And here you are looking for a Toshiba Canvio Basics for Mac. Is there one ready made to plug right into your Mac?
Unfortunately, not.
But don’t despair.
The great thing about your Mac is it can use any external disk drive. And in around 5 or 6 minutes you can have your Toshiba Canvio Basic working just fine on your Mac.
As if it arrived ready made for your Mac.
Toshiba Canvio Basics Mac Need To Knows
You’ll notice on your Basics Toshiba portable hard drive’s box.
That is says plug and play operation. And looking at the box’s small print. The Basics’ box says formatted NTFS for Windows. Requires formatting for Mac OS.
What does that really mean?
Toshiba sells its Basics external hard drives in a file system format called NTFS. New Technology File System. NTFS is a file system format created by Microsoft for a Microsoft Windows PC.
A file system is how a computer reads and understand what is stored on an external drive.
Your Toshiba Basics hard drive is plug and play on a Windows PC.
A Mac can see and read an NTFS drive. But if you try to put new files on your Basics Toshiba external hard drive your Mac will say no.
To your Mac your Toshiba external disk is read only.
You can use the Basics external hard drive on a Mac. You’ve just got to prepare it for your Mac first.
Or use a 3rd party software program on your Mac called NTFS driver software. This software acts as an interface. Allowing your Mac to write to an NTFS drive.
Unless you use your Basics external hard drive mainly on a Windows PC. Then the best thing is to format your drive with the disk management software that’s part of your Mac OS. Disk Utility.
Click here to check out the latest Toshiba Canvio Basics Review
What To Do To Get Your Toshiba Canvio Basics 3.0 Mac Ready?
It won’t matter whether you have a MacBook Pro, MacBook Air or iMac.
As long as your MacBook dates from 2016 or later?
Or your MacBook Pro dates from 2017. Or your MacBook Air dates from 2018. Or your iMac dates from 2016.
All those Macs have a USB port that’s a type C on them.
Your USB 3.0 Basics Toshiba hard drive works on the USB C port of your Mac computer.
The Basics Toshiba external hard drive will work at USB 3.0 speed. Which is fine.
As long as what you need your drive for doesn’t need the speed of an SSD (Solid State Disk).
Storing files and carrying out your Mac backup generally doesn’t need the fastest disk.
But you’ll need to buy yourself a Type A to USB C adaptor.
Note that:
When you format your Basics Toshiba drive you clear everything on there.
If you’ve any file or files on the Basics external hard drive you need.
Copy them all off first.
Because you don’t want to be the one looking for the services of a data recovery company. Or data recovery software to get back your files. And with no certainty you’ll recover data.
1. Connect Your Basics Toshiba Drive.
Your Basics Toshiba drive should now show up on your Mac’s desktop as a hard drive icon.
If you see no sign of your Basics storage hard drive’s icon. Check Finder Settings (Mac OS Ventura or Later). In earlier Mac OS releases, it’s called Finder Preferences.
Click in a Finder Window. And picknSettings or Preferences.
Click on the option to show ‘External Disks’ on your desktop.
2. Start Disk Utility.
You use disk management software on your Mac called Disk Utility. To change your Basics Toshiba hard drive for Mac.
You’ll find Disk Utility under Applications > Utilities. It’s in the Utilities folder.
3. Click on your Basics Hard Drive
4. Click Erase.
5. Set Your Basics Storage Format Options.
Give your drive a name. Pick the Mac OS Extended Journaled format. And your Scheme as GUID partition Map.
You’ll find an article with more detail and images on this site. Canvio Basics Format For Mac. Just follow this link.
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After Your Basics Toshiba Drive Is Mac Ready
When you’ve formatted your Basics Toshiba external hard drive for Mac. You can use your drive as extra storage for your Mac. Click on your Basics hard disk icon on your Mac’s desktop to open a Finder window. Then.
Create new folders on your drive.
Copy and paste. Or drag and drop your files into the Finder window of your Basics external hard drive.
Or have your Basics Toshiba hard drive as a place to store your Mac backups with Time Machine.
Toshiba Canvio Basics MacBook Backup
You’d follow the same steps for a backup of a iMac, MacBook Pro. MacBook Air or M1 Mac.
Apple Time Machine is backup software that’s part of your Mac OS. And you’d use it when you want to save a copy of the important files on your Mac.
Store your Mac’s Time Machine backups on your Basics external hard disk by:
From Mac OS Ventura Or Later
1. Start System Settings.
Scroll down the System Settings to the General option. Click on there. Then Scroll down to Time Machine and click.
2. Click The Button Add Backup Disk.
Click on your Toshiba Canvio Basics drive. Then click Setup Disk.
3. Show Time Machine in Menu Bar
In System Settings click on Control Centre. Then scroll down to Time Machine. Then Click the option ‘Show In Menu Bar’.
On Mac OS Releases Earlier Than Ventura
You format your Basics Toshiba external hard drive for your Mac computer. You can prepare it to use with Apple Time Machine.
1. Open System Preferences.
Applications > System Preferences.
Click on Time Machine in System Preferences.
2. Check The box ‘Show Time Machine In Menu Bar’.
This shows the Time machine symbol on your desktop’s menu bar. And lets you to check the progress of your Time Machine backup easily.
3. Turn Off ‘Back Up Automatically’.
For now make sure the box is unchecked.
4. Click ‘Select Disk’.
5. Click Your Basics Toshiba External Drive.
The next popup windows shows you every external storage device connected to your Mac. And your Basics drive external storage space will be there on the list.
Click on your drive.
6. Click ‘Use Disk’.
You’re returned back to the 1st Time Machine screen.
Put a check in the box ‘Back Up Automatically’.
And each time your Basics external storage connects to your Mac. Your Mac will kick off a Time Machine backup.
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When You Want To Put Your Canvio Basics Away
After you’ve finished using your Basics Toshiba hard drive on your Mac.
Don’t just pull your USB cable out. That risks corrupting your Basics external hard drive.
Your Mac holds data in its memory for your drive while it’s plugged in. And you need your Mac to write that data down to your Basics Toshiba drive.
Eject tells your Mac to do that.
Right click on your Basics Toshiba external hard drive.
Pick Eject from the menu that comes up.
And once your Basics drive icon has gone from your desktop. You’re free to unplug your USB cable.
In Closing
I hope this article helped you to know that. When you want to buy a Toshiba Canvio Basics for your Mac you can go ahead.
It may not come shipped Mac ready. But you can use this well priced Basics drive on your Mac real quick.
With a little bit of know how.
Thank you for reading. And while you’re here why not check out our other Toshiba external hard drive articles.
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