How do I reformat my External SSD or change the format type?

CAUTION! Formatting a drive will delete all data – Transfer any required data to another drive before formatting

Formatting the drive for Mac OS X

If you will be using the External SSD only with Mac computers, use a Mac OS Extended (HFS+) format. This will eliminate the limitations you may encounter with an NTFS or FAT32 format (click link below for more information on FAT32 limitations). Follow the instructions below for your version of Mac OS X. NOTE: If you want to configure your External SSD to use with Time Machine™, the drive must be formatted Mac OS Extended.

Mac OS X, Version 10.1 through 10.3.9

1. Make sure you have copied any needed files to another location.
2. Select Applications, Select Utilities and select Disk Utility
3. Select the Erase tab.
4. In the left hand column, select the Integral External SSD to be erased.
5. Select the format type you want to use from the Volume Format drop-down menu:
6. For an HFS+ format, select Mac OS Extended (Journaled) (recommended) or Mac OS Extended.
7. If you plan to use the drive cross-platform, select MS-DOS File System for FAT32 format. Note the FAT32 limitations below.
8. Click the Erase button.

Mac OS X, Version 10.4 and above

1. Make sure you have copied any needed files to another location.
2. Select Applications, Select Utilities and select Disk Utility
3. In the left hand column, select the Integral External SSD to be erased. Make sure you click on the high level orange drive icon, not the second level volume icon.
4. Select the Partition tab.
5. Change Volume Scheme from Current to 1 Partition.
6. Select the format type from the Format drop-down menu.

  • If you plan to use the drive only on your Mac, select Mac OS Extended (Journaled) (recommended) or Mac OS Extended.
  • If you plan to use the drive cross-platform, select MS-DOS File System for a FAT32 format. Note the FAT32 limitations below.

7.Click on the Options button.
8.Select the type of partition you want to use:

  • GUID Partition Table for bootability on an Intel-based Macintosh computer
  • Apple Partition Map for bootability on a PowerPC-based Mac
  • Master Boot Record if you will use the drive on a PC as well as your Mac. Use this option ONLY if you selected PC-DOS as the format type.

9. WARNING! In most cases, the computer will fail to format the drive as a Mac OS Extended (HFS+) partition using Master Boot Record. For best results, always choose GUID Partition Table (Intel) or Apple Partition Map (PowerPC).
10. Click OK.
11. Click the Partition button

Changing a Mac-formatted drive to FAT32 or NTFS in Windows 7/Vista/XP/2000

1. Connect the Integral External SSD to your computer.
2. Right click on My Computer, select Manage, and click on Disk Management.
3. If the Disk Wizard opens, click next. Select the disk, click next, and then Finish.
4. If the Wizard does not open, locate the drive in the lower list. Look for a disk that does not show a drive letter or file system.
5. Right click on the drive name and select Initialize Disk (Windows XP) or Write Signature (Windows 2000), then OK.
6. The drive will now appear as Unallocated and the bar will be black.
7. Right click on the black bar and select New Partition (Windows XP) or Create Partition (Windows 2000).
8. Right Click on the Unallocated drive and select “New Partition…” to bring up the New Partition Wizard, click Next.
9. Verify that the partition type is Primary Partition and click next.
10. Leave the maximum disk space selected and click next.
11. Assign the next drive letter available and click next.
12. Check the option for Perform a quick format, click next, and then click Finish. The drive will be ready to use when the format completes.

NOTE: The NTFS format is recognized only by Windows Vista/XP/2000. If you plan to use your drive cross-platform, you should format the drive FAT32.

Changing a FAT32-formatted drive to NTFS in Windows 7/Vista/XP/2000

For best performance on Windows 2000, XP, or Vista, change the drive format to NTFS. You can either reformat the drive, or convert the FAT32 format to NTFS using the Windows utility.

NOTE: If the drive is formatted to NTFS, it might appear as a read-only volume when connected to a Mac OS system, or it might not be readable at all, depending on the version of Mac OS X. If you need to change the drive format from NTFS back to FAT32, follow the instructions below for reformatting to FAT32.

Formatting the Drive with NTFS

The following instructions will format the Integral SSD with an NTFS file system. If you want to partition the drive, check Windows help for more information.

1. Right click on My Computer, select Manage, and click on Disk Management.
2. Select the Integral External SSD. Look for the drive letter assigned by Windows.
3. Right click and select “Delete partition” the existing FAT32 partition, click ok.
4. The SSD will now appear as Unallocated and the bar will be black. Right click on the black bar and select New Partition (Windows XP) or Create Partition (Windows 2000).
5. Right Click on the Unallocated drive and select “New Partition…” to bring up the New Partition Wizard, click Next.
6. Verify that the partition type is Primary Partition and click Next.
7. Leave the maximum disk space selected and click Next.
8. Assign the next drive letter available and click Next.
9. Check the option for Perform a quick format, click Next, then click Finish. The drive will be ready to use when the format completes.

Converting FAT32 to NTFS Format

CAUTION! Converting the drive from FAT32 to NTFS may cause data loss if a problem is encountered. You cannot convert an NTFS formatted drive back to a FAT32 format without reformatting, which will erase all existing data on the drive.

1. Close all open programs and files.
2. Click Start and then click Run.
3. Within the Open: box, type CMD and press the Enter key.
4. At the C: prompt, type CONVERT X: /FS: NTFS (where X: is the drive letter assigned to the Integral External SSD.
5. Press the Enter key.

Limitations for a FAT32 volume on a Mac operating system

1. If you want to use a FAT32 format for cross-platform compatibility, please note that you might encounter the following limitations:

  • The drive may mount slower.
  • Files may copy slower.
  • The full capacity of the drive might not be available if the drive is formatted as a single large volume. If the drive does not mount or you do not see the full capacity of the drive, you need to partition the drive into smaller volumes (less than 127GB).