apple lab computers. If you have a personal PC laptop and need your hard drive to also work on the Apple lab computers, your external hard drive will need to be formatted. Below are instructions for formatting for these different needs.
Be aware that formatting a hard drive will erase all of its contents. It is best if you format your drive immediately after purchasing it but before you need to use it. We recommend that you format your drive on your Apple laptop or one of the Apple lab computers.
Plug your hard drive into the computer
Launch "Disk Utility" (it is an app that comes on all Apple computers)
Select the drive you wish to format
Click "erase"
Select the formatting type
Click Erase (you have the option of naming your hard drive here)
Formatting options:
ExFAT – Compatible with Windows and Mac Operating Systems. Good option if you use both platforms.
Mac OS Extended (Journaled) – Standard MAC only format
NTFS – Standard Windows only format