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External hard drives are handy for transferring data between computers or as additional backup space. But if you try to use an external hard drive that's been formatted for Mac OS, you'll find that it will not work on your PC. To convert an external hard drive from Apple to PC you'll have to format the drive so that it can be read by the Windows operating system -- a process simplified through the built-in disk management tools of Windows.
1.
Transfer any files or folders that you wish to keep from the external hard drive to another computer. Drag and drop the files or use a backup utility.
2.
Connect the external hard drive to the PC by plugging the USB or IEEE1394 cable into the appropriate interface.
3.
Click the 'Start' icon in the lower left hand corner of the PC desktop. Select 'Control Panel' from the pop-up menu. Open 'Administrative Tools' at the top of the Control Panel menu.
4.
Select 'Computer Management' from the Administrative Tools menu. Highlight 'Disk Management' on the left hand side of the Administrative Tools menu to bring up the disk management interface.
5.
Locate the external hard drive in the disk management interface. The drives are identified in the first column of the management screen.
6.
Right click on the external hard drive. Select 'Format' from the context menu. When prompted by the system, click 'OK' to proceed and then 'OK' again to confirm your choice.
Warning
After the drive has been formatted, any data it used to contain will be lost.
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About the Author
Nathan McGinty started writing in 1995. He has a Bachelor of Science in communications from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Arts in international journalism from City University, London. He has worked in the technology industry for more than 20 years, in positions ranging from tech support to marketing.
Photo Credits
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McGinty, Nathan. 'How to Convert an External Hard Drive From Apple to PC.' Small Business - Chron.com, http://smallbusiness.chron.com/convert-external-hard-drive-apple-pc-42788.html. Accessed 18 October 2019.
McGinty, Nathan. (n.d.). How to Convert an External Hard Drive From Apple to PC. Small Business - Chron.com. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/convert-external-hard-drive-apple-pc-42788.html
McGinty, Nathan. 'How to Convert an External Hard Drive From Apple to PC' accessed October 18, 2019. http://smallbusiness.chron.com/convert-external-hard-drive-apple-pc-42788.html
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