how do i reset a mac hdd to be seen under windows? .. [solved]

[vhelp]

solved - see post # 7

Hi, Not realizing it, I had purchased a mac usb3/2 1TB hdd. And to my surprise, my windows 7 does not see it. However, when I load Computer Management, it sees it:

disk 2, (200 MB Healthy (EFI sys)), (931.19 GB Healthy (primary partition)), (128 MB (unallocated))

What are the steps to configure this to read as a windows hdd ?

Looking at the picture below, I need to make disk 2 look like disk 3

[Cornucopia]

2 things of note: mac drives are either fat/fat32 or hfs+ formatted and pure gpt partition type*. Win pc drives are fat32 or ntfs formatted and either pure mbr or hybrid mbr/gpt partition type, although maybe with uefi & win10 pure gpt type partitions might now also be ok for booting*. You'd have to test.
I would run cmd and start diskpart, select the appropriate disk, and then do a "clean all", which wipes all volumes & partitions and gives you a "raw" unformatted disc. Then exit diskpart and cmd and just create a new partition graphically in diskmgmt like you are used to. You could try doing it all in discmgmt, but mac drives have been known to not be totally redone cleanly (hence the diskpart suggestion).
Or you can do it all with a 3rd party tool like partition magic.

Or, you can not change the disk at all and just get macdrive fo be able to read/write on the drive with its existing formatting (as well as read/write any other mac volumes).

*There are a few other options but they are rare and/or cost money.


Scott

[vhelp]

Thanks Corn.. I will consider your suggestion as soon as I get to that point in this once i'm finished with my errands today and will report back whether successful or not.

[johns0]

Right click on the drive in Computer Management and choose format,it should be able to read the drive after that.

[vhelp]

@ john, that does not work, its not an option. this is a MAC prep'ed HDD. I did not see that stated on the box when i purchased it last year.

@ Cornucopia, how long does the "clean all" process take? its been running for quite a while now and there is no feedback that its doing anything nor complete. it still has not shown me the DISKPART> prompt.

[Cornucopia]

"Clean" is the quick, header-changing method. "Clean all" does the thorough, every-sector fixing method. Yes, it takes WAY longer, but you know when it is finished it should be correct.
When it is truly done, you will be given a prompt.

Scott

[vhelp]

ah, i see. but i wasn't repairing a damaged drive. so i went to the tougher process in vain. I just need to wipe this clean so i can reformat it as a windows drive so the system can see it.

how many hours will this 1TB take? there is no progress of any sort. its running blindly. it could take all day for all i know. its already an hour and i can't wait any longer. i need to stop this now and run it later in the "quick" mode.

[vhelp]

solved

i managed to achieve what i wanted. after cancelling the "clean all" i re-ran DISKPART "clean" and that finished instantly. then i ran computer_management, set a volumn, created a label, drive letter, re-format to NTFS, done.

thanks for the diskpart method. it worked successfully! it is now a windows drive.

[Cornucopia]

For your purposes THIS TIME that is probably fine, but don't be impatient when it could save your ass down the road. It takes as long as it needs to take.

"Unless you learn to master your rage, your rage will become your master."

Scott