You can encrypt an external drive on a Mac with Disk Utility or Finder. Encryption protects the files stored on the drive with a password, so someone who finds or removes the drive cannot normally read its contents without that password. The best method depends on whether the drive already contains files: Encrypt an existing … Read more
To safely eject an external drive on a Mac, first close files and apps that are using it. Then open Finder, select the drive in the sidebar, and click the Eject button next to its name. Wait for the drive to disappear from Finder before unplugging it. You can also eject a drive from the … Read more
To partition an external drive on a Mac, use Disk Utility. Select the physical drive in the sidebar, choose Partition, select GUID Partition Map if you are erasing the drive, and create one or more partitions with the file systems you need. Important: Partitioning can erase data, especially when you change the drive’s partition scheme … Read more
To format an external drive on a Mac, open Disk Utility, select the correct physical drive, click Erase, choose a format and partition scheme, and confirm. Formatting erases everything on the selected drive, so copy any files you want to keep before continuing. For most uses, choose: APFS for a drive used primarily with modern … Read more