Formatting external drive for MacPro M1

I got a Seagate external drive to copy files from my PC to my MacBook Pro. But after copying files on the PC, the MacPro cannot read the external drive. Nothing comes up and disk utility is useless. So I tried reformatting the drive using the PC to an exFat file system with 512K selected as the Allocation unit size. But the MacBook Pro still cannot read the drive. So I tried reformatting it as exFat using the Default Allocation size selection but that also doesn't work. I’m starting to think this can’t be done, which is sad because Seagate sells it as compatible with both platforms.

MacBook Pro (M1, 2020)

Posted on Mar 21, 2024 3:44 PM

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HWTech

Community+ 2026

Level 9

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Posted on Mar 21, 2024 6:51 PM

You need to use Disk Utility on the Mac to erase the whole physical SSD as GUID partition and exFAT. Within Disk Utility you may need to click "View" and select "Show All Devices" before the physical drives appear on the left pane of Disk Utility.

If you still have issues, then disconnect all external devices from the Mac and try again.

If still not working, then try booting the Mac into Safe Mode and try again. If this works, then you have some third party software installed which is interfering with the normal operation of macOS.

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Formatting external drive for MacPro M1

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