Cannot reformat a disc for use in my smart TV

Question

Level 1

23 points

Cannot reformat a disc for use in my smart TV

I've recently purchased a Toshiba smart tv and would like to use a redundant 160 gb external HDD to record TV programmes. The disk has been used as additional storage for my M1 Mini. To use with my TV the disc needs to be formatted to FAT32 but when I erase and reformat the disk, using my MAC mini,I'm not given the option to reformat the disk to FAT32 The nearest I can get is exFAT. Please see options which appear when reformatting. I've tried formatting using the built in formatting option on the TV. So far every attempt to record has been met with the warning that the recording can't be achieved as there is insufficient room on the disk.

Does this mean that after formatting the disk to store data held on my Mac mini, the disk can't be used for any other purpose?

Mac mini, macOS 14.0

Posted on Oct 16, 2023 5:43 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Matti Haveri

Level 6

19,748 points

Oct 17, 2023 10:58 AM in response to CONFUSEDOAP

> FAT32

FWIW our LG is happy when the USB flash drive is formatted on the Mac as MS-DOS (FAT) with MBR partition scheme. I'd like to use APFS or at least exFAT GUID but that's the way it is.

> built in formatting option on the TV

In my experience formatting on the device is the best option.

Reply

Answer 2

HWTech

Level 9

69,170 points

Oct 18, 2023 11:36 AM in response to CONFUSEDOAP

Try using the instructions provided by @Matt Haveri, but make sure you are selecting the whole physical drive when you erase it. Most likely the TV will require the partition type to be MBR.

FYI, the "MS-DOS (FAT)" option in macOS will utilize FAT32.

You can also try writing zeroes to the beginning of the drive in order to destroy the partition table so the drive appears completely blank. Maybe that will allow you to connect the blank drive to the TV and have the TV properly prepare the drive for use. Writing zeroes to the beginning of the drive involves using the command line which can be risky if you are not familiar with it since there are no safety nets or resets when using the command line. It is very easy to select the wrong drive when erasing. I can provide instructions if interested, but you will need to adapt them to your system since every drive or volume mounted changes things each time.

Reply

Answer 3

Oct 17, 2023 10:44 AM in response to CONFUSEDOAP

Have a friend with a PC format the drive with FAT32.

Any disk can be reformatted at any time to be reused with another device or operating system. Mac can only use the formats listed in your screenshot. When a drive is reformatted, any data previously stored on that drive will be permanently erased.

Reply

Answer 4

CONFUSEDOAP Author

Level 1

23 points

Oct 18, 2023 7:52 AM in response to Matti Haveri

I formatted the drive again on my Mac mini, this time selecting MS-DOS (FAT) option. I still get the same error message when plugging into my TV, telling me that there is insufficient space on my disk, although my disk utility tells me there's 159 GB free. Also my disk utility tells me that the disk is formatted to MS-DOS(FAT32) which is not shown in the options of the disk utility. I've looked up MBR to find that it stands for MASTER BOOT RECORD but I don't know what that means. I still get the same error message after using the TV's formatting function.

I've now given up and ordered a flash drive. I shall return the external hard drive which has caused so much hassle, to its original function of storing date from may Mac mini.

Reply

Answer 5

CONFUSEDOAP Author

Level 1

23 points

Oct 18, 2023 7:37 AM in response to D.I. Johnson

Unfortunately, all friends and family are exclusively Mac oriented. This is because we all have Mac computers, iPads and iPhones for ease of communication with the worldwide diaspora of our clan.

I've wasted so much time trying to fix this problem that I've ordered a flash drive from Amazon described as the top choice for recording TV. I'm not sure if it will work as most manufacturers are lying through their teeth when they describe a product as "plug and play"

Reply

Cannot reformat a disc for use in my smart TV

Similar questions