# Formatting SSD



## dodecabilly (Apr 7, 2018)

hello everyone!

This is my first post here, so far all questions I had to ask were answered by simple forum search. This place is really great knowledge base.

I do have one thing to ask though... I bought a new computer, and switched to iMac after using PC for years, and there is a lot of new territory for me to explore, hardware and software wise.
I intend to buy Samsung SSD T5 external drive, 1 TB to put all those sample libraries I’ve been reading thoroughly about here. My question is - do I need to format the externel drive prior to downloading anything? I’ve found opposing wiews searching the web, I would like to know your practices. If yes, which type of formatting?

I have the latest iMac OS, the machine literally came yesterday. It has internal SSD 512 GB.

Cheers,

Ivan


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## babylonwaves (Apr 7, 2018)

make sure the SSD is formatted for macOS (macOS Extended Journaled). everything else will either not work or eat performance. personally i'd stay away from APFS for a while but theoretically that's an option as well


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## dodecabilly (Apr 7, 2018)

babylonwaves said:


> make sure the SSD is formatted for macOS (macOS Extended Journaled). everything else will either not work or eat performance. personally i'd stay away from APFS for a while but theoretically that's an option as well



Thanks for the answer! However, you are assuming that i am more knowledgeable on the subject than i am 
I guess i need some more Googling...


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## micrologus (Apr 7, 2018)

Go in the application folder > utilities folder> Disk utility, it's easy.


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## babylonwaves (Apr 7, 2018)

hey ivan,

if you buy an SSD chances are that it is formatted for a PC. if you want the maximum performance on a Mac you need to format it for the Mac's native file system. what @micrologus says is exactly what you need to do. good luck!


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## JT (Apr 7, 2018)

I just got a new SSD last week, this is what I did. Make sure you SSD is plugged in, open Disk Utility, you'll see your SSD listed in the left column, highlight your drive (if you see an indented drive under a non-indented drive, highlight the NON-indented drive). Then choose erase, it'll ask you which format you want, choose Extended Journaled, click okay and you're done. 

Google it on youtube, you'll find someone showing how to do it.


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## dodecabilly (Apr 7, 2018)

Thanks everyone! Yes, it is clear now what I should do. I also found that video on youtube... 

Only thing - for this particular SSD, Samsung T5, the manufacturer states that after formatting user should download and install the driver, which is there to provide security options like setting the password etc. I’ve read somewhere on this forum that it is not really necessary to install that driver (and i really don’t need password protection), while the user manual states that without driver it might not function properly... If someone with this particular drive could chime in, it would be appreciated...


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## charlieclouser (Apr 7, 2018)

I've been using Samsung T3 and T5 drives on iMac 5k, Mac Pro cylinder, and Macbook Pro machines for a while with no issues. Formatted with the default settings in Disk Utility. All that Samsung software and driver stuff is primarily bloatware, especially if you're on Mac. Not needed.


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