my new external HD won't convert... please help!

[mynameisscott]

I bought a new external hard drive, and followed the following instructions to convert from PC to Mac (Disk Utility- Erase- Mac OS Journaled). However, during the conversion process the following message appears and stops the process: "Disk Erase failed with the Error: File System formatter failed."

Is there another way to convert? Why is this message appearing and how do I get around it?

Thanks in advance--

 

[BlueRevolution]

Have you tried restarting Disk Utility/the drive/your computer? Usually that sort of error is only temporary.

 

[mynameisscott]

yea, i've restarted. in fact, when I restart one of the first things that comes up is a message that says my external is unable to be read.

I bought the external in a different country than my Mac/America. It's the Samsung Story. Does this make any difference?

 

[BlueRevolution]

I bought the external in a different country than my Mac/America. It's the Samsung Story. Does this make any difference?

It shouldn't, no.

Try formatting via the Partition tab instead:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/68829/format.mov