Internal Drive Format Check

[jparker402]

Was reading about buying and connecting an external SSD, and it was suggested to check to see how the existing internal drive is formatted and match that when formatting the new external drive. How does one check to see how the internal drive is formatted? I have been cautiously exploring but am deathly afraid of inadvertently messing something up! Thanks!

 

[HDFan]

it was suggested to check to see how the existing internal drive is formatted and match that when formatting the new external drive. How does one check to see how the internal drive is formatted?

Depends on what you want to do, what mac you have, the internal drive type, etc. If the internal drive is a hard disk then it is likely Mac OS Extended (Journaled). If it is an SSD then probably APFS.

What are you going to be using the SSD for? In many cases it is not the best solution for an external drive.

"match that" is nonsense. You use a format which is best for your needs, your OS, and your hardware.

 

[jparker402]

Have an early 2015 MacBook Air and internal drive is listed as MacIntosh HD (whatever that is). Currently running Catalina. Don't need to now, but idea behind external SSD was for photo and other file backup to reduce load on internal drive. Somehow thought there was a way to "look at" the internal drive and determine how it was formatted.

 

[Fishrrman]

If you are using Catalina, the internal drive is formatted for APFS.

If you are buying an external SSD, there are two ways to go:
- If the drive IS NOT going to be bootable, I recommend you format it for HFS+ (Mac OS extended with journaling enabled, GUID partition format).
- If the drive IS going to be bootable, then it must be formatted APFS, GUID partition format.

But I would continue to use HFS+ for all "data drives".

 

[njvm]

Yes Utilities / Disk Utility.app. Select the disk that you want to check and look at the data on the right hand side of the screen.

 

[chrfr]

I have my external SSDs formatted as APFS and have no concerns or regrets on that.

 

[jparker402]

Thanks njvm! Just what I was looking for!