How to Format or Reformat SSD on Mac? By Shirly Chen, 2017-12-01. A Solid State Drive is primarily used on Mac machine. If you want to recycle a SSD, formatting is the best way to remove all history data from the SSD. Sep 02, 2017  The T5 drive probably comes out of the box in a non-Mac format. ALSO - the drive -may- have a proprietary, 'unremovable' partition on it with specialized software (for encryption, etc.). If this is the case, you may have trouble getting CCC to work with it (CCC wants an HFS+ drive, and it may not be able to deal with hidden partitions).

By Andrew O'Hara
Friday, October 25, 2019, 04:34 am PT (07:34 am ET)

The Samsung T5 portable SSD isn't a new release, but is still a great compact drive that pairs very well not only with a Mac, but with an iPad Pro as well.


Though the Samsung T5 was introduced back in 2017, it recently was refreshed with new colors earlier this year.
With iPadOS and external storage support just landing for our iPad Pros as well, it seemed a good time to revisit and re-review the miniature drive.

Still a great portable SSD

Samsung's T5 is a small NVMe-based SSD that is incredibly tiny. Nearly the same size as the T3, but just a hair smaller.

Included in the box is not only a USB-C to USB-C cable, but a second USB-C to USB-A cable for anyone who isn't on the latest hardware.
It is made of an anodized aluminum body with black plastic caps on either end.

One of those ends is the sole USB-C port which supports USB 3.1 Gen 2 — up from USB 3.1 Gen 1 on the T3. It is also entirely bus-powered, making it great for on-the-go work.
Thanks to support for USB 3.1 Gen 2, speeds are now advertised to reach up to 540MB/s, an upgrade from the 450MB/s of the T3. But, those are advertised values.
We tested the speeds of the drive with the Blackmagic Disk Speed Test on our Mac over USB-C and saw speeds near the promised values. Our write speeds averaged around 445MB/s and our read speeds hit about 515MB/s. Longer timed tests of mixed file sizes saw about the same, so it also appears that heat isn't a problem.
As an optional bonus, Samsung includes its software with the disk that can be used for encrypting your data. The software also allows you to rename the drive and check for updates — most of which can be done through Disk Utility. So, frankly, we don't think Mac users need to even consider it.

Since this is designed to be taken outside the office, there is drop protection built-in with two meters of shock absorption promised. And, as we mentioned, Samsung has recently released new red and gold colors for the T5, of which the former we were particularly fond of.

USB-C cross-platform

The T5 dovetails nicely with iPadOS for the iPad Pros which finally brought support for external storage over USB-C.

Now a USB-C drive can be connected to the iPad Pro and accessed via the Files app or any app that supports external storage. The stylish design, fast speeds, and small footprint of the T5 made it out go-to for on-the-go work on our iPads.

They pair quite well together and it was no problem for us to use it connected directly to our iPad Pro or when we used our Kanex USB-C iPad Pro hub.

Speed, price, and other factors

We've build an assortment of external SSD storage devices with some external cases we like, and a SATA drive. More recently, we've done some with M.2 drives. But, there's something to be said about just buying something at retail, and going.
It isn't some gold standard for external SSDs, and it isn't Thunderbolt 3 —but not everybody needs the fastest drive or the generally highest prices for the faster connectivity, and it is one of the best. We like the T5 very much for that general use case, and since it's USB 3.2 type C and not Thunderbolt, we can use it with our iPad Pro.
Score: 4 out of 5.

Pros

• Compact size
  
• Vivid colors
  
• Aluminum body
  
• Fast speeds
  
• USB-C
  
• Shock resistant

Cons

• Soft case material can be scratched
  
• No water or dust resistance
  
• No storage pouch or case

Where to buy

Grab the Samsung T5 in black, blue, gold, and red from Amazon from $89.95 to $292.93 in 500GB to 2TB capacities.FormatSamsung T5 for Mac Overview

1. Log ontoyour Mac and Plug in your Samsung T5.

2. StartDisk Utility.

3. Look foryour Samsung T5 in Disk Utility.

4. Pickyour Samsung T5 in Disk Utility. And then Erase.

5. Put in aName for your Samsung T5. . Choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled) for Format. AndGUID Partition Map for Scheme.

6. Then click on Erase.

FormattingYour Samsung T5 for Your Mac

Or MacBookPro, Air or IMac? Read on and you’ll be led step by step through how to do it.

And if youread on some more you’ll find some useful tips. And learn what formatting touse for the many ways you’d use your Samsung T5 on your Mac.

How toFormat Your Samsung T5 for Mac

1. Log ontoyour Mac and Plug in your Samsung T5.

You’lllikely need to plug your MacBook into mains power while you’re formatting yourT5. Because, you wont want your Mac running out of power part way through your formatting.

Connect up your T5 to your Mac’s USB port. A few moments later, you’ll find your Samsung T5’s drive icon on your Mac’s desktop.

No SamsungT5 drive icon?

Check yourFinder preferences.

Check theboxes “Hard Disk” and “External Disk”

And your T5should now be on your desktop.

2. StartDisk Utility.

DiskUtility is the program on your Mac that will format your Samsung T5 drive.

You canfind Disk Utility through a spotlight search.

You’ll findyour spotlight search at the top of your Mac’s desktop. Type in Disk Utility. Return.

And thendouble click on Disk Utility in your spotlight search to start it up.

3. Look foryour Samsung T5 in Disk Utility.

The firstDisk Utility screen you’ll see will list all the drives your MacBook Pro, Airor iMac can see.

The drivesattached to your Mac are split into two lists. Internal and External.

On the lefthand side of your Disk Utility screen you’ll find your Mac’s internal drive(s)under internal. Your Samsung T5 will be listed under External.

There is asmall arrow symbol along side your Samsung T5 drive. The first arrow in theabove picture shows you where.

You clickon that arrow to contract or expand the number of disk icons it shows you. Youshould see your Samsung T5 listed twice in the expanded list.

Can’t expandor contract the list? There is a setting you need to change.

Look towardthe top of your Disk Utility window. There you’ll see an option called ‘View’.

Click toopen up the View menu. And pick the option to show all devices. The drive and the volume. That should sort it out.

4. Pickyour Samsung T5 in Disk Utility. And then Erase.

How youpick your Samsung T5 from the Disk Utility external drives list is important.This is why you needed your list expanded.

You need topick your Samsung T5 at the drive level. This is the top level in the expandedExternal drives view.

The secondarrow in the above picture shows you where.

Take care.If you don’t pick your T5 at the drive level then you wont be able format it.And you’ll get odd errors with your Disk Utility.

Pick yourSamsung T5 and then click on Erase at the top of your Disk Utility screen.

5. Put in your Options for Formatting your Samsung T5.

Erase is whatyour Mac’s operating system calls the formatting option.

And forgood reason.

When youformat your T5 drive any files that are on there will be wiped.

Do not goahead with your T5 formatting if there are files on there you want. Copy them off onto your Mac or onto anotherdrive first.

For example your Samsung T5 comes with some Samsung software on it. Although I don’t recommend you use this software on your Mac.

You may still want to copy it off before you format. Or you could always download it direct from Samsung if you ever needed it in the future.

Ready to goahead and set up your formatting? Goodlet’s move on.

The firstthing to do is to give your Samsung T5 a name. This name will appear on yourMac’s desktop when you’ve finished formatting. And its how you’ll know yourdrive.

Put in aname where Disk Utility shows Name.

The nextoption you choose is the Format.

Get your product drivers, certificates, manuals, and warranty information. If the Wacom Desktop Center is running, it can be opened from the Task Bar on Windows, or from the Dock on Mac. If the Wacom Desktop Center is not running.

The little up/down arrows at the end of the format field pull up a menu. There you can choose different formatting options.

Pick“Mac OS Extended (Journaled)”. This is the file system most oftenused on Mac’s. It’s the format Time Machine uses. It’s the format you can useto drag and drop your files to your T5. Or copy and paste files to your T5.

The nextfield is the scheme. Pick GUID Partition Map. If the option isn’t shown right away use the up/down arrows at the endof the field to open the menu.

Pick GUIDPartition Map from there.

6. Thenclick on Erase.

After you have set your formatting options click on the Erase button. It’s on the bottom right of your Disk Utility window.

Your Macwill take a few moments to format your T5.

When it’sdone you can get rid of your Disk Utility screen and you’ll see your T5 driveicon on your Mac’s desktop. Ready for you to use.

There aresome other formatting options you may want to know about.

Format YourSamsung T5 for Mac APFS

APFS is theshort name for the Apple File System. APFS was introduced by Apple as a fast file system for SSDs – solidstate drives.

And yes youcan format your Samsung T5 with an APFS file system.

You can’t use the Apple File System with Time Machine. And a Windows PC won’t be able to see an APFS file system if you plug your Samsung T5 into one.

To formatyour Samsung T5 to APFS you’ll first need to follow the steps 1 through 6.First you format your T5 to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) file system with a GUIDpartition map. Otherwise you wont be able to choose the APFS file systemformat.

On your second pass through the formatting steps you pick the Apple File System. It’s in the list of options at the format field.

You stillpick ‘GUID Partition Map for Scheme. And then click on Erase to format.

FormattingSamsung T5 for Time Machine on Mac

Using your Samsung T5 for Time Machine means you have to change the as sold formatting from ExFAT to Mac OS Extended (Journaled).

Follow thesteps 1 to 6 above and you’ll do that.

Then you can read this how to use article to connect your Samsung T5 to Time Machine. Use the link to the article and use the Table of Contents to drop down to the Time Machine section.

FormatSamsung T5 for Mac and Windows

YourSamsung T5 comes delivered in ExFAT format. ExFAT formatting is a file systemthat both your Mac and a Windows PC can see and read and write to.

But, if forsome reason you want to reformat your Samsung T5. Or clear off everything offthe drive you can do that on your Mac.

Followsteps 1 to 6 above. And pick ExFAT asthe format. You do that from the menu of options on the up/down arrows at theend of the Format field.

Pick GUID PartitionMap for the Scheme.

As this isthe scheme your Mac likes to use. Then you click on Erase. After a few moments,you’ll have your Samsung T5 set up for both your Mac and a Windows PC.

Don’tchoose FAT32 as the format for sharing between Mac and Windows. FAT32 is an oldfile system with file size restrictions. The last kind of file system you wanton your lovely T5.

FrequentlyAsked Questions On Formatting Samsung T5 on Mac

Do I Needto Format My Samsung T5 for Mac?

No.

Your Samsung T5 comes in its box in an ExFAT format. Your Mac can recognize and read the files on an ExFAT drive. And you can put all your documents on your Samsung ExFAT drive. So no you don’t ‘need’ to format your Samsung T5 to use it on your Mac.

You may ‘want’to format your Samsung T5 for any of these reasons;

1. You wantto use your T5 with Time Machine. Then you’ll need a Mac OS Extended(Journaled) file system on your T5. Justfollow steps 1 to 6 above.

2. You wantto try the APFS file system on your T5 as it’s a file system designed for solidstate drives. You follow the steps above to format to Mac OS Extended(Journaled) first. Choose a GUID Partition Map for Scheme. Then you’ll be ableto format your T5 to APFS.

3. You wantto partition your Samsung T5. You’llfirst need to format it to Mac OS Extended (Journaled). And then you’ll be ableto use Disk Utility to partition your T5.

How do IPartition My Samsung T5 on Mac

You canpartition your Samsung T5 as you can any drive on your Mac. First you’ll need to follow the steps in thisarticle to format your Samsung T5. Onceyou’ve done that you’ll be able to partition it.

The article here will take you through the steps of partitioning. You just choose the file systems you want for each partition.

Can’t Partitionyour Samsung T5?

Format itfirst. You won’t be able to partition adrive that isn’t first in Mac OS Extended (Journaled) file system. The stepsabove show you how.

RelatedDocuments