[SOLVED] Can't Format 4TB External HDD using Mac OSX 10.10.5 Yosemite

[Mastermmm]

When I attempt to format my 4TB External HDD to exFAT with Disk Utility on OSX Yosemite 10.10.5, it tells me it cannot do so, something along the lines of being 'invalid'. I have a feeling it has something to do with the HDD size. Any suggestions?

 

[Boogieman_WD]

Hey there, Mastermmm.

You shouldn't have any trouble with that kind of size as it's supported by the OS. However I've seen similar issues with exFAT. Check out this thread for a possible solution and an answer to what might be wrong: http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/164004/how-to-access-the-full-capacity-of-hard-drives-larger-than-2tb-with-os-x-yosemit.
Basically you could try the suggestions from the link, or try to format the drive with the exFAT file system by using Windows computer (don't forget that the drive should be initialized with GPT instead of MBR if you want to be able to use more than 2.2TB).

You could also try the basics: try the drive with a different USB cable, try it with a different computer, test it for errors (How to test a drive for defects or problems on a Mac).

Please let me know how everything goes.
Boogieman_WD

 

[McHenryB]

... it tells me it cannot do so, something along the lines of being 'invalid'.

It would be helpful to have the exact error message.

 

[Mastermmm]

... it tells me it cannot do so, something along the lines of being 'invalid'.

It would be helpful to have the exact error message.

I highly doubt the error message would help your response. It was very general, with no numbers or codes to display. Just something along the lines of the HDD being invalid. Nonetheless, I figured out how to solve the issue! It just needed to be reformatted as Mac OS Journaled, then from there I was able to format it to exFAT.

 

[McHenryB]

I highly doubt the error message would help your response.

I wish you luck with any future questions you may have.