Formatting question??

I purchased a WD 1 TB external HD (eSata, firewure 400, & USB) and it comes formatted in FAT 32. How long does it take to format a 1 TB drive in Mac OS Extended [Journaled] (using OS X disk utility)? I started this some 3 1/2 hours ago and I wonder what is going on as there isn't a gas gauge telling one what % is completed. I hope it is formatting the drive....

Thanks

Hi Alan - Something is wrong. It should format in minutes. I would start over. You won't hurt anything. Once in a while if there is a master boot record on a hard drive you have to create a partition on it first, then do the erase function that formats through disk utility.

Let me know what happens I'll be glad to help.

Thanks Chris. I tried to format a 2nd time, it still did not work. Went back and formatted under FAT 32. That worked in a few minites, reloaded my library and all is well. Not particularly happy with FAT 32 but it does seem to work. I did note that iTunes had redirected my downloads to the Mac Mini HD. So I had to copy over a few CD's to the external HD from the Mac drive and then redirect the downloads to the external unit again. I am still trying to learn OS X. BTW, do you have a MacBook Air? Does it have the same USB problem that the MacBook Pro?

Alan - Something still isn't right. You should be able to format in any supported format such as HFS+ etc... I wouldn't settle for FAT32 unless absolutely necessary. Have to done any searches looking for issues with your specific WD model? If you give me the info on the model I can help look into it.

I do have a MacBook Air as well as a MaBook (black), MacBook Pro, and mu newest music server a Mac Pro. I'm not sure if the Air suffers from the same USB issues as the other MacBook Pro. I'll try to give it a shot one of these days and let you know. By the way, the Air doesn't make the best music server because it doesn't even have a built-in disc drive :-)

Thanks Chris, the WD drive is a WDH1CS10000. Here is the link:http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=357

Maybe this wasn't the best choice, but the local Costco has these for just under $200 and I wanted to get started with my system and listening to some tunes :-) The one thing I like about this unit is that it is dead quiet, but the nice thing about Costco is that they will accept returns for up to 90 days on any technology products. Thanks for any help that you may offer.

Hey Alan - This should solve the issue for you. I ran into something very similar last week with and this worked like a charm. If I remember correctly, you can partition the drive using GUID and then totally erase it and format however you want. I'm not at my Mac right now so I can't tell you exactly what to look for. Anyway, this is the right path to solve the issue and I can help you through it if needed.

This is from ID 287 in the WD knowledge base.

In Mac OS X, you can use the built in Disk Utility to partition and initialize the drive so it will appear on the desktop.

1. Open the main drive (the drive that contains the operating system).

2. Open the Applications folder.

3. Open the Utilities folder.

4. Select Disk Utility.

5. The drives are displayed on the left side of the window. Click on the drive that you wish to partition (the top drive listing for the hard drive that you want to work with).

6. Once the drive is selected click on Partition.

7. Click on the Options button to select the partitioning scheme.

8. Click on Apple Partitioning Scheme, Apple Partitioning Map, or GUID and then click on the OK button.

9. You will see several options for setting up the drive. Once you have selected the number of partitions, the format type you want, and a volume label, click the Partition button.

10. Following the completion of this process, the drive will appear on the desktop.