A short screen grab showing how to use diskutil in terminal on High Sierra 10.13 to convert an HFS drive to the new Apple APFS file system (non destructively). Apple’s new APFS (Apple File System) format is the default format for storage under macOS 10.14 Mojave, replacing the dependable and long-lived HFS+ format. However, there are still some instances where HFS+ needs to be used. How to revert/convert/downgrade APFS to HFS/HFS+ without data loss? Advantages of Converting to APFS. APFS offers a ton of benefits that you don’t find in HFS+. Moreover, it is also the recommended file system for SSDs and flash drives. The following are some of the advantages that you can avail of by converting to APFS. Fast Duplication and Copying: APFS is a lot faster than HFS+. It can copy and duplicate. Join Sean Colins for an in-depth discussion in this video, Convert HFS to APFS, part of macOS Sierra for IT Administrators. Convert a disk image to another format using Disk Utility on Mac. You can convert the image format and encryption of a disk image. For example, if you create a read/write disk image but later want to prevent changes to the image, you can convert it to one of the read-only disk image formats.

Nov 16, 2020 • Filed to: Answer Hard Drive Problems • Proven solutions

External drives are portable hard drives that can be used for storing data that you want to keep on hand during your travels. Most of the external drives especially the WD ones available in the market are either formatted in NTFS or HFS+ format. The NTFS format is for Windows while HFS+ is for Macs. However, the new Macs are shipped with the latest Mac OS version, macOS High Sierra which supports the Apple File System or APFS. If your WD external drive isn’t in this new format, you won’t be able to use it if your Mac has been updated to macOS High Sierra. In such cases, you need to simply convert your WD external drive to APFS format.

How to Convert External Drive to APFS format

If you want to format your external drive from its existing file format to the new Apple file format, APFS, or Apple File System then you should follow these simple steps.

On the macOS 10.13 High Sierra, navigate to the disk utility and open it.

Locate the USB port of your computer and then connect your WD external drive into it.

In the Disk Utility window, find the option Show All Devices and click it.

In the windowpane located on the left, find the drive volume and select it after which click on the option labeled Partition.

Check that the scheme listed under Device Information has been set to GUID Partition Map. Then pick Mac OS Extended Journaled from the drop-down menu for the Format under the Partition Information.

After taking the required steps, hit the Apply button.

Hit the button labeled Partition

Select the partition of the external drive either labeled No Name or My Passport and then right-click on it.

In the drop-down menu that appears, click the option labeled Convert to APFS.

It will take a little time for the conversion process to complete, so be patient. You will see a tick-mark appear once the conversion has been completed. When this tick-mark appears, click the ‘Done’ button.

To ensure that the file format of the drive has been converted, go to the desktop and right-click on the My Passport drive.

In the drop-down menu that appears, click on the option labeled Get Info.

Check that the Format option under general has been changed to APFS.

What is APFS?

APFS is the short form of Apple File System. It was introduced by Apple in the year 2006 and is now the default file system of the latest Mac operating system, macOS High Sierra. This new file system replaces the previous file system, Mac OS Extended or HFS+, which was used by all the Mac OS versions which came before it. It offers several advantages over its predecessors and is automatically applied to your hard drive upon the installation of macOS High Sierra. APFS has been optimized for SSDs and flash drives but can be used for external and hybrid drives as well. However, it is best suited for flash and solid-state drives.

One thing to keep in mind about APFS is that it only works on macOS High Sierra. So, if you don’t have this Mac OS installed on your Mac, you won’t be able to open any drives using the APFS format.

Advantages of Converting to APFS

APFS offers a ton of benefits that you don’t find in HFS+. Moreover, it is also the recommended file system for SSDs and flash drives. The following are some of the advantages that you can avail of by converting to APFS.

Convert Hfs To Apfs Hackintosh

• Fast Duplication and Copying: APFS is a lot faster than HFS+. It can copy and duplicate files and folders within seconds. The process is almost instantaneous and will be over in the blink of an eye. You won’t have to wait for an eternity to see the files being copied one Megabyte at a time. The reason why APFS can do that is that it makes use of metadata. This allows it to complete the copying and cloning process much more quickly than HFS+ ever could.
• Reliability: Aside from fast performance, APFS is also the most reliable file system around. Apple has worked on the reliability of this file system and has ensured that it does not crash as much as HFS+ used to do. This means that you would have to face fewer instances of file corruption than before if your drive is using the APFS format.
• Efficient Partition Management: APFS does a great job of managing the partitions that you have created on your drive. It stores the information on the partitions in such a manner that files don’t get fragmented and need to be pieced together later. This efficient use of the available drive space ensures that you don’t run out of storage space anytime soon.
• Encryption: Privacy is a very big issue for people and if you have some sensitive data on a file or in a folder then you would want to keep it private. With APFS, you get the chance to encrypt individual files and folders on your drive in addition to encrypting the entire hard drive. This offers you an added layer of security that HFS+ couldn’t provide.

If you have bought a new WD external drive that isn’t formatted in the APFS format then you would have difficulty in opening it on a Mac running macOS High Sierra. Moreover, you won’t be able to enjoy the numerous benefits that this new file format has to offer you. To make sure that your WD external drive takes advantage of the APFS format, you need to convert it from HFS+ to APFS. You need to follow a simple set of procedures to ensure that your WD external drive is converted to the APFS format. These steps are easier to follow and the whole process wouldn’t take much time to complete.

Summary: This blog is about APFS hard drive conversion through non-destructive approach.
However, in the case of data loss from APFS drive, consider Stellar Data Recovery Professional for file recovery from an APFS storage media.
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HFS is the traditional file-system of the Apple’s Mac, MacBook, iMac and Mac Mini. And soon, Apple will replace its HFS file system with the latest APFS. With macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 Apple is going to make Mac 64 bit and it is speculated that with 10.14, the Macs will have broader support for APFS which are currently lacking in macOS High Sierra 10.13.

Today’s Query!How to Convert Hard Drive to APFS?

There are a few ways to convert your internal or external HFS formatted drive to APFS.

1. macOS High Sierra Upgrade for SSDs

So, if you have a Mac that has an SSD as your start-up disk drive then while upgrading to macOS High Sierra, the SSD will get converted to APFS file system automatically.

1. macOS High Sierra Upgrade for Hard Drives

When your Mac has a hard drive, and if you upgrade to macOS High Sierra then a confirmation dialogue will appear via installer and it will ask you if you want to convert your hard drive to APFS. This isn’t mandatory, and you have the choice to stick with HFS or switch to APFS.

1. macOS High Sierra Upgrade for Hard Drives with Recovery Mode

If you upgrade to macOS High Sierra with HFS but later decided to turn to APFS, then you can do the same through Recovery Mode. Restart your Mac and press-hold Command + R to boot into recovery mode. Then, go to Disk Utility << click Edit << click Convert to APFS.

Note: The above processes are non-destructive forms of APFS conversion on your chosen drive which means no data will be lost in converting the drive to APFS from HFS.

Convert To Apfs Disabled

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1. Converting an External Hard Drive to APFS on macOS High Sierra

Convert Hfs To Apfs External Hard Drive

The first question, is the process of converting an external drive from HFS to APFS non-destructive? Well, the answer is NO. Only bootable drives are allowed to convert to APFS via non-destructive approach. If you are looking to convert an external drive to APFS then follow the procedure:

1. Backup all the files from the external drive
2. Go to Disk utility << Select External Drive << Click Erase << from the drop-down select APFS
3. Click Apply

Allow the process to complete successfully and your drive will be converted to APFS.

Destructive vs Non-Destructive APFS Conversion

Apple provides non-destructive methods for start-up disk drives for APFS conversion, and hence no data (files or folders) will be lost. On the other hand, APFS formatting will erase all the files and folders stored on the external hard drive. If not backed up earlier, APFS formatting on the external drive will cause data loss. Even with the start-up drive, one may delete or lose files from the APFS formatted media.

A solution to APFS Data Recovery

APFS or HFS file system is prone to data losses via file deletion, unplanned formatting or whatsoever reason.

Hfs+ To Ntfs Conversion Utility

In case data loss on APFS strikes, leverage Stellar Data Recovery Professional to scan the APFS formatted storage drive for data recovery.