The process is accompanied by the deletion of data on the drive as the format changes, the files saved on the drive become irrelevant. The traces of the data are still left even after formatting.īut when you change a file format system of a drive, it is called reformatting. It doesn't overwrite the existing data or remove it completely. It is a low-level formatting process that only involves erasing the data on the system. Under normal situations, you only format Mac as the intention is to wipe away the data and files from Mac. When you are about to format a Mac hard drive, it is vital that you have a complete understanding of the Mac file system format too.
The reasons which lead to formatting the Mac hard drive are listed below: Typically, reformatting involves changing the NTFS or exFAT format to MacOS Extended format or APFS format as they are more compatible with Apple systems. You must have come across forums where people ask how to format NTFS on Mac. Formatting means erasing data on a drive while keeping the same format. This is done to make space for new data on the storage media. How to Recover Formatted Data on Mac?įormatting means deleting, erasing, or wiping out the existing data from a drive.