Reformatting ntfs drive for mac. No space?

U

usedpowerbook


Joined
May 4, 2009
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Sorry-I dont know all the lingo, but I have a 160gb hard drive taken out of a PC. It is in a portable unit and I thought I'd use it as my Time machine and partition it and use it for some other storage like pics and audio. When I use Disk Utility to erase it it shows the drive only has 18.5gb. It also has an untitled drive and it too shows 18.5gb capacity.

Why can I not erase the whole drive and have the full 160gb?

Or more accurately how do I erase it fully? I have a PC on Win Xp and a laptop on Vista if those have utilities I can use to wipe it out utterly.

Thank you,
Ray
 
OP
U

usedpowerbook


Joined
May 4, 2009
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
Points
1
I cannot format it in my WinXP PC. Maybe because I tried ot use it in the mac before I realized it only had 18.5gb?? But the error says something about close any programs that are showing the drive, but there is nothing open.

3511737188_d212c4bb16.jpg
 
chscag

chscag

Well-known member
Staff member
Admin
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
65,248
Reaction score
1,833
Points
113
Location
Keller, Texas
Your Mac's Specs
2017 27" iMac, 10.5" iPad Pro, iPhone 8, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 Mini, Numerous iPods, Monterey
It's possible you're not erasing and formatting the drive correctly. Let's start over:

1. Attach the drive to your Mac through the USB connection and open Disk Utility from Applications - Utilities. The drive should be mounted on your desktop.

2. Highlight the drive from the list on the left. Make sure you highlight the line that shows the entire space (160 GB). Should be the first entry.

3. Click on erase at the top of the screen.

4. Select the desired format. (HFS Extended or Journal)

5. Change the name of the drive if you so desire. ie: Backup Drive

6. Click erase at the bottom of the screen, then click erase again on the second window. Should take a few minutes. Do not select security erase!

7. After it's finished the drive should be formatted as HFS + with one large partition of 160 GB.

Let us know.

Regards.
 
OP
U

usedpowerbook


Joined
May 4, 2009
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
Points
1
chscag said:
It's possible you're not erasing and formatting the drive correctly. Let's start over:

1. Attach the drive to your Mac through the USB connection and open Disk Utility from Applications - Utilities. The drive should be mounted on your desktop.

2. Highlight the drive from the list on the left. Make sure you highlight the line that shows the entire space (160 GB). Should be the first entry.

3. Click on erase at the top of the screen.

4. Select the desired format. (HFS Extended or Journal)

5. Change the name of the drive if you so desire. ie: Backup Drive

6. Click erase at the bottom of the screen, then click erase again on the second window. Should take a few minutes. Do not select security erase!

7. After it's finished the drive should be formatted as HFS + with one large partition of 160 GB.

Let us know.

Regards.
Click to expand...

Thank you. I will try. I am stuck at 2. It shows a 18.5 drive on the top left. This isnt a huge deal. I can look for a 500g passport drive on ebay or Tigerdirect, etc.
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top