You’ve bought yourself a Samsung T5. Or your thinking to getting yourself one.
And you’re keen to learn how you could use it on your Mac.
Read on to find out how.
Using Your Samsung T5 On Your Mac. The Four Ways You Can
1. Use your T5 portable SSD for compute intensive tasks on Mac.
2. Off load your files from your Mac to your T5 Samsung SSD.
3. Use your T5 external storage to store your HD videos. Or your photos collection.
4. Use your T5 Samsung portable SSD for a fast Time Machine backup.
Starting To Use: Install Your Samsung T5 On Your Mac
1. Power up your Mac and Log in.
2. Plug your T5’s USB C cable into your Mac.
Or the USB type A cable if your Mac has type A ports.
Your Samsung T5 will then power up because it gets its power from your Mac. You’ll see its LED light blink.
Shortly after that you’ll see your T5 solid state drive’s icon on your Mac’s desktop.
Your Samsung’s drive icon may not look exactly like the one in my picture.
How your Samsung T5 portable SSD looks on your Mac’s desktop depends on your Mac’s operating system version.
3. Can’t see your Samsung’s drive icon on your Mac’s desktop?
You should check your Finder Settings (Mac OS Ventura). In earlier Mac OS releases it’s called Finder Preferences.
4. Open A New Finder window And Go To Finder Settings Or Preferences.
Depending on your version of the Mac operating system, it’s called Settings (Mac OS Ventura) or Preferences in earlier Mac releases.
From the popup window that comes up click on the General tab. Then check the box ‘External Disks’. Then your Samsung’s drive should show up on your Mac’s desktop.
Using Your T5 Portable SSD With Your Mac: Drive Format
Your Samsung portable SSD T5 is sold ExFAT formatted. ExFAT is a format both a Mac and a Windows PC can use.
And this means you can use your T5 straight away.
But double check the current format of your T5 storage.
As there are cases where the drive arrives NTFS formatted. Or yes, the drive was ExFAT formatted but with a Master Boot Record as the scheme. Both mean issues using your drive on your Mac.
You can check the format of your drive easily enough. Just take a look at this post on the site. How To Check Format Of External Hard Drive On Mac.
If your drive isn’t ExFAT formatted, or Mac OS Extended Journaled or APFS formatted. With a GUID partition Map then you’ll need to use software on your Mac called Disk Utility. Disk Utility formats your T5 for your Mac.
Click the link text to find out how.
How Do You Open The T5 On Your Mac?
It’s easy.
You open up your Samsung T5 for use on your Mac by double clicking on your T5’s drive icon. The one on your Mac’s desktop.
That opens up a Finder window on your T5 drive.
With the Finder window open on your Samsung T5 drive. Anything you copy or paste to that window. Any folders you create to organize your files in that window. Are on your SSD drive.
Create Folders On Your Samsung SSD T5 On Your Mac
Click inside the Finder window of your Samsung T5.
Then from the Finder window menu across the top of your desktop. Choose File, then ‘New Folder’ from the menu.
Then you’ll have a new untitled folder on your Samsung T5.
Double click on the text ‘untitled folder’. And you can name your folder to whatever you want to call it.
Read the Samsung T5 On Mac Review Here. Because You’ll Find out Much More Before you Buy one.
How To Use Your T5 External SSD To Free Up Space On Your Mac
Drag And Drop To Your T5
You can use your Samsung T5 just like you use your Mac.
Dragging and dropping your files. Or documents across to your Samsung is the same as dragging and dropping between Finder windows on your Mac. You start by:
1. Open a new Finder window on your Mac.
And in that Finder window you browse to the folder. Or file you want to drag and drop to your Samsung T5.
2. Open up a Finder window on your Samsung T5.
By double clicking on your Samsung’s drive icon on your desktop.
3. If you want you can now create folders on your T5.
You can use those folders to organize the files you want to drag and drop across.
Double click on those folders on your T5 to open them up. Ready to receive your dragged across files.
4. Move to the Window On your Mac.
Click and hold on the file. Or folder you want to drag across from your Mac. And while clicking and holding. Move your cursor key across to your open Samsung Finder window. Release your hold and whoopee!
You’ve just dragged and dropped your file across.
Dragging And Dropping More Files Is Just As Easy.
You just select several files on your Mac.
You do that by:
Clicking on the first file you want to drag across.
Then hold down the shift key and click on each of the next files in turn.
Or you can click on the first file.
And then shift and click on the last file and highlight several of your files.
Or you can click on the folder that all the files are inside.
You do that if you want to copy all the files in the folder across.
Or you can create a selection window.
You do that by clicking in a blank space near the first file you want to copy. And click and hold. Then you move your cursor across all the files you want to drag across. Selecting them. Release your hold.
After all you’ve Highlighted the Files you want to Drag and Drop.
Then click and hold on any of the highlighted files.
Move your cursor across to your Samsung T5’s Finder window. Release your hold and you’ve dropped your files there.
If you are dragging across a lot of files it can take a while.
Your Mac will show you the progress of the files you’ve copied across.
Want to Drag and Drop files From your T5 back Onto your Mac?
It’s easy. You do it the same way in reverse.
You select your files to drag on your Samsung T5 SSD drive.
And then drop them into a folder, within a Finder window on your Mac.
Copy And Paste Your Files To Your T5 Samsung Portable SSD
1. Open one Finder window on your Mac.
In the Finder window on your Mac, you click through to the file or files you want to copy.
2. Open a Finder window on your Samsung T5 SSD.
By double clicking on your Samsung’s drive icon on your desktop.
3. Select the file, files, or folders you want to copy on your Mac.
You use the steps from dragging and dropping above to select the files on your Mac.
4. Right click on the selected files. And from the menu choose Copy.
Or go to the top of the Finder window and choose Edit. And from the Menu pick Copy.
Your Mac will copy the files.
5. Next you move to the Finder window on your T5 external storage.
If you haven’t done this already, you can create a folder to copy the files into.
Or not. It’s up to you how you want to organize your files.
If you’ve created a folder on your Samsung storage double click on it to open it up ready to receive your files.
6. Right click in your Samsung T5’s Finder window.
And from the menu pick paste.
Or click in your Samsung T5’s Finder window. And from the Finder window pick Edit from across the top of your desktop. And from the menu that comes up choose Paste.
7. Your Mac will now paste your files across.
If you’re copying and pasting quite a few files then this could take a few moments. Your Mac will show you the progress of your copying across till it’s done.
How To Delete Files From Your Samsung T5 On Your Mac
Inside the Finder window on your Samsung T5 you highlight the files you want to delete.
You can click on one to highlight one file.
Or you can use shift and click to highlight several.
Or you can highlight a folder to delete by clicking on it.
You then right click on the highlighted file(s).
And then pick ‘Move to Bin’ from the menu.
The documents are moved to the Bin on your Mac.
Just be sure to empty your Mac’s Bin before you Eject and unplug your T5. You do that to properly delete your files. And stop annoying ghost images of those files appearing on your T5.
How To Use Your Samsung T5 With Time Machine
When you’re looking for fast transfer speed in the backup of your Mac. You can use your Samsung T5 portable SSD as a place for your Time Machine backups.
But you’ll need to reformat from its default ExFAT format to APFS (Apple File System) for a backup (since Mac OS X Big Sur).
Or to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) file system.
You use the Disk Utility software on your Mac to reformat. And you can find out how to format your Samsung T5 here.
And when you’re done pop back here.
How To Set Up Time Machine To Use Your Samsung T5
Since Mac OS Ventura
1. Open System Settings.
Scroll down to the General heading. Click there. Then Scroll down to Time Machine and click that option.
2. Click The Button Add Backup Disk.
Pick your T5 Samsung drive, then click Setup Disk.
3. If you’ve previously set up a backup drive for your Mac.
You may have upgraded your Mac from Mac OS Monterey and your Mac remembers your previous backup drive.
And you want to add another backup drive or change from your previous backup drive. Then click the + button.
Pick your Samsung drive. Then click the button Setup Disk.
Your Mac will then format your Samsung SSD as a Mac drive. And set your drive up for Time Machine.
4. Set Up To Show Time Machine Icon In Menu Bar
You can set your Mac to show the Time Machine icon in your Mac’s menu bar.
In System Settings click on Control Centre. Then scroll down to Time Machine. Then Click the option ‘Show In Menu Bar’.
Mac OS Monterey or Earlier
1. Open up Time Machine on your Mac.
Click on spotlight search at the top of your Mac’s desktop.
Type in System Preferences. Then double click on System Preferences.
2. Then click on Time Machine within your System Preferences.
3. Start the Time Machine T5 Set Up.
Check the box to show Time Machine in the menu bar at the top of your Mac’s desktop. And keep the ‘Back Up Automatically’ box empty for now.
Then click on ‘Select Disk’.
4. Pick your T5 portable SSD on the next screen.
Click on your Samsung T5 from the list that appears. Your Mac will list all the external drives it can see that are available for Time Machine.
Click on the name you gave your Samsung T5 when you formatted it.
5. Click ‘Use Disk’
And your Samsung T5 portable SSD is now connected to Time Machine. And Time Machine will use your T5 to backup your Mac.
You’re now back to the first Time Machine screen you saw. And you can now put a check in the box ‘Back Up Automatically’ if you want.
A Time Machine Backup To Your Samsung T5 On Your Mac
When you check the box ‘Back Up Automatically’. Your Mac will kick off a backup when it sees your Samsung T5 is connected to your Mac.
But you can start a Time Machine backup straight away once you’ve set Time Machine to use your T5 portable SSD.
Click on the Time Machine symbol at the top of your desktop.
And from the menu choose ‘Backup Now’.
Time Machine will now prepare your backup and then start your backup.
The preparation for your Time Machine backup could take a while if this is the first backup of your Mac. It’s worth being patient.
You can check on the progress of your T5’s backup by clicking on the Time Machine symbol at the top of your desktop. There you’ll see how many GB’s are left to backup.
You can also find out from that menu when your Mac finishes your backup.
Be sure to eject your Samsung T5 before you plug out your USB cable.
How Do I Eject My T5 From My Mac?
You Eject your Samsung T5 by;
Right clicking on your Samsung T5’s drive icon on your desktop.
And from the menu you pick Eject.
Then wait a few moments for your Samsung’s drive icon to disappear from your Mac’s desktop. And your drive’s LED activity light slow blink.
This shows your T5 is now idle. Then you can take your T5’s USB cable out of your Mac.
Always eject your T5 from your Mac when you’re done with it. And do that before you plug out your Samsung’s USB cable from your Mac.
Ejecting is how you tell your Mac you’re now finished with your T5 portable SSD.
And if there’s anything your Mac is holding in its memory that needs writing down to your T5. It will do that closing it off nicely.
Otherwise you risk corrupting your files.
In Closing
And now you know the different ways you can use your Samsung T5 on your Mac.
Do go ahead and check out my other documents on the T5 portable SSD.
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