BestExternal Hard Drives for MaciMore2019

• How To Format Seagate Drive
• Format Seagate External Hard Drives

A hard drive can be used on any type of computer - PC or Mac. But in order for the computer and drive to talk to one another, the drive has to be formatted. This article explains. Seagate branded external drives come preformatted, some for PCs, some for Macs, and some of them have special utilities. Want to format a hard drive for Mac and PC compatibility? You have to set it up correctly before getting starting. Mac OS Journaled is the formatting option for Mac and NTFS or MS-Doc is the. Then Super Eraser for Mac will completely format your Seagate hard drive under Mac OS and permanently erase all the data on the Seagate hard drive. The formatted data will be permanently lost, can’t be recovered by data recovery software. How to Convert a Mac-Formatted Drive to a Windows Drive Chris Hoffman @chrisbhoffman Updated July 10, 2017, 10:23pm EDT Macs format drives with Apple’s HFS+ file system, which Windows won’t recognize or access without third-party software.

When it comes to storing data, personal information, and essential documents, you can never be too safe. External hard drives are not only useful for storing data but are an excellent way to transport files from one location to another. When you take into account price, ease of use, and portability, the Seagate Backup Plus Slim is the most reliable hard drive you can carry around with you at all times.

Best Overall: Seagate Backup Plus Slim (2 TB)

If you want a reliable external hard drive that has a decent amount of storage, is super easy to carry around and has a very affordable price tag, the Seagate Backup Plus Slim is the best option for most people. Formatted for Windows and Mac right out of the box, it's easy to carry all your essential documents from desktop to laptop without missing a beat.

The Seagate Dashboard back up system is a fantastic simple tool that can let you schedule backups to ensure you never miss any critical files you need in case something terrible happens to your computer. You can set automatic backups daily, weekly, or monthly, and change the frequency whenever you want.

Seagate also throws in a one-year complimentary subscription to Mylio Create. This can help you wrangle your photo library if you don't already use some photo managing tool, and a two-month membership to Adobe Creative Cloud Photography Plan.

Pros:

• Affordable
• Great backup software
• USB 3.0
• Metal enclosure

Best Overall

Seagate Backup Plus Slim (2 TB)

Reliable, portable, and affordable.

Don't worry about lengthy setups or formatting procedures. Plug in the Seagate Backup Plus Slim 2TB which is formatted for Mac right out of the packaging.

Best USB-C hard drive: Samsung T5 Portable SSD (1 TB)

This small compact SSD drive from Samsung comes with both a USB-C to USB-C cable and a USB-C to USB-A, meaning it's perfect to use with your MacBook or Mac.

Its fast 540 MB/s read and write speeds are more than enough to transfer any file. And should be able to store all your photo and video files with ease thanks to its straightforward software. Plus, if you're worried about encryption, the Samsung T5 Portable SSD has you covered with an optional password to launch the drive, and AES 256-bit hardware encryption on all your files.

Pros:

• USB-C
• SSD
• Super compact
• AES 256-bit hardware encryption

Best USB-C

Samsung T5 Portable SSD (1 TB)

Fast and encrypted

With 540 MB/s read and write speeds the Samsung T5 Portable SSD is fast enough for photographers and videographers to transport all their work.

Compatible with Time Machine right out of the box, the 8 TB storage capacity on the Western Digital My Book is perfect for people looking for a lot of stage at a reasonable price. It's USB 3.0 meaning it's easy to take advantage of its storage speed with fast transfer speeds.

While portability is not the Western Digital My Book's strong suit and it needs a separate power source, it does offer 256-AES encryption when you download its easy-to-use security software. It ensures all your important files and documents stay private.

If you're looking for a drive that has lots of space, os you don't have to have multiple as your storage needs grow, look no further.

Pros:

• Lots of storage
• 256-AES encryption
• Time Machine compatible

Best Capacity

Western Digital My Book (8TB)

Lots of storage for those who need it

Western Digital offers 256-AES encryption when you download its security software, meaning you can rest easy knowing your private information and personal data is safe.

Best Thunderbolt 3 Drive: LaCie Rugged Thunderbolt

LaCie hard drives have always been good for people on the go because of the rugged design. The LaCie Rugged Thunderbolt can withstand some dust, dirt, and even a tiny bit of water being splashed on it.

It's 7200 RPM Hard drive keeps things running smoothly. And the included USB-C cable — which supports Thunderbolt 3 — makes it perfect for MacBook and Mac users alike!

Cons:

• Only 130MB/s

Best Thunderbolt 3 Drive

LaCie Rugged Thunderbolt

Rugged design with Thunderbolt 3

The LaCie Rugged Thunderbolt 3 is a favorite because it can withstand drops, dust, and even the occasional splash of water, making it easy to carry around!

Best for Legacy Hardware : G-Technology G-DRIVE USB 3.0 (4TB)

While Apple has been going the way of USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 for a while now, some of us still use older hardware and thus don't need hard drives that have USB-C connections. If you're still rocking USB-A or even a Thunderbolt 2 connection from your Mac, the G-Technology G-DRIVE USB 3.0 (4TB) is a perfect companion.

Its all-metal design is not only more durable than plastic hard drives, but it also looks stylish! Plus, it's 7200 RPM speed allows the G-Technology G-DRIVE USB 3.0 to achieve 195 MB/s read and write speeds. This makes it fast enough to transfer large video files quickly and efficiently.

Cons:

• Needs to be reformatted for Windows

Best for legacy hardware

G-Technology G-DRIVE USB 3.0 (4TB)

Stylish and fast even on older computers

With 7200 RPM, this hard drive works hard and fast to get your files transferred quickly. Plus, it uses USB 3.0, and it even has a Thunderbolt 2 port.

The CalDigit Tuff does the best it can to live up to its name, giving you a hard drive that isn't as delicate as most. Its official IP rating is IP57, meaning it can be submerged in 3-feet of water for 30 mins and come out the other side functional. That's not all; this Thunderbolt 3 compatible drive can also withstand falling from about 4-feet high. We still don't suggest that you purposely abuse the CalDigit Tuff. Still, it's always good to have peace of mind when you're carrying your hard drive around.

Cons:

• Only come in 2TB

Best rugged drive

CalDigit Tuff

Can withstand drops and water

Official rated IP57, the CalDigit Tuff can survive an accidental dip into the water and has a great price tag.

If you're used to dealing with giant file sizes and need a hard drive that can handle transfer data fast, the Samsung X5 is one of the fastest SSD's you'll find. Its read and write speeds are 2,800MB/s and 2,300MB/s respectively, and the entire body is made of metal, making it much harder than plastic drives. Plus, The internal frame on the inside is shock resistant for drops from 2 meters.

This SSD comes with Thunderbolt 3 technology included. This you can take advantage of the fast speeds on your Mac or MacBook Pro, and it doesn't need any formatting, so it's plug and play!

Pros:

• 2,800MB/s read speed
• Shock resistant
• Thunderbolt 3

Best fast drive

Samsung X5

Incredibly fast SSD

If you need blazing fast speeds for giant files, the Samsung X5 is a monster external SSD that can handle any workload.

Bottom line

The Seagate Backup Plus Slim is the most reliable hard drive you can carry around with you at all times. It is formatted for both Mac and Windows right out of the box, and its easy-to-use software can automatically do backups for you as often or as little as you want.

Seagate also throws in a one-year complimentary subscription to Mylio Create. This program can help you wrangle your photo library if you don't already use some photo managing tool. A two-month membership to Adobe's Creative Cloud Photography Plan means it's perfect for budding photographers as well.

Credits — The team that worked on this guide

Luke Filipowicz is an iMore staff writer who has been carrying around his Seagate Backup Plus Slim since his college days.

Lory Gil is the Managing Editor of iMore and an avid believer in having as many backups of your important files and documents as possible.

Rene Ritchie is the foremost authority on all things Apple and has insider knowledge about the goings-on at the biggest tech company in the world. When it comes to accessories for Mac, Rene has used them all.

How To Format Seagate Drive

We may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Learn more.

These back cover cases will work with Apple's Smart Cover

Are you looking for an iPad Pro 10.5 case that works effortlessly with Apple’s Smart cover? Never fear, we have you covered with these awesome back cover cases!

Oct 16,2019 • Filed to: Answer Hard Drive Problems • Proven solutions

We all treasure our precious data on our Mac. Therefore, we do not need to wait for a disaster to strike so that we can learn ways to backup files. One way to backup data is by copying them to an external hard drive. External hard drives are significant when your Mac has a minimal storage, since offers more storage. With this mind, you need to get yourself an external hard drive for Mac. Before purchasing an external drive for your mac, there are things you should consider such as compatibility, speed, storage, transfer speed, portability and price. In this article, we are going to give you best 5 external hard drives for mac picked by media websites.

Part 1: Top 5 Best External Hard Drives for Mac

1.Seagate Backup Plus

Company: Seagate Technology

Seagate backup plus is an ideal mac external hard drive that is highly recommended by most websites. This external hard drive for mac is well known for its slim and sleek design. Its capacities are 500GB, 1TB, 2TB and latest 4TB. Moreover, it offers a 200GB cloud storage that is limited for two years. However, this option may not be available in all countries. This external hard drive for Mac can be used interchangeable with Windows OS. Seagate backup plus is designed with three modes of connectivity namely, USB 2.0, USB 3.0 and thunderbolt. Seagate external hard drive for Mac is formatted to HFS+ file making it compatible with your MacBook or MacBook pro without formatting it. This drive has been recommended over 8 times by the chosen media websites.

Review:

Seagate Backup Plus drives makes your life simple with its huge capacity storage. These external hard drives for Mac are well integrated with Backup software. It also offers a two-year 200GB cloud storage to Microsoft OneDrive. The only flaw of this software is that it lacks security option to protect data.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Price: $76.99 for 2TB as listed on Amazon

Recommended by: www.cnet.com

2. Western Digital My Passport Ultra external hard drive for mac

Company: Western Digital Corporation

Western digital My Passport is another best external hard drive for mac. It has been recommended over 8 times on the selected 10 media websites. It offers a minimal storage as low as 500GB, 1TB, and as high as 3TB. This external hard for Mac comes with 3-year warranty. Moreover, it offers two connectivity modes that are USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 that enable data transfer faster. This Western digital external hard drive for Mac is compatible with Windows operating after formatting it to a supported file system such as FAT or NTFS format. The good thing about this external head drive for mac is that it allows you to encrypt and protect its hardware with a password.

Review

Virtual windows for mac. WD My Passport ultra is one of the best external hard drives for Mac that offers a high transfer speed with different size capacities. Its price is slightly higher as compared to other external drives.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Price: $74.99 for 2TB as listed on Amazon

Recommended by: www.pcmag.com

3. Toshiba Canvio Slim II

Company: Toshiba Corporation

Another portable external hard drive for your Mac is Toshiba Canvio Slim II. It is compatible with Mac OS x. It comes with 500 GB and 1TB storage making it vital to use to backup data as well as transfer data. This external hard drive mac is offers you a 10GB free cloud storage to backup all your videos, photos, music, documents and important files. It allows you to backup mobile content. It is USB 3.0 connectivity and USB 2.o which worth mentioning. Toshiba external hard drive is well furnished with aluminum. It has been recommended over 6 times by the selected media websites.

Review

Toshiba Canvio Slim is a useful external hard drive that offers a bigger storage capacity besides its large backup storage. It also has a password feature that ensures that your data is protected around the clock. Its USB2.0 connectivity performance is not up to par.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Price: $79.99 for 2TB as listed on Amazon Mac compatible touch screen monitor.

Recommended by: www.thewirecutter.com

4. G-Technology G-Drive Slim

Company: G- Technology.

Just as the name suggests, this external hard drive for mac is slimmer than the other mentioned hard dive. It records a high speed and excellent performance. G-Drive slim which people who are looking for external storage to save pictures a photos and music with a maximum storage of 500GB. It uses a USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 cable connectivity. Moreover, its transfer goes up to 125mb/s, which seems a high speed when you are transferring files. This Mac external hard drive is formatted with HFS+ files system making it compatible with MacBook, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. Furthermore, it comes with a 3-year limited warranty. G-Technology G-Drive Slim has an aluminum casing and a plastic case around the USB port. It is light thus convenient to carry it around. At least 4 media websites from the selected 10 recommended it.

Review

G-Technology G-Drive Slim is a speedy external hard drive for your Mac. It records high transfer and read speed as compared to any USB 3.0mac external hard drive. To add on it is portable and offers enough external storage. One demerit of this external hard dive for mac is that it does not come with any packaged software.

Rating: 4/5

Price: $69.95 for 1TB as listed on Amazon

Recommended by: www.pcmag.com

5. Transcend StoreJet

Company: Transcend Information

If you are looking for a Mac external hard drive, that lets backup files within a click, then look no more. Transcend StoreJet will exactly does that. This software is well designed and integrated with a military shock resistant. You can quickly transfer your data files from Mac to this external hard drive mac either with UB 2.0 or USB 3.0 connectivity. Transcend Jet external hard drives for mac are available in different capacities, which include 500GB, 750GB, 1TB and 2TB. From the 10 sources it has been mentioned at least three times.

Review

It is the best mac external hard drive especially for those people who travel more often. It has silicon shell with an incredible casing that enable it resist shock. It performance is also good. However, this external hard drive for mac is slightly heavier as compared to other Mac external hard drives.

Rating: 4/5

Price: $69.95 for 1TB as listed on Amazon

Recommended by: www.techspot.com

Sources:

Part 2: How to Recover Data from External Hard Drive

With external hard drive for Mac, people are used to store their business data or personal data on it. However, the wrong protection will cause the data lost from your external hard drive. As accidentally deleted data, lost or formatted data from external hard drive. Under these circumstances, you will need a external hard drive data recovery tool to help you retrieve your lost data from external hard drive.

Your Safe & Reliable External Hard Drive Recovery Software

• Recover lost or deleted files, photos, audio, music, emails from any storage device effectively, safely and completely.
• Supports data recovery from recycle bin, hard drive, memory card, flash drive, digital camera and camcorders.
• Supports to recover data for sudden deletion, formatting, hard drive corruption, virus attack, system crash under different situations.

Recoverit External Hard Drive Data Recovery capable of restoring deleted/lost files or formatted partition from external hard drive, hard drive (HDD and SSD), USB flash drive, memory card, digital camera, camcorder, iPod, Music Player and many kinds of mobile devices (Nokia, Blackberry phones and Phones with older Android OS than ICS).

How to recover data from external hard drive on Mac

Download and install Recoverit data recovery on your computer, connect your external hard drive to the computer. Follow the next simple steps to retrieve your data back.

Step 1: Launch Recoverit data recovery, please select a data recovery mode. To recover data from external hard drive, you can select 'External Devices Recovery' mode to start.

Please make sure your external hard drive has connected to your computer, click 'Next' button to process.

Step 2: Please select your external hard drive to scanning lost data. Click 'Start' button to finding data.

Step 3: Recoverit data recovery will start a quick scan to search lost data. You can preview some recoverable files after the scan. If you cannot find your files, you can go to scan agian with 'All-Around Recovery' mode.

Step 4: With 'All-Around Recovery' mode which can help you deeply search and scan more files from external hard drive. While it will take more time to completed scan.

Step 5: After the scan, you can check all recoverable file. Go to preview some specific recoverable files and click 'Recover' button to get your data back.

Format Seagate External Hard Drives

What's Wrong with Drive

Recover Your Drive

Fix Your Drive

Format/Wipe Drive

Know Your Drive