Database Tool For External Hard Drive Mac
Aug 31,2019 • Filed to: Answer Hard Drive Problems • Proven solutions
This free data recovery software can recover data from Mac notebooks, desktops, hard drives, USB drives, SD cards, memory cards, digital cameras, etc. It works on internal HFS+ drives, and on FAT/FAT32 file systems used in USB flash drives and external hard drives connected to an Apple computer.
Gone are the days when our system’s hard drive was enough to store our data. Now, most of us keep an external hard drive to backup our data and keep our content accessible on the go. Though, there are times when users need to erase external hard drive as well. If your external drive has sensitive data that you want to get rid of permanently, then you need to walk an extra mile.
You might already know that even after deleting your data from the drive (and the recycle bin) you can retrieve it with the help of a data recovery tool. Therefore, if you wish to permanently remove your data with no scope of recovery, then you need to take the assistance of a third-party tool. In this post, we will teach you how to permanently erase external hard drive without any trouble.
- I cannot get HFS Explorer to find my HFS+ formatted drive - containing a Time Machine backup of my MAC - when i plug the external hard drive into my USB port on my HP laptop running Windows 10. In fact the laptop doesn't even see the drive at all when I plug it in.
- External hard drive consists of a general hard drive in a sturdy tray, and usually connects to the computer through a USB cable. These devices provide us a great way to backup our data on our computer, however, transfer data from one computer to another, or simply store additional data that will not fit on the hard drive of our computer.
- External hard drive data recovery mac Related: hard drive repair, hard disk repair, external hard drive repair, hard drive recovery Filter.
- External hard drive, also known as mobile hard disk/drive, is a kind of rather common data storage medium. Due to its biggest feature - good portability, external hard drive is used widely around the world to store & exchange data.
- The Best Hard Drive Recovery Software for Windows and Mac There are no guarantees of absolute safety in the hard drive data. Sometimes data loss happens and hard drive recovery tool is needed.
Part 1: How to Completely Erase External Hard Drive
There are plenty of ways to erase an external hard drive entirely. Even after formatting it, chances are that your data can still be retrieved. If you don’t want to use a third-party tool to delete it, then you can always choose to physically destroy the drive.
Physically Destroy the Hard Drive
This is the simplest and cheapest method to get rid of your data entirely. By physically destroying the hard drive, no one would be able to use it to extract your data. There are plenty of ways to physically destroy an external hard drive. After removing the case of the hard drive, you can simply melt it. Setting it on fire is another safe option.
If you want to go extreme, then you can simply hammer the hard drive and break it into pieces. Some people also prefer to perform electrolysis to destroy the drive or simply shredding it into small pieces. No matter what approach you adopt, it will destroy your hard disk and its data forever.
Though, it has a severe disadvantage that you won’t be able to use the external hard drive to store your data after destroying it. Your data would be destroyed, but you would have to bear the cost of your hard drive. To avoid this, experts always recommend using a dedicated tool to erase external hard drive without physically destroying it.
Part 2: How to Erase an External Hard Drive with Eraser Software
Stellar BitRaser for file is one of the best eraser tools out there that can readily be used to wipe your hard drive’s data entirely without any scope of recovery. Simply perform a deep cleaning of your external hard drive using this remarkable application and be sure to get rid of your data forever. It has an easy to use interface and comes with tons of features as well.
- It can remove every type of file and folder from a hard drive without any scope of data recovery.
- Furthermore, the tool can also erase internet activities, applications, system traces, log files, and more.
- It works on a system’s internal storage, USB drive, external hard drive, etc.
- One can also set up scheduled erasing of data.
- It features advanced algorithm and generates an erase certificate in the end.
- Fully compatible with all the leading versions of Windows and Windows server.
Erase external hard drive with BitRaser
By taking the assistance of Stellar BitRaser for Files, you can easily erase external hard drive in no time. It provides an easy to use interface that will let you wipe your drive entirely in seconds. You can simply follow these instructions to do it.
Step 1: Free download and launch Stellar BitRaser for File on you PC computer.
Step 2: Connect your external hard drive to it via a USB cable. Wait for a while as your system will automatically recognize the drive.
Step 3: Select the external hard drive and click 'Erase Now' to start erase files from externla hard drive.
Step 4: Wait for a while as the application would permanently erase your external hard drive. It will let you know as soon as the operation is completed.
In a few simple steps, you can erase external hard drive by using Stellar BitRaser. If you have sensitive data on your drive, then you can also perform multiple passes. Follow the above-mentioned steps a few times to perform multiple passes (three times would be enough). This will make sure that your data has been removed permanently.
Tips for securely erasing an external hard drive
- Only choose a secure and reliable tool to wipe your hard disk. There are plenty of third-party data eraser tools out there, but only a handful of them (like Stellar BitRaser) are considered reliable.
- To make sure that your data is removed permanently, you can always do multiple passes of the erasing process.
- Try not to physically damage your external hard drive, as this would make it inaccessible and might cause some accident as well.
- Go with a tool that will erase log files, system traces, and application traces as well for a complete deletion of data.
- Avoid formatting of hard disks on Windows, as even after formatting, your data can be recovered. Ideally, a reliable third-party tool should be used.
We hope that after following this informative guide, you would be able to erase external hard drive without any trouble. Stellar BitRaser is a highly useful application that will let you get rid of your data permanently without any recovery scope. Feel free to give it a try and let us know about your experience in the comments below.
Video Tutorial on How to Format an External Hard Drive
What's Wrong with Drive
- Recover Your Drive
- Fix Your Drive
- Format/Wipe Drive
- Know Your Drive
If you read my previous post about how to format an external hard drive, you know that I bought a 2TB Seagate Expansion external drive and managed to create two partitions on the disk — one for Mac backup purposes, and the other for personal use.
In this article, I’m going to show you how to backup your Mac data to an external drive. You should backup your Mac on a regular basis, especially if you’re planning to perform macOS updates.
I did this several weeks ago while preparing my MacBook Pro for the High Sierra update. You may also be interested in taking a look at the issues I encountered during that process just in case you also want to upgrade your Mac to the latest macOS.
Please note that the backup tool that I used is Time Machine, a built-in app provided by Apple. If you want to backup your Mac data without using Time Machine, there are also alternatives worth considering.
Where is Time Machine on Mac?
As I said, Time Machine is a built-in app within macOS ever since OS X 10.5. To find it, click on the Apple logo on the top left corner of your screen, then select System Preferences.
In the Preferences Pane, you’ll see the app located between “Date & Time” and “Accessibility”.
What does Time Machine Backup?
Time Machine is definitely the easiest way to backup Mac. In addition, the app is created and recommended by Apple. Once you have a timely backup, it’s incredibly easy to restore all or part of your data in case of accidental deletion or a hard drive crash.
So, what kind of data does Time Machine backup? Everything! Photos, videos, documents, applications, system files, accounts, preferences, messages, you name it: They all can be backed up by Time Machine. You can then restore your data from a Time Machine snapshot. To do so, first open Finder, then Applications, and click on Time Machine to continue.
Be aware that the recovery process can be only be conducted when your Mac is bootable.
A Step-by-Step Guide to Backing up Mac to an External Hard Drive
Note: the screenshots below are taken based on macOS 10.12.5 Sierra. If your Mac has High Sierra or an older version, differences may exist, but the process should look similar to what’s displayed below.
Step 1: Connect your external hard drive.
First, use the USB cable (or USC-C cable if you’re on a newest Mac model with Thunderbolt 3 ports) that comes with your external drive to connect that drive to your Mac. Once the disk icon shows up on your desktop (if it doesn’t, open Finder > Preferences > General, and here make sure you’ve checked “External disks” to let them show on the desktop), move on to Step 2.
Step 2: Select the disk for backup.
Now open Time Machine (I tell you how above) and select the disk you want to use. I have partitioned my Seagate drive into two new volumes, “Backup” and “Personal Use”, as you see from the screenshot. I chose “Backup”.
Step 3: Confirm backup (optional).
External Hard Drive Mac Pc
If you have used another disk for backup before, Time Machine will ask you whether you want to stop backing up to the previous disk and use the new one instead. It’s up to you. I selected “Replace”.
Step 4: Wait until the process is complete.
Now Time Machine will start to backup all your data. The progress bar gives you an estimate of how much time is left before the backup is complete. I found it a bit inaccurate: Initially, it said “About 5 hours remaining”, but it only took two hours to finish. It’s worth noting that the remaining time may vary from case to case depending on the write speed of your external hard drive.
It says I have to wait 5 hours
After about an hour and a half, it says only 15 minutes remainingTop appcleaner for mac.
Step 5: Eject your external drive and unplug it.
When the backup procedure is completed, don’t rush to disconnect your device as this could cause potential disk problems. Instead, go back to the main desktop, locate the volume that your external hard drive represents, right-click and select Eject. Then, you can safely unplug the device and put it in a safe place.
One More Thing
Like any other hardware device, an external hard drive will fail sooner or later. It is advisable to make a copy of the data on your external drive — as they say, a “backup of your backups”! One good option is to use cloud storage services. I now use IDrive (read our full review here), and I really like it because the app is so easy to use, and it also allows me to back up my Facebook albums and photos automatically. Backblaze and Carbonite are also popular options in the market, though I have yet to give them a try.
External Hard Drive Mac Format
I hope you find this tutorial helpful. I can’t emphasize enough the importance of data backup these days, especially when my mid-2012 MacBook hard drive died all of a sudden. I’ve also seen cases where my friend’s computer and hard drive failed. You can imagine their desperation. Without a proper backup, it’s really hard to restore data. Although you could try a third-party recovery program like Prosoft Data Rescue and Stellar Mac Data Recovery, chances are they won’t get all your lost data back.
Top External Hard Drives For Mac
Anyway, the main takeaway I want you to have from this article is this: Backup your Mac with Time Machine and create a second or third copy of those backups if you can.