Need Help! Format external drive from NTSW to FAT, failed trying..

[IslandStone]

Hi!

I just tried to format my TOSHIBA 4TB external drive connected to my macbook pro 15" retina 2015 by usb 3.0, running El Capitan.
I used disk utility from applications and did the following: Clicked on the external drive-->Clicked "Erase"--> Chose a new name, Chose MS-DOS(FAT), Chose "Guided Partion Map"---> "Continue"--> "Done".

Now afterwards, there has been created a portion it seems, or at least 2,2 TB or 4TB total, are now makes as "used". I have no idea what i did wrong. The external drive was empty from start.

My goal is only to format it, and not portion it. Going to backup files from my Macbook afterwards, so i need the drive to be in FAT format.

Anyone got a clue what i did wrong??

Pictures:

The first two are of how it looks like now.

The last picture is what i did to get there... (I did mark the disk as i first pictured before i kicked erase).

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello and welcome.

Are you going to use this drive on your Mac exclusively? If so, don't use FAT, use Format: OS X Extended (Journaled) and Scheme: GUID Partition Map as shown in your second image. If it still formats as shown in your third image, then try Partition and make sure it is set for a single partition.

Let us know if the issue persists.

C

 

[IslandStone]

Hi and thank you for answering

I am going to use this drive as a backup drive for both Mac and Windows computers, and therefore i need to format to FAT? (I don't know this, it's just what i read in a guide..)

What Scheme should i use then for my purpose?

As my drive split into two, where 2,2 TB of 4 TB became marked as "used" after my first attempt (I have no idea why/how/what it's used for), is the procedure which i mentioned at top, the correct one?

I absolutely have no idea what I'm doing (that's at least how it feels), will appreciate any kind of guidance/help.

 

[IslandStone]

I managed it!

I tried to do it once again, this time in ExFat format, since i need file-size over 4GB per file, and it seems to have worked out.
Backup'ing at full speed now

Thanks for help!

 

[Cory Cooper]

Good that it is sorted...thanks for letting us know.

C