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Format new hard drive

Hello,


I have some issues with the new hard drive I am currently installing. My old hard drive crashed on my MacBook Pro (Mid 12) and I bought a new hard drive to use. The problem is that I can not erase and format the hard drive to work with the operation system in the Disk Utility. I managed to partition it on a different mac, but then only changed the external settings. Is there any way I can change the internal settings through a USB with a different MacBook?


Thank you for any suggestions!


Tobias

MacBook Pro (13-inch Mid 2012), OS X Mountain Lion (10.8)

Posted on Feb 4, 2015 2:28 PM

Reply
9 replies

Feb 4, 2015 2:37 PM in response to Tobiasgp

Install OS X Using Internet Recovery


Be sure you backup your files to an external drive or second internal drive because the following procedure will remove everything from the hard drive.


Boot to the Internet Recovery HD:


Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND-OPTION- R keys until a globe appears on the screen. Wait patiently - 15-20 minutes - until the Recovery main menu appears.


Partition and Format the hard drive:


  1. Select Disk Utility from the main menu and click on the Continue button.
  2. After DU loads select your newly installed hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
  3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed. Quit DU and return to the main menu.


Reinstall OS X: Select Reinstall OS X and click on the Install button. Be sure to select the correct drive to use if you have more than one.


Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.


This should restore the version of OS X originally pre-installed on the computer.

Feb 4, 2015 3:37 PM in response to Tobiasgp

Put it in a USB SATA enclosure and connect it to a USB port on any other computer:

Drive Partition and Format


1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.


2. After DU loads select the external hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.


3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Apply button and wait until the process has completed.

Feb 4, 2015 3:45 PM in response to Tobiasgp

I don't have any idea what you are talking about. Partitioning and formatting are done on the internal drive. There is no external format. There is formatting for an external drive, however. It's exactly the same. The settings are not different. Please be explicitly clear about what you want.

Feb 4, 2015 10:17 PM in response to Kappy

I bought a new hard drive because mine crashed. Put it in the mac and tried to format it to the right settings. The information said the connection is internal. The disk utility does not work and I have tried all the different options. The format did not change. I then took the hard drive out of my mac and plugged it in to my friends Mac through a USB cable to format it through his disk utility. The information said that this connection was external. The partitioning took seconds and the format was exactly how it should be for me to install the OS. I then put the hard drive back in to my computer and tried to do the installation now, because I thought it should work. The information says that it is an internal connection and the hard drive do have the same format as it did before I plugged it in to my friends computer. Which means that it is two different settings between internal and external. I theb decided to just connect it to my MacBook through an USB and run the operating system through that, and this worked. Because now the hard drive is running as an external hard drive and the format is exactly how it should be for me to install the operating system. It is very annoying to have it connected through an USB, so I am wondering if there is any way for me to change the internal format of the hard drive through an USB connection. Cause it does not work to erase and partition it through a normal hard drive connection inside the computer. I understand that this is a very rare issue and I hope that someone could give me some hints what to do. Thank you

Feb 5, 2015 9:50 AM in response to Tobiasgp

Do this:


Install OS X Using Internet Recovery


Be sure you backup your files to an external drive or second internal drive because the following procedure will remove everything from the hard drive.


Boot to the Internet Recovery HD:


Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND-OPTION- R keys until a globe appears on the screen. Wait patiently - 15-20 minutes - until the Recovery main menu appears.


Partition and Format the hard drive:


  1. Select Disk Utility from the main menu and click on the Continue button.
  2. After DU loads select your newly installed hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
  3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed. Quit DU and return to the main menu.


Reinstall OS X: Select Reinstall OS X and click on the Install button. Be sure to select the correct drive to use if you have more than one.


Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.


This should restore the version of OS X originally pre-installed on the computer.

Format new hard drive

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