Formatting External Hard Drive for a Mac

very ez!

EZ! I just got a LaCie 250gb HD too and i had to do the same thing.

Just open Disk Utility in the folder: Applications > Utilities. When u open the app, click the drive u want to reformat and click the Erase tab. Then pick the format: Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Name it and click erase. (You don't need the options there not important)

If its not too late... you may wish to partition the drive if you plan to use it for video or large media files. In case you don't know (you probably do) this will let you keep long term data separate from 'temporary' data such as video projects that you will delete - you can then erase temporary volumes at the end of a project to keep video running cleanly and avoid data fragmentation etc.

Again use disk utility to set this up - click the partition tab, select how many partitions you want under 'volume scheme' then adjust the relative sizes of the partions using the window divider.

If you are new to Mac you will probably find disk utility quite handy - I did when I switched - occasionally (every month or so) it pays to run the 'repair permissions' under first aid - this can help rectify any wierdness that may be occuring - yes sometimes macs get freaky too!